View source for Ray Ewry

{{short description|American track and field athlete}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name             = Ray Ewry
| image            = Ray Ewry 1908b.jpg
| caption          = Ewry at the 1908 Olympics
| full_name        = Raymond Clarence Ewry
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1873|10|14}}
| birth_place      = [[Lafayette, Indiana]], U.S.
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1937|09|29|1873|10|14}}
| death_place      = [[Long Island, New York]], U.S.
| height           = {{convert|1.85|m|ftin|abbr=on|order=flip}}
| weight           = {{convert|79|kg|lb|abbr=on|order=flip}}
| sport            = Athletics
| event            = standing high, long, and triple jump
| club             = Purdue Boilermakers, West Lafayette, Indiana;<br />NYAC, New York
| pb               = sHJ – 1.675 m (1900)<br />sLJ – 3.47 m (1904)<br />sTJ – 10.86 m (1901)<ref name=r1 />
| alma_mater       = [[Purdue University]]
| show-medals      = yes
| medaltemplates   = 
{{MedalSport | Men's [[athletics (sport)|athletics]] }}
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Olympic Games]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1900 Summer Olympics|1900 Paris]] | [[Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's standing long jump|Standing long jump]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1900 Summer Olympics|1900 Paris]] | [[Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's standing high jump|Standing high jump]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1900 Summer Olympics|1900 Paris]] | [[Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's standing triple jump|Standing triple jump]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1904 Summer Olympics|1904 St. Louis]] | [[Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics – Men's standing long jump|Standing long jump]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1904 Summer Olympics|1904 St. Louis]] | [[Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics – Men's standing high jump|Standing high jump]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1904 Summer Olympics|1904 St. Louis]] | [[Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics – Men's standing triple jump|Standing triple jump]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1908 Summer Olympics|1908 London]] | [[Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's standing long jump|Standing long jump]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1908 Summer Olympics|1908 London]] | [[Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's standing high jump|Standing high jump]] }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Intercalated Games]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1906 Intercalated Games|1906 Athens]] | [[Athletics at the 1906 Intercalated Games|Standing long jump]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1906 Intercalated Games|1906 Athens]] | [[Athletics at the 1906 Intercalated Games|Standing high jump]] }}
}}

'''Raymond Clarence Ewry''' (October 14, 1873 – September 29, 1937) was an American [[Track and field|track and field athlete]] who won eight gold medals at the [[Olympic Games]] and two gold medals at the [[Intercalated Games]] (1906 in [[Athens]]). This puts him among the [[List of multiple Olympic gold medalists|most successful Olympians]] of all time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78385 |title=Ray Ewry |work=Olympedia |access-date=December 24, 2020}}</ref>

==Personal life and early career==
Ewry was born in [[Lafayette, Indiana]], and contracted [[polio]] as a young boy. In his childhood, he used a [[wheelchair]],<ref name=r1 /><ref>{{cite web |title=RAY EWRY MEDALS |url=http://www.olympic.org/ray-ewry |website=Official website of the Olympic Movement |access-date=June 23, 2015}}</ref> and it was feared that he might become paralysed for life.

However, Ewry did his own exercises and overcame his illness. Ewry attended [[Purdue University]] in 1890–1897, where he captained the track and field team, played [[American football]],<ref name=r1 /> and became a member of [[Sigma Nu]] fraternity.  After receiving a graduate degree in mechanical engineering at Purdue, he moved to New York. There he worked as a hydraulics engineer and became a member of the [[New York Athletic Club]]. He specialized in now defunct events, the standing jumps: the [[standing high jump]], the [[standing long jump]] and the [[standing triple jump]]. These events were similar to their modern, normal versions but the athlete jumped without a run-up.<ref name=r1 /><ref name=r2 />

==Career==
Ewry proved to be the best standing jumper in the world. At his first [[1900 Summer Olympics|Olympics]], held in [[Paris]] (1900), he won gold medals in all three standing jumps. Incidentally, all three finals were held on the same day (July 16).

At the [[1904 Summer Olympics]], Ewry successfully defended all three of his titles. The standing triple jump event was discontinued after those Olympics, but Ewry continued to dominate the two remaining standing jump events at both the 1906 Intercalated Games and [[1908 Summer Olympics|1908 Games]], thus bringing his total to 10 Olympic gold titles including two from the Intercalated Games, the highest number achieved until 2008.<ref name=r1 /> The [[1906 Intercalated Games]] are currently not officially recognised by the [[International Olympic Committee|IOC]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Rohde |first=John |title=Phelps is clearly No. 1 in career golds; Ewry should be No. 2 |work=The Oklahoman |date=August 13, 2008 |url=http://newsok.com/phelps-is-clearly-no.-1-in-career-golds-ewry-should-be-no.-2/article/3282724 |access-date=October 26, 2017}}</ref> although they were organized as an Olympic event by the IOC. Even if the 1906 games are removed from his totals, he stands ({{As of|2008|lc=on}}) as the 12th most successful Olympian of all time in terms of total individual medals and second most successful in terms of individual gold medals. The standing jumping events were no longer held in the Olympics after 1912.<ref name=r1 />

Ewry's superiority is also displayed by the fact that his [[world record]] in the standing long jump ({{convert|3.47|m|ftin|abbr=on|disp=or}})<ref>{{cite web |url=http://databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=EWRYRAY01 |title=Ray Ewry |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223151536/http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=EWRYRAY01 |archive-date=2007-02-23 |website=databaseolympics.com}}</ref> was still standing when the event was discontinued internationally in the 1930s. In 1974 he was inducted into the [[National Track and Field Hall of Fame]] and in 1983 into the [[United States Olympic Hall of Fame]].<ref name=r2 />

==Longstanding records for Olympic medals==
Ewry's eight Olympic gold medals in individual events (i.e. non-relay), although now second to [[Michael Phelps]]'s 13, was the record, all alone, for 100 years and 23 days—from July 23, 1908, until Phelps won ''his'' eighth on August 15, 2008 (followed by his ninth on August 16).

His record of winning three gold medals in ''one event'', although it had subsequently been equaled by seven other athletes, was not surpassed for 60 years—from 1908 until [[Al Oerter]] won his ''fourth'' gold (discus throw) in 1968, a feat equaled by [[Carl Lewis]] when he won his fourth (long jump) in 1996, [[Michael Phelps]] when he won his fourth (200 meter individual medley) in 2016, and by [[Kaori Icho]] when she won her fourth consecutive gold in women's wrestling in 2016.

Finally, his record of three gold medals in ''two'' events, set in July 1908 (standing long jump on July 20 and standing high jump on July 23) was not surpassed for 108 years—until in 2016 Michael Phelps won his third gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly to win three gold medals in three events (200-meter individual medley, 100-meter butterfly, and 200-meter butterfly). Phelps equaled Ewry's record in 2012, when he won his third gold in the 100 meter butterfly on August 3, having won his third in the 200-meter individual medley on August 2.

Ewry has the most Olympic gold medals with a 100% record—8 individual golds.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sports.bwin.com/en/news/infographics/usain-bolt-eighth-and-michael-phelps-second-so-who-is-the-greatest-olympian-of-all-time,98347.html |title=USAIN BOLT THIRD AND MICHAEL PHELPS SECOND, SO WHO IS THE GREATEST OLYMPIAN OF ALL TIME? |author=Craig Kemp |publisher=ElectraWorks Limited |access-date=December 12, 2017}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last=Genty |first=Clement |author-link=Clement Genty |year=2021 |title=RAY EWRY (1873-1937) Dix fois champion olympique du saut sans élan |publisher=[[L'Harmattan]] |isbn=978-2-343-23212-6}}

==See also==
* [[List of multiple Olympic gold medalists]]
* [[List of multiple Olympic gold medalists in one event]]
* [[List of multiple Summer Olympic medalists]]
* {{portal-inline|Sport of athletics}}

==References==
{{Commons category|Ray Ewry}}
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=r1>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ew/ray-ewry-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417051718/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ew/ray-ewry-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-04-17}}</ref>
<ref name=r2>{{cite web |url=http://www.usatf.org/halloffame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=52 |title=Ray Ewry |website=usatf.org |publisher=[[USA Track & Field]] }}</ref>
}}

==External links==
*{{sports links}}
* {{Team USA Hall of Fame|new_id=ray-ewry|old_id=Ray-Ewry|archive=20230720074711}}

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{{s-bef|before= {{flagicon|GER|1896}} [[Hermann Weingärtner]] }}
{{s-ttl|rows=2|title= [[List of multiple Olympic medalists|Most career Olympic medals]] | years= 1908–1920 }}
{{s-aft|rows=2|after= {{flagicon|USA}} [[Carl Osburn]] }}
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{{s-bef|before= {{flagicon|USA}} [[Robert Garrett]] }}
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{{Footer Olympic Champions Standing Jumps Men}}
{{USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners in men's triple jump}}
{{USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners in men's high jump}}
{{USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners in men's long jump}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ewry, Ray}}
[[Category:1873 births]]
[[Category:1937 deaths]]
[[Category:American men high jumpers]]
[[Category:American men long jumpers]]
[[Category:American men triple jumpers]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1900 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1906 Intercalated Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Purdue University College of Engineering alumni]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1906 Intercalated Games]]
[[Category:Standing high jump]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Indiana]]
[[Category:19th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]