 Charles Reidpath at the 1912 Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | September 20, 1889 Buffalo, New York, United States | |||||||||||||||||
| Died | October 21, 1975 (aged 86) Kenmore, New York, United States | |||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 76 kg (168 lb) | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Sprint running | |||||||||||||||||
| Club | NYAC, New York | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Charles Decker Reidpath (September 20, 1889 – October 21, 1975) was anAmericantrack and fieldsprinter and winner of two gold medals at the1912 Summer Olympics, who later went on to have an outstanding military career.[1]
Born inBuffalo, New York, and a graduate of that city'sLafayette High School, Reidpath became a collegiate track star atSyracuse University, winning the 220 yd (201 m) and 440 yd (402 m) dashes in the 1912 intercollegiate games. He also playedfootball at Syracuse.[2]
On graduating from Syracuse in 1912 with a degree in civil engineering, Reidpath was pressured by relatives to quit sports and take a position with the family business in Buffalo. Instead, he made the U.S. Olympic track team and headed toStockholm,Sweden. Reidpath won the 400 m in anOlympic record shattering time of 48.2 seconds, a mark also ratified as aworld record. Running the anchor leg of the 4 × 400 mrelay, Reidpath helped the U.S. team set aworld record of 3:16.6. In the200 metres competition he finished fifth.
Reidpath was a lieutenant colonel in theUnited States Army who served inEngland,France andBelgium in theTransportation Corps duringWorld War II, winning battle stars for the Northern France andRheinland campaigns. In Belgium, he was madeOfficer of the Crown for his services at the vital port ofAntwerp in 1944 and 1945. Reidpath was made a Brigadier General when he retired from theNew York National Guard in 1948. He is a member of the Lafayette High School Sports Hall of Fame.
Away from sports and the military, Reidpath worked for the Berdencer construction company from 1912 through 1937, when he was named director of buildings for Buffalo. For 15 years, he worked in the city Department of Public Works. In 1956, he helped build theFederal Reserve Bank of New York Buffalo Branch as superintendent of construction forarchitects.
He died inKenmore, New York in 1975.
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