Leighton Dye

Leighton William Charles Dye (October 30, 1901 – October 25, 1977)^[1] was an American hurdler. He placed fourth in the 110 m hurdles at the 1928 Summer Olympics and was United States champion in 1926.

Leighton Dye

Personal information
Nationality	American
Born	(1901-10-30)October 30, 1901 St. Louis, USA
Died	25 October 1977(1977-10-25) (aged 75) Naples, USA
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	82 kg (181 lb; 12.9 st)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	110 metres hurdles
Club	Los Angeles Athletics Team
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	110 m hurdles: 14.6 (1928)

Biography

Dye was born in St. Louis, Missouri on October 30, 1901.^[1] Representing coach Dean Cromwell's USC Trojans, Dye won the IC4A 120 yd (109.7 m) hurdles title as a junior in 1925, running 14.8;^[2][3] USC won that year's IC4A team title.^[4] Later that year he placed third at the national championships, behind Olympic finalist George Guthrie and NCAA champion Hugo Leistner.^[5] In 1926 Dye repeated as IC4A champion, this time in 14.7,^[2][6] and placed second to Guthrie at the NCAA championships;^[7] the Trojans again won the IC4A team title, and would have also won the NCAA title if one had been awarded that year.^[6][8] Dye then won at the national championships in 14.6, equalling both his personal best and Guthrie's meeting record from the previous year.^[5][9][10]

Dye again ran 14.6, this time for the metric 110 m hurdles, at the 1928 Southwestern Olympic Tryouts, qualifying for the final Olympic Trials;^[11] the time broke Earl Thomson's world record for the metric distance of 14.8,^[11] although it was still inferior to Thomson's 14.4 for the imperial hurdles and was never ratified as a world record.^[1][12] At the final Trials in Cambridge Dye placed third behind Steve Anderson and John Collier, qualifying for the Olympics.^[12]

At the Olympics in Amsterdam Dye won his heat in 15.0 and then his semi-final in 14.8, a time that equalled both the Olympic record and Thomson's still-official metric world record; however, South Africa's George Weightman-Smith ran 14.6 in a subsequent semi-final.^[1] In the final Dye placed fourth behind Sid Atkinson, Anderson and Collier, but defeated Weightman-Smith.^[1]

Dye later became a sales executive for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.^[13] He died in Naples, Florida on October 25, 1977.^[1]

References

1. . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
2. "IC4A Championships (1876-1942)". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
3. "Galaxy of Stars in A. A. U. Meet at S. F." Berkeley Daily Gazette. June 25, 1925. p. 9. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
4. "Trojans Capture Athletic Events At Franklin Oval". Bakersfield Morning Echo. May 31, 1925. p. 2. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
5. Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian; Track & Field News. . Track & Field News. Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
6. "Barber Fails to Qualify at I.C.4-A". Oakland Tribune. May 29, 1926. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
7. Hill, E. Garry. "A History of the NCAA Championships" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
8. "Eight Records Broken in College Track Meet". Salt Lake Tribune. June 13, 1926. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
9. "Westerners In The Lead". Beatrice Daily Sun. July 6, 1926. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
10. "Leighton Dye". trackfield.brinkster.net. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
11. "School Youth Beats Paddock, Hurdle Mark Is Broken". Havre Daily News Promoter. June 17, 1928. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
12. Hymans, Richard. . USA Track & Field; Track & Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
13. "Death Notices". Naples Daily News. October 26, 1977. Retrieved November 2, 2014.