George Rhoden

George Rhoden

Personal information
Full name	George Vincent Rhoden
Born	(1926-12-13)13 December 1926 Kingston, Jamaica
Died	24 August 2024(2024-08-24) (aged 97) United States[1]
Medal record Men's athletics Representing Jamaica Olympic Games 1952 Helsinki 400 metres 1952 Helsinki 4x400 metres relay Central American and Caribbean Games 1946 Barranquilla 4×400 m relay 1946 Barranquilla 400 m 1950 Guatemala City 800 m 1950 Guatemala City 400 m 1950 Guatemala City 4×100 m relay 1950 Guatemala City 4×400 m relay 1954 Mexico City 4×100 m relay 1954 Mexico City 4×400 m relay 1954 Mexico City 400 m 1954 Mexico City 800 m

George Vincent Rhoden (13 December 1926 – 24 August 2024) was a Jamaican athlete, winner of two Olympic gold medals in 1952.

Rhoden was born in Kingston on 13 December 1926.^[2] He later moved to San Francisco, California, and was one of the successful long sprinters from Jamaica in the late 1940s and early 1950s, along with Arthur Wint and Herb McKenley. He competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics, but did not win a medal, being eliminated in the heats of the 100 m and the semi-final of the 400 m. He was also a member of the heavily favoured Jamaican 4 × 400 m relay team, but when Wint pulled a muscle in the final, their chances at a medal were gone. On 22 August 1950 at Eskilstuna, Sweden, Rhoden set a new world record in 400 m of 45.8 s. He also won the AAU championships in 400 m from 1949 to 1951 and as a Morgan State University student, won the NCAA championships in 220 yd (200 m) in 1951 and in 440 yd (400 m) from 1950 to 1952. He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Rhoden was more successful. As a world record holder he was one of the pre-race favourites in the 400 m which he won in a close battle with his compatriot McKenley, who had also been second in the 1948 Olympic 400 m.^[3] As the anchor runner of the Jamaican relay team, Rhoden added a second Olympic gold, edging the United States where he lived by a tenth of a second, and setting a new world record (3:03.9).^[4] He died on 24 August 2024, at the age of 97.^[5]