Ellery Harding Clark

Ellery Harding Clark ( born March 13, 1874 in East Roxbury, Massachusetts, † February 17, 1949 in Boston ) was an American track and field athlete.

I. The Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 he won the competition in the long jump and high jump. To date, he is the only athlete to win both of these disciplines during the Olympics. In addition, he participated in the shot put competition. In the long jump competition Clark took advantage of a hat as a marking aid during startup. His first two attempts were invalid. Before he could begin his third attempt to give him a judge (probably the later King of Greece, Constantine I) took his hat on the ground that this would be a professional practice, away. The third attempt was, without a hat, valid and handed to win the competition.

From 1893 to 1912, Clark was one of the nation's top athletes. Although Olympic champion in the long jump, he never won a national championship in this discipline. However, he was very successful in the all around, a forerunner of today's decathlon. In 1896 and 1897, he was around champion of New England. In 1897, he won the all-around at the U.S. Track & Field Championships, the AAU Championships (Amateur Athletic Union, USA). In the same year he suffered a serious knee injury which kept him away for two years of competitions. 1903, when 29- year-old, he came back and once again won the all-around the AAU Championships. The second Olympic Games, in which he participated were the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis. However him paralyzed from bronchitis, so it only took sixth place in the all around. Until his 56th birthday he took part in competitions in walking.

1991 Clark was inducted into the USATF ( USA Track & Field Association ) Hall of Fame.

1897 Ellery Clark took his degree at Harvard (Cambridge, Massachusetts). He worked as an author of 19 books ( The mistress of the Corsairs - Original title Caribbean - was filmed in 1952 ), as a lawyer, athletics coach and teacher, and sat in the City Council of the City of Boston.

Results / standings at the Olympics

Publications

• The first americans at the olympic games, in: The Boston Chronicle, March 9, 1911.