Davis, Glenn A.
Track and field
b. Sept. 12, 1934, Wellsburg, WV
Davis is the only man to win two Olympic gold medals in the 400-meter hurdles. Neither win was easy. In 1956, his U. S. teammate Eddie Southern led for the first half of the race. Then Davis caught him and they ran evenly until the seventh hurdle, when Davis pulled away.
At the 1960 Olympics, Davis couldn't catch his stride and was running third at the seventh hurdle. Then he finally got into stride, took the lead going over the tenth hurdle, and won by two yards.
His 1956 gold medal run was remarkable in that he ran his first hurdle race in April of that year. Two months later, he became the first to run faster than 50 seconds in the event and a month after that, he set a world record of 49.5 seconds in the Olympic trials. He lowered the record to 49.2 in 1958, when he also set a world record of 49.9 for the 440-yard hurdles. He won the Sullivan Award as the top American amateur athlete that year.
Davis was also an exceptional 400-meter/440-yard sprinter. He set a world record of 45.7 seconds in the 440-yard dash in 1958 and he won a third gold medal as a member of the U. S. 4 by 400-meter relay team in 1960, running his leg in 45.4 seconds. One of the rare times he ran the 200-meter hurdles, Davis set a world record of 22.5 in 1960.
Representing Ohio State, Davis won the NCAA 440-yard hurdle championship in 1958. He was the AAU national champion from 1956 through 1958.
After leaving amateur competition, Davis was a wide receiver for the Detroit Lions in 1960 and 1961.