Norton, Ray
Track and Field
b. Sept. 22, 1937, Tulsa, OK
The top sprinter in the world in 1959 and 1960, Norton suffered through a terribly embarrassing 1960 Olympics. He was given a good chance of winning three gold medals, in both sprints and in the sprint relay. He didn't win any medals at all. Norton finished dead last in the sprints and was on the receiving end of an illegal baton pass that resulted in the disqualification of the U. S. 4 by 100-meter relay team.
Running for San Jose State, Norton won the NCAA 220-yard dash in 1959 and he was the AAU outdoor 100- and 200-meter champion in 1959 and 1960. On April 4, 1959, he ran the 100 meters in 10.1 seconds and later that year tied the world record of 9.3 seconds in the 100-yard dash. In the spring of 1960, he twice ran the 200-meter in 20.6 seconds to tie the world record. After the record had been lowered to 20.5, he tied that in a preliminary heat at the Olympics.
Norton did win gold medals in the sprints and sprint relay at the 1959 Pan-American Games.