John Coard Taylor

John Coard Taylor (January 1, 1901 – June 25, 1946) was an American track and field athlete who placed fifth in the men's 400 meters at the 1924 Summer Olympics. He was national champion in the 220-yd low hurdles in 1922 and IC4A champion in 1922 and 1923.

Biography

Taylor, descended from early Dutch settlers in New York City, was born in Cranford, New Jersey. He studied at Princeton University, which had a strong track and field team under coach Keene Fitzpatrick.[1] In 1922, his junior year, Taylor won the 220-yard hurdles in 23.9 at the intercollegiate (IC4A) championships and in 24.6 at the AAU national championships; in the AAU meet he represented the New York Athletic Club.[2][3] The following year he repeated as IC4A champion in the low hurdles (23.8) and placed a close second behind Allen Woodring in the 440 yards; his estimated time, 48.4y, ranked him third in the world that year.[4][5]

Taylor won the 400 meters at the 1924 United States Olympic Trials in Cambridge, Massachusetts; he ran his lifetime best, 48.1, in the heats and repeated that time in the final, defeating the eventual Olympic silver medalist Horatio Fitch.[6]:56–57[note 1] At the Olympics in Paris Taylor qualified for the final; he remained in medal contention until his sore ankle gave way just before the finish. He eventually crawled across the finish line and placed fifth; the injury ended his athletic career.[6][8][9]

In 1926 Taylor joined the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation; he was named the company's general sales manager in 1931 and vice president in charge of sales in 1937. Still working for Ethyl, Taylor died of a heart attack in New York City on June 25, 1946; he was survived by his wife and three sons.[10][11]

Notes
  1. Taylor's 48.1 was a world best for the metric distance, but inferior to Ted Meredith's 440-yard (402.3 m) time of 47 ​2⁄5 seconds. At the time, a better mark over a longer distance was not automatically a world record for the shorter event as well; this was changed in 1926.[7]
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References
  1. Leitch, Alexander (2015). A Princeton Companion. Princeton University Press. p. 473. ISBN 9781400870011. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  2. Squire, Jesse. "IC4A Championships (1876-1942)". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  3. "Records Broken in Senior Meet". The Sacramento Union. September 10, 1922. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  4. "Bears Win Over Eastern Teams in I.C.A.A.A.A. Annual Events". Arizona Republic. May 27, 1923. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  5. "Track and Field Statistics: Men, 400 m – All Years". trackfield.brinkster.net. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  6. Hymans, Richard (2008). "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field" (PDF). USA Track & Field. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  7. Hymans, Richard; Matrahazi, Imre (2015). "Progression of IAAF World Records" (PDF). International Association of Athletics Federations. p. 49. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  8. Associated Press (April 25, 1928). "U.S. Jinxed In 400 Meter Race At Olympic Meet". Ellensburg Daily Record. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  9. "120 Olympic Stars Retire From Track". Chicago Tribune. January 11, 1925. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  10. "Obituaries – J. Coard Taylor '23". Princeton Alumni Weekly. October 11, 1946. p. 26. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  11. "J. Coard Taylor, Official of Ethyl; Vice President in Charge of Sales for Oil Firm Dies--Track Star at Princeton". The New York Times. June 26, 1946.
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