Matthews, Vincent

Vincent “Vince” Edward Matthews (born December 16, 1947, Queens , New York , USA ) is an American athlete , sprinter , champion of the 1968 Olympic Games in the relay 4x400 meters and the 1972 Olympic Games in 400 meters .

Vincent "Vince" Matthews
general information
Full name	English Vincent "Vince" Edward Matthews
Date and place of birth	December 16, 1947 ( 1947-12-16 ) (71 years old)
Citizenship	USA
Growth	187 cm
Weight
Club	Boha club
IAAF
Personal records
400 m	44.66 (1972)
International medals
Olympic Games Gold Mexico City 1968 relay race 4x400 m Gold Munich 1972 400 m Pan American Games Silver Winnipeg 1967 400 m Gold Winnipeg 1967 relay race 4x400 m

Matthews was one of the best American long sprinters . He first made himself known in the mid-1960s and became known for fierce rivalry with future Olympic champion and world record holder Lee Evans . Opponents met on a treadmill as early as adolescence.

In 1967, Matthews ran a 400-meter distance in 45.0 s, won the gold of the Pan American games in the 4 × 400 meter relay (along with Lee Evans , Emmett Taylor and Albert Stinson) and silver at a distance of 400 m, where he lost only to Lee Evans.

In 1968, two weeks before the qualifying tournament for the US Olympic team, Matthews showed 44.4 seconds at the Echo Summit , which was 0.1 second better than Tommy Smith's world record. This result, however, was not ratified as a world record, as Matthews fled in non-standard shoes .

During the qualifying tournament for the 1968 U.S. Olympic team, Matthews took fourth place, so at the Olympics in Mexico City he participated only in the relay, where together with Ron Freeman, Larry James and Lee Evans, he won a gold medal with a world record of 2.56.16, which was surpassed only 24 years later. At the time of setting the record, Matthews fled in the first stage of the relay.

After the 1968 Olympics, Matthews left sports, but returned in 1972 and finished third in the qualifying rounds for the U.S. Olympic team after John Smith and Wayne Colette, leaving his old rival Lee Evans in fourth place. In Munich, in the final of the 400m race, he made a sensation, becoming the Olympic champion with a result of 44.66 seconds. Wayne Colette took second place with a result of 44.80 s, John Smith did not come to the finish line, because at the very beginning of the distance he received a hamstring injury.

During the award ceremony, Matthews and his teammate Wayne Colette organized an anti-racist speech, which was expressed in a defiant disregard for the American flag and anthem and Black Power gestures (arm raised with clenched fist) towards the audience. A similar performance at the previous Olympics in Mexico City was organized by gold and bronze medalists in the 200-meter race Tommy Smith and John Carlos . For this performance, Matthews and Colette (just like Smith and Carlos 4 years before) were expelled from the US team and expelled from the Olympic village. As a result, the US team was unable to assemble a team for the 4x400 m relay and did not participate in this discipline.

The Associated Press reported that Matthews and Colette’s behavior at the ceremony was “disrespectful” and described what happened with the following words:

“Colette, barefoot, jumped from second place to the first place and stood next to his comrade. They stood sideways to the flag, twisted medals in their hands, Matthews rubbed his chin with his hand. Their shoulders were down, none of them stood straight and looked at the flag. ... The whistling [from the stands] continued, and then Colette at the entrance to the locker room raised his hand with a clenched fist towards the crowd. " ^[one]

Original text (German)

"Collett, bare-footed, leaped from the No. 2 tier to the No. 1 stand beside his teammate. They stood sideways to the flag, twirling their medals, with Matthews stroking his chin. Their shoulders slumped, neither stood erect nor looked at the flag. ... As whistles and catcalls continued, Collett raised a clenched fist to the crowd before entering the portal of the dressing room. "