John Carlos

About John Carlos

John Wesley Carlos (born June 5, 1945 in Harlem, New York) is an African American former track and field athlete and professional football player. He was the bronze-medal winner of the 200-meter at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Born in Harlem, New York, John Carlos was a gifted high school athlete and outstanding student who went on to study at East Texas State University on a full track-and-field scholarship. His athletic skills were the major reason ETSU won its first Lone Star Conference Championship. After his first year, Carlos matriculated to San Jose State University where he was trained by future National Track & Field Hall of Fame coach, Lloyd (Bud) Winter.

Carlos became a founding member of the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR), initially created to organize a boycott of the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. At the 1968 Olympic Trials, Carlos stunned the track world when he won the 200-meter dash in 19.92 seconds, beating world-record holder Tommie Smith and surpassing his record by 0.3 seconds. Though the record was never ratified because the spike formation on Carlos' shoes wasn't accepted at the time, the race reinforced his status as a world-class sprinter.