John William Brooks (July 31, 1910 – October 9, 1990) was an American long jumper. He competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, placing seventh in the long jump.
Career
[edit]Representing the University of Chicago, Brooks placed second behind Lambert Redd at the 1932 NCAA championships with a season-best jump of 25 ft 2+3⁄4 in (7.69 m).[1][2] He placed fourth with a leap of 24 ft 10+5⁄8 in (7.58 m) at the 1932 United States Olympic Trials, missing qualifying for the 1932 Summer Olympics by one place.[3]: 75 Brooks won the NCAA championship in 1933, his senior year; he placed second behind Jesse Owens at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)'s national outdoor championships that year.[1][4] He placed third at the AAU meet in 1934 and 1935; he set his lifetime best, 25 ft 5+1⁄2 in (7.76 m), at the 1935 championships.[2][4]
At the 1936 Olympic Trials Brooks placed second behind Owens with a jump of 25 ft 3+3⁄8 in (7.70 m), making the American team for the Olympic Games in Berlin.[3]: 83 He placed seventh in the Olympic final, reaching a wind-aided 7.41 m (24 ft 3+3⁄4 in) on his best attempt.[5] Brooks took second at the AAU meet in 1937, his final podium appearance.[4]
In addition to his own career, Brooks had a role in coaching Tidye Pickett, the first African-American woman to compete in the Olympic Games.[3]: 86 [6]: 43–45 In 2016, the 1936 Olympic journey of the eighteen Black American athletes, including Brooks and Pickett, was documented in the film Olympic Pride, American Prejudice.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Hill, E. Garry. "A History of the NCAA Championships: Men's Long Jump" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved November 29, 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "John Brooks". Track and Field Statistics. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
- ^ a b c Hymans, Richard (2008). "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field" (PDF). USA Track & Field. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
- ^ a b c Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian; Track & Field News. "A History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2015". Track & Field News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
- ^ "John Brooks Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
- ^ Stout, Glenn (4 April 2011). Yes, She Can!: Women's Sports Pioneers. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780547574097.
- ^ Henderson, Odie (2016-08-05). "Olympic Pride, American Prejudice movie review (2016)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
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