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John Walter Beardsley Tewksbury (March 21,
1876-April 25, 1968) was an American track and
field athlete. At the 1900 Summer Olympics, he won five
medals, including two golds. Born in Ashley,
Pennsylvania, Tewksbury studied for a dental degree at the University of Pennsylvania.
Running for the university team, he won the IC4A titles in the 110 and 220 y in 1898 and
1899.
After graduating, he headed for Paris to compete in the Olympic
Games. Tewksbury entered in 5 events, but had strong competition,
among others from fellow Penn student Alvin Kraenzlein. In the 100 m,
Tewksbury equalled the world record in the semi-finals, but placed
second in the final to Frank Jarvis. The following day, he took
another second place, behind Kraenzlein, in the 60 m, before
entering the 400 m hurdles.
At the time, this event had probably never been contested in the
United States, but Tewksbury easily beat the local favourite for
the 400 m hurdles title. The event was quite different from present
day, as the hurdles were actually telephone poles laid over the
track, and the final hurdles was a water barrier (like in the steeplechase). In the final of
the 200 m hurdles, he placed third (with Kraenzlein the winner).
The final of the 200 m was held a week later; in that race
Tewksbury won his second individual Olympic gold, finishing
immediately ahead of Norman Pritchard of India.
He retired from sports to open a dental practice in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. He
died there in 1968, at age 92.
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