Olympic Games Gold Medalist and athlete. Meadows was an American pole vaulter who won a gold medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Meadows and Bill Sefton, a teammate from the University of Southern California, had a long rivalry. In 1935, they shared the AAU title, and in 1935 and 1936, they won the NCAA championship. They both set new world records of 4.48 m and 4.54 m in May 1937. Meadows won three more times in 1941, setting two more world records (indoors). He cleared 4.42 meters in 1948, but he finished sixth at the Olympic trials and was therefore left out of the Olympic team. In retirement he ran a musical instrument business in Fort Worth, Texas. His winning vault was featured in Leni Riefenstahl's Olympia 1938 film. He was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in1963 and the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016.
Olympic Games Gold Medalist and athlete. Meadows was an American pole vaulter who won a gold medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Meadows and Bill Sefton, a teammate from the University of Southern California, had a long rivalry. In 1935, they shared the AAU title, and in 1935 and 1936, they won the NCAA championship. They both set new world records of 4.48 m and 4.54 m in May 1937. Meadows won three more times in 1941, setting two more world records (indoors). He cleared 4.42 meters in 1948, but he finished sixth at the Olympic trials and was therefore left out of the Olympic team. In retirement he ran a musical instrument business in Fort Worth, Texas. His winning vault was featured in Leni Riefenstahl's Olympia 1938 film. He was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in1963 and the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016.
Bio by: Debbie Gibbons
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