Woodruff, John Youie

▪ 2008

      American track and field athlete

born July 5, 1915, Connellsville, Pa.

died Oct. 30, 2007, Fountain Hills, Ariz.

won gold in the 800-m race at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games in a come-from-behind (he was running last) finish that established him as a world-class runner. His victory and those of Jesse Owens and other African American teammates embarrassed German leader Adolf Hitler. At the time of his Olympic triumph, Woodruff was a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh. During his college years he won the Amateur Athletic Union 800-m championship in 1937 and the 880-yd National Collegiate Athletic Association title for three years (1937–39). After graduation he became a career army officer. Woodruff was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1978.

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