Bill Carr

William Arthur "Bill" Carr (October 24, 1909 – January 14, 1966) was an American athlete, a double Olympic champion in 1932.

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Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Carr studied at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was coached by 1904 Olympian Lawson Robertson. Carr favourite events were the 440 y (or 400 m), the 880 y and the long jump, but he had never managed to win a major race until 1932. At the IC4A championships of that year, he caused an enormous upset by beating world record holder Ben Eastman in the 440 y. He repeated this feat some weeks later at the Olympic Trials.

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Now Carr was a favourite for the 400 m gold at the 1932 Summer Olympics, which were held in Los Angeles. He cruised through the heats, as did Eastman. In the final, Eastman lead for most of the race, but with less than 100 m to go, Carr pulled up next to the Stanford athlete, and sprinted to victory in 46,2, a new world record, with Eastman taking the silver.

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Bill Carr won another gold medal as a member of the American 4 x 400 m relay team, which did not include Eastman. The team nevertheless won easily, setting a new world record as well (3.08,2).

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On March 17, 1933, Carr's athletic career was cut short when he was involved in a car accident. He broke both his ankles and his pelvis, and never competed again.

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Carr died while on holiday in Tokyo, Japan.

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October 24: October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 68 days remaining....

1909: 1909 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar)....

January 14: January 14 is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 351 days remaining (352 in leap years). It is celebrated as New Year's Day by those still following the Julian calendar....

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