McKenley Herb

Herb Mackenley was born on July 10, 1922 in Pleasant Valley, Clarendon Parish, into a family of a doctor. He studied at Calabar High School in St. Andrew County, he was already an excellent runner, he won the national championship among young men. In 1942, Mackenley received a sports scholarship at Boston College ^[3] .

In 1945, he transferred to the University of Illinois , where coach Leo Johnson began working with him. In 1947-1948, McKenley three times improved the world record in 400 meters , on July 2, 1948 in Milwaukee he achieved a result of 45.9 seconds. In 1948, Herb was a favorite of the London Olympics . In parallel with 400 meters, he also competed in a distance of 200 meters. Both went to the finals, where excessive self-confidence cost him victory. Too relaxed, Mackenley lost to compatriot Arthur Wint at a distance of 400 meters 21 hundredths of a second. In the relay, the Jamaicans were left without medals due to muscle strain, all the same Wint, who ran in the third stage (Mackenley had to run in the fourth). And in the run for 200 meters Herb took only fourth place ^[3] .

Four years later, at the Olympic Games in Helsinki , Mackenley again participated in the final races at two distances - 100 and 400 meters, in addition, he competed in the relay 4x400 meters. At the finish of the hundred-meter race, he seemed to be ahead of the American Lindy Remigino , having run a distance in 10.80 seconds. However, the judges gave the victory to Remigino, who was faster by one hundredth of a second. Four days later, Mackenley became second and at a distance of 400 meters. He was too focused on the full-time confrontation with Wint, which allowed another compatriot, George Roden , to circumvent himself. Finally, in a 4x400 meter relay race, Mackenley won his only Olympic gold medal. Moreover, this victory was won largely due to the individual efforts of Herb. He took the baton from Wint in the third stage, when the backlog of American Charlie Moore, the champion in the 400 meters hurdles, was 12 meters. Mackenley ran his segment in a record time of 44.6 seconds, passed the baton to Rodin, already ahead of the opponent. As a result, the Jamaican team set a new world record and won gold medals ^[3] .

After completing his own sports career, Mackenley coached Jamaican athletes, was the coach of the Jamaican team from 1954 to 1973, even in his advanced years he helped young athletes in every possible way, sometimes he fed and dressed them from his own pocket. In addition, for twelve years he served as president of the Jamaican Amateur Athletics Association, and was a member of various IAAF committees. In 1987, Mackenley was awarded the IAAF Veteran Prize, in 2003 he was one of the first to be admitted to the Hall of Fame of the Caribbean and Central American Athletics Association ^[4] , and in 2004 he was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit ^[3] .

Mackenley died on November 26, 2007 in Kingston . He was married, had two sons and two daughters ^[3] .

• Herb Mackenley - Olympic Statistics at Sports-Reference.com
• Litsky, Frank. Herb McKenley, 85, Top Jamaican Runner, Is Dead . The New York Times (November 28, 2007). Date of treatment January 7, 2016.