Otto_Anderson

Otto Anderson

Otto Anderson

American decathlete

Otto Anderson (October 28, 1900 – November 15, 1963) was an American athlete.[1] He competed at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics and the 1924 Paris Olympics,.[2][3]

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Anderson was born in Guthrie, Oklahoma on October 28, 1900.[citation needed] He started his athletics career with the hurdles while still a student at Pomona High School. Still at school, he qualified for the 1920 Antwerp Olympics team in the hop, skip and jump (now called the triple jump).[4] He competed at that event, but the results are proving difficult to find.[2][5]

After leaving school, he attended the University of Southern California (U.S.C.) where he added more track events and football to his activities.[4] In the 1922 AAU Championship he finished second in the 220 yard hurdles.[2] In March 1923 at the annual games between Stanford University and U.S.C., he equalled the world record for the 220 yard "low hurdles" event, in 24.8 seconds.[6]

Anderson qualified for the fourth of four places to compete in the men's decathlon at the 1924 Olympics.[7] Once in Paris, he was injured in a bad landing in the sawdust pit during pole vault practice. His Achilles tendon was torn loose among other injuries, and he was unable to complete the competition.[3][8]

1925 was his final year at U.S.C. and he was captain of their track team, and captain of the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (I.C.A.A.A.A.) champions.[5][9] After graduating from U.S.C., he competed for Los Angeles AC and Hollywood AC. At the national AAU Championship he finished second in the decathlon.[2][9]

Later he took a coaching role at Fremont High School in Los Angeles, where he coached Anne Vrana-O’Brien, who went on to represent the USA at the Olympics in 1928 and 1936.[10][11]

References

  1. [1]
    "Otto Anderson". Olympedia. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  2. [2]
    Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Otto Anderson Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  3. [3]
    "Anderson Wins Trip To Paris". Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. June 12, 1924. p. 14. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  4. [4]
    "Famous Athletes Home Grown". The Bulletin. Pomona, California. December 14, 1923. p. 3. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  5. [5]
    "He Leads The Trojan Troupe". The Los Angeles Times. April 10, 1925. p. 37.
  6. [6]
    "New Hurdling Phenom Shares Spotlight With Sir Charles". Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. Los Angeles, California. March 24, 1923. p. 19. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  7. [7]
    "A History of the US Olympic Decathlon Trials". DECA The Decathlon Association. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  8. [8]
    "Otto Anderson Returns Home From Olympics; Injures Self in Practice". The Bulletin. July 31, 1924. p. 7. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  9. [9]
    "Pononan Seeks National Title". The Pomona Progress Bulletin. July 11, 1925. p. 9. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  10. [10]
    "USA Births and Death on this Day at the Olympics". TeamUSA. July 30, 2012. p. 4. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  11. [11]
    "Anne Vrana-O'Brien". www.olympedia.org. Olympedia. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
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