Sport Athletics Role Olympic athlete Event(s) 100 m Height 1.65 m | Weight 54 kg Name Foy Draper | |
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Born November 26, 1911 Georgetown, Texas, United States Alma mater University of Southern California Club USC Trojans, Los Angeles Died February 1, 1943, Kasserine, Tunisia Education University of Southern California Olympic medals Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay Similar People Frank Wykoff, Jesse Owens, Ralph Metcalfe, Orazio Mariani | ||
Personal best(s) 100 m – 10.3 (1936) | ||
Foy Draper (November 26, 1911 – February 1, 1943) was an American track and field athlete who won a gold medal in 4 × 100 m relay at the 1936 Summer Olympics. As a University of Southern California student, Foy Draper won the IC4A championships in 200 m in 1935.
He reportedly held the world record for the 100-yard dash, at the time that would have been a hand timed 9.4, made all that more remarkable with Draper standing only 5'5".
At the Berlin Olympics, Draper ran the third leg in the American 4 × 100 m relay team, which won the gold medal in a world record time of 39.8.
During World War II, Draper served as a pilot on a twin-engine attack bomber A-20B 'Havoc' in Thelepte, Tunisia. On January 4, 1943, Draper took off to fly to Fonduck, Tunisia to take part of the battle of Kassarine Pass. Draper and his two crewmen never returned and his death date is usually given as February 1, 1943. He is buried in the North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission in Carthage, Tunisia. His gravestone shows January 4, 1943 as his date of death.