Charles Joseph BACON

A prominent member of the Irish-American AC, Charles Bacon set a new world record of 57.0 in the heats of the 400 m hurdles at the 1908 Olympics. The defending champion, Harry Hillman, brought the record down to 56.4 in the second round but, in the final Bacon beat Hillman on the run-in and further reduced the record to 55.0. Bacon won the AAU junior 880 y title in 1903 but never won a national championship in the senior ranks.

Personal Bests: 400 – unknown; 800 – unknown; 1500 – unknown; 400H – 55.0 (1908); HJ – 5-9 (1.75) (1908).