Joseph Nathaniel Jr. DELOACH

Joe DeLoach started out as an American football player, but became a sprinter after enrolling at the University of Houston. DeLoach and Carl Lewis became a training partners in Houston. DeLoach’s best year was 1988, which he started by winning the 1988 NCAA Championship in the 100 metres. At the 1988 US Olympic Trials, DeLoach upset Lewis by winning the 200, while finishing fifth in the 100. In the Olympic 200 final, Lewis seemed headed for victory entering the final straight, but DeLoach caught him on the run-in, to win in an Olympic record time of 19.75. This would be the only time Lewis was defeated in an individual Olympic final.

DeLoach never again approached his 1988 level, and after missing the 1992 Olympics due to injury, he retired. In 2003, Dr. Wade Exum, the US Olympic Committee’s director of drug control administration from 1991-2000, gave copies of documents to Sports Illustrated that revealed that over 100 American athletes who failed drug tests, and should have been prevented from competing in the Olympics, were nevertheless cleared to compete, including both Lewis and DeLoach. DeLoach has never commented on the subject.

Personal Best: 200 – 19.75 (1988).