American
track-and-field athlete, who won the gold medal in the 100-meter race at
the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium. Paddock was known for closing
his races by leaping across the finish line.Charles William Paddock was born in Gainesville, Texas. He grew up in Texas and California and attended the University of Southern California. Paddock won five United States national titles in the early 1920s, two in the 100-yard dash (1921, 1924) and three in the 220-yard dash (1920, 1921, 1924). At the 1920 Olympics Paddock's surge at the finish line allowed him to win the race by a small margin over fellow American Morris Kirksey. He also placed second in the 200-meter dash and was a member of the winning 4 × 100-meter relay team.
At the 1924 Olympics in Paris, France, Paddock placed fifth in the 100-meter dash and second in the 200-meter dash. Four years later he again made the United States Olympic team, but he failed to qualify for the final heat of the 200-meter dash at the 1928 games in Amsterdam, Netherlands. During his career Paddock set numerous world records, including four in one day in 1921, in the 100-meter, 200-meter, 300-yard, and 300-meter distances.
Paddock often worked as a journalist during his track-and-field career, a role that drew disapproval from U.S. track-and-field officials. He retired from track-and-field competition in 1929 and later became a newspaper executive. In 1942 he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. The next year he was killed in an airplane crash. He was inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1976 and into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1991.