Earl Johnson (runner)

For the baseball player, see Earl Johnson (baseball).
Earl Johnson
Medal record
Olympic medal record
Men’s athletics
Representing the  United States
Silver medal – second place 1924 Paris Team cross country
Bronze medal – third place 1924 Paris Individual cross country

Richard Earle "Earl" Johnson (March 10, 1891 in Woodstock, Virginia – November 19, 1965) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the cross country team. He was the 1921 National Champion.[1] He effectively defended his championship in 1922 as he was beaten by Ville Ritola's Van Cortlandt Park course record, but since Ritola was Finnish, Johnson was the first American finisher in the National Championships. A rare black athlete of his day, he worked for the Edgar Thomson Steel Works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[2]

He competed for the United States in the 1924 Summer Olympics held in Paris, France in the cross country team where he won the silver medal with his teammates Arthur Studenroth and August Fager.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Earl Johnson". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Ritola makes new record for course" (PDF). The New York Times. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 Jan 2020.
  3. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Earl Johnson Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2017.