Roy Cochran

From WikiRun

Leroy Braxton "Roy" Cochran (1919-1981) was an American sprinter who won two gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics.

Cochran played football and was a one-man track team in the high school. Cochran wanted to go to Tulane University with a football scholarship, but was persuaded by his older brother Commodore, who won a gold medal at 1924 Summer Olympics in 4x400 m relay, to go to Indiana University with a track scholarship. Cochran won the 1939 AAU 400m hurdles and was one of the favorites for the 1940 Summer Olympics gold, but he had to wait eight years to fulfill that particular goal. Billy Hayes coached him at Indiana University, Cochran set world indoor records for 400m and 440y and a world record for the outdoor 440y hurdles in 1942, as well as winning the AAU indoor 600y that year. He went into the Navy after his 1942 season and served in the Pacific as a lieutenant. He returned home in 1946 and enrolled at USC to study for a master’s in physiology. Although he was not considering returning to competition, he was encouraged by his form in workouts and began to take the sport seriously once more. In 1946, Cochran finished third in the AAU 400m dash in a career best of 46.7, and in 1947, he placed second in the AAU 400m hurdles. In 1948, he won his second AAU intermediate hurdles title before taking the gold medal in the Olympics in 51.1, the second fastest time ever, and contributing a 47.8 leg in the 4 x 400m relay to win a second Olympic gold medal.

He was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1975 and the Indiana University Hall of Fame in 1987.[1] External links sports-reference.com profile Hall of Fame bio References ↑ http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/trads/ind-trads-hof-1987.html Retrieved 2009-01-30.