Rey Robinson

Not to be confused with Ray Robinson (disambiguation).
Rey Robinson
Personal information
Full nameReynaud Syverne Robinson
Born (1952-04-01) April 1, 1952 (age 71)
Fort Meade, Florida, U.S.
Alma materFlorida A&M
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight146 lb (66 kg)
Sport
Country United States
SportTrack and field
Event100m dash, 200m
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals1972 quarterfinal heat
Personal best(s)100 m –   9.9 (1972)
220 yd – 20.8 (1974)

Reynaud Syverne "Rey" Robinson (born April 1, 1952) is a former American athlete, one of the world's top sprinters in the early 1970s.

At age twenty on July 1, 1972, Robinson finished second to Eddie Hart in the 100 meters at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, equalling the world record at 9.9 seconds.[1][2][3][4] Both were favorites at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, held two months later.

However, they were eliminated in the 100 m race because their coach, Stan Wright, unknowingly using an outdated Olympic schedule to determine the starting time of their quarterfinal heat, failed to deliver them to the track on time. This failure due to disorganization created much controversy.[5] Though still bitter at what occurred, Robinson declared he did not blame Wright for what happened.[6][7]

Robinson continued in the sport as head track coach at Florida A&M University (2001–2009),[7][8] coaching multiple Olympic medalist Walter Dix.

References

  1. ^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (July 2, 1972). "Two world records tied at trials". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1A.
  2. ^ Newnham, Blaine (July 2, 1972). "Hart streaks to 9.9 clocking, equals world 100-meter mark". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1C.
  3. ^ Payne, Bob (July 2, 1972). "Hart, Wottle match world race records". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  4. ^ "Wottle equals world 800 mark in Olympic trial win over Jim Ryun". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. July 2, 1972. p. 11.
  5. ^ Stan Wright, a U.S. Olympic Track Coach, Is Dead at 78 by Frank Litsky, November 8, 1998, The NY Times article
  6. ^ Harvey, Randy (November 29, 1993). "Forgive and forget". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Pugmire, Lance (August 31, 2002). "Robinson Finally Gets Past His Pain". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  8. ^ "FAMU dismisses both track coaches". Rattler Nation. May 20, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2018.

External links