Ron Freeman
American athlete
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ronald John Freeman III (born June , 1947 in Elizabeth, New Jersey) is an American former athlete. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, Freeman won a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay and a bronze medal in the 400 meters.[1] Freeman ran the second leg on the American 4 × 400 m relay team, which won the gold medal with a new world record of 2.56.16. His relay leg time (43.2s) was the fastest 4 × 400 meter relay leg ever run and his time stood for more than 25 years.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ronald John Freeman III | ||||||||||||||
| Born | June 12, 1947 (age 79) Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 82 kg (181 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
Event | 400 m | ||||||||||||||
| Club | Arizona State Sun Devils track and field | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | 220 yd – 21.2 (1963) 400 m – 44.41 (1968) 880 yd – 1:50.4 (1968) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Raised in Elizabeth, Freeman attended Thomas Jefferson High School and Arizona State University.[2]
Freeman finished second behind Adrian Metcalfe in the 440 yards event at the British 1963 AAA Championships.[3][4][5]
He is sometimes confused with Ron Freeman (born 1940), an All-American 400 metres runner in 1963 who also ran for Arizona State and set an earlier world record in the mile relay.[6] Ron Freeman III, born seven years later from New Jersey, was an All-American five years later for the Sun Devils in 1968; the two are not related.[7][8][9]
Awards
In August 2017, Freeman received the Athletes in Excellence Award from The Foundation for Global Sports Development in recognition of his community service efforts and work with youth.[10]
Notes
- Freeman ran the fastest 400 meter relay leg in the history of the Olympic Games which stood for more than 25 years.