Mal Whitfield

Mal Whitfield

Whitfield at the 1948 Summer Olympics.
Personal information
Birth name	Malvin Greston Whitfield
Nickname(s)	Marvelous Mal
Born	(1924-10-11)October 11, 1924 Bay City, Texas, U.S.
Died	November 19, 2015(2015-11-19) (aged 91) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	168 lb (76 kg)
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	400 metres, 800 metres
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	400 m: 45.9 (1953) 800 m: 1:47.9 (1953)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing the  United States Olympic Games 1948 London 800 metres 1948 London 4x400 m relay 1952 Helsinki 800 metres 1952 Helsinki 4x400 m relay 1948 London 400 metres Pan American Games 1951 Buenos Aires 400 metres 1951 Buenos Aires 800 metres 1951 Buenos Aires 4x400 m relay

Malvin Greston "Mal" Whitfield (October 11, 1924 – November 19, 2015) was an athlete, goodwill ambassador, and airman. Nicknamed "Marvelous Mal", he was the Olympic champion in the 800 meters at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics, and a member of the 1948 gold medal team in the 4 × 400 meters relay. Overall, Whitfield was a five-time Olympic medalist (three gold, one silver, one bronze). After his competitive career, he worked for forty-seven years as a coach, goodwill ambassador, and athletic mentor in Africa on behalf of the United States Information Service.

Whitfield was born in Bay City, Texas. He moved to the Watts district of Los Angeles when he was four; at that age, his father died, and his mother died when he was 12, after which he was raised by his older sister. He sneaked into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during the 1932 Summer Olympic Games, where he watched Eddie Tolan defeat Ralph Metcalfe in the 100 meter race, an event that spurred his own Olympic goals.

Whitfield joined the United States Army Air Forces in 1943 as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen. After World War II, he remained in the military, but also enrolled at Ohio State University. In the early 1950s, he also served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War, flying 27 combat missions as a tail gunner. Under the coaching of Larry Snyder, he won the NCAA title while at Ohio State in the 800 m in 1948 and 880 yd in 1949. After leaving the university, he won the AAU title from 1949 to 1951 at 800 m, in 1953 and 1954 at 880 yd and in 1952 at 400 m. He also won the 800 m at the 1951 Pan American Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.