Lee Calhoun

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Read Next

Men's Giant Slalom Italy's Alberto Tomba on the way to retaining his gold medal at Val d'Isere France 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics

The Origin of the Winter Olympics

Start of Men's 100 meter sprint where Usain Bolt wins and sets a new world record at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games August 18, 2008 in Beijing, China.

How Fast Is the World’s Fastest Human?

Olympics: Racket Sports

DECEMBER 2: An unidentified competitor jumps with his horse at the OTP Equitation World Cup, December 2, 2011 in Budapest, Hungary

Olympics: Equestrian

Rio Recap

Discover

The Jeff Koons tulips sculputure outside the Guggenheim Museums in Bilbao, Spain, Basque Country.

What’s the Difference Between Modern and Contemporary Art?

A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England

Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution

Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

12 Greek Gods and Goddesses

The Colosseum, Rome, Italy. Giant amphitheatre built in Rome under the Flavian emperors. (ancient architecture; architectural ruins)

New Seven Wonders of the World

An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.

11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

Camel caravan moving across the Sahara desert sand dunes, Morocco, North Africa

How Do Deserts Form?

Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

Lee Calhoun

American athlete

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Quick Facts

Born:: Feb. 23, 1933, Laurel, Miss., U.S.

Died:: June 21, 1989, Erie, Pa. (aged 56)

Awards And Honors:: Olympic Games

See all related content

Lee Calhoun (born Feb. 23, 1933, Laurel, Miss., U.S.—died June 21, 1989, Erie, Pa.) was an American athlete, the first to win successive gold medals in the Olympics for the 110-metre hurdles. Calhoun competed for North Carolina College, winning national collegiate championships in the 120-yard hurdles in 1956 and 1957; he was national outdoor hurdles champion three times (1956, 1957, and 1959) and indoor 60-yard hurdles champion twice (1956, 1957). In the 110-metre hurdles at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Calhoun got a faster start than his closest rival, the American Jack Davis, and with his shoulder lunged across ...(100 of 210 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.