Jim Hines became the first male athlete to run the 100 meters in under 10 seconds in 1968, and later that year won the gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics in a staggering 9.95 seconds over the distance. After 15 years of setting world records, he died Saturday. he was 76 years old.
His death was confirmed by obituary No details are provided on the official Olympic website.
The first time Hines officially broke the 10-second barrier was in the 100m at the 1968 U.S. Outdoor Athletics Championships in Sacramento, when he won the 100m by hand in 9.9 seconds.
Hines was confident in the months leading up to the tournament. Asked if he thought the Oakland Tribune would win in Mexico City, he said, “Yeah, sure.”
The 1968 Olympics are widely remembered for the civil rights movement hosted by two African-American medalists in the 200-meter race, Tommy Smith and John Carlos. They stood on the winner’s podium as ‘The World’ and raised their fists in solidarity with the Black Power movement. The Stars and Stripes” flowed.
Hynes, who is also black, declined to comment when asked what reporters thought of the attempt to organize a black boycott of the 1968 Olympics. But in 1991, he told the Los Angeles Times that not all black athletes at the convention, including himself, agreed with the protest.
“Most of us felt that the best way black athletes could voice their opinions was to go all out and give it their all,” Hines said. “Tommy and John felt that what they were doing was for all black athletes and black men in America.
In the 100m final, Hines faced Jamaican sprinter Lennox Miller and his American teammate. charles green and Mel Pender.
In 1974 Pender said: new york times Hines used his confidence to intimidate opponents.
“You can hear him say, ‘I’m ready, baby,'” Pender said. “He says he can’t lose, or rather, he doesn’t mind.”
Hines told the Tribune that he thinks Green is the biggest threat in the gold medal race, but added, “To tell you the truth, I’m faster than him.”
In Mexico City, Hines jumped off the block, wide-eyed, clenched teeth, and ran with the wind at his back. he stood at the head of the group and cut the tape.
“It was the best start of my life and the best 100 I’ve ever raced,” he later said.
His 100m record held until Calvin Smith broke it in 1983 with a speed of 9.93.of website World Athletics, the world governing body of athletics, lists Usain Bolt as the current world record holder, who set a time of 9.58 seconds at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.
Hines also won gold at the 1968 Olympics, helping teammates Pender, Green and Ronnie Ray Smith to victory in the men’s 4×100 relay for the United States.
After the 1968 track and field season, Hines coveted his speed and played in the American Football League. He joined the Miami Dolphins as a receiver, but he gave up a chance to make it to the Olympics, which at the time required him to be an amateur player.
He played for Miami in 1969, but recorded two receptions and only one rushing attempt during the season. The Dolphins then traded him to the Kansas City Chiefs, but he didn’t play in the 1970 season and soon left professional football.
According to World Athletics, James Ray Hines was born on September 10, 1946 in Dumas, Arkansas and was raised in Oakland, California. website. His father Charlie was a construction worker. His mother, Minnie West Hines, worked in a cannery, according to the Arkansas Encyclopedia.
As a boy, Hines was more interested in baseball and football than running, but his speed impressed the track coach at Oakland’s McClymons High School, who invited him to join the team.
Hines attended Texas Southern University in Houston, where he did track and field. He was drafted by the Dolphins in 1968, even though he hadn’t played soccer since high school. He delayed signing a contract with the Dolphins to compete in the Olympics.
After his football career ended, Hines played professionally, competing in competitions in his 30s, but at times struggled to make a living. After retiring from sports, he worked as a social worker for many years and founded a charity to help people in the Auckland area.
Information about his survivors was not immediately available.
Kitty Bennett contributed to the research.