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{{Short description|American sprinter (born 1931)}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Thane Baker
| image = 
| caption = 
| fullname = Walter Thane Baker
| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|October 4, 1931}}
| birth_place = [[Elkhart, Kansas]], U.S.
| headercolor = lightsteelblue
| show-medals = yes
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalSport | Men's [[Athletics at the Summer Olympics|athletics]] }}
{{MedalCountry| the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalOlympics}}
{{MedalGold | [[1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Melbourne]] | [[Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay|4 × 100 m relay]]}}
{{MedalSilver | [[1952 Summer Olympics|1952 Helsinki]] | [[Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics - Men's 200 metres|200 metres]]}}
{{MedalSilver |1956 Melbourne | [[Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 metres|100 metres]]}}
{{MedalBronze |1956 Melbourne| [[Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics - Men's 200 metres|200 metres]]}}
}}

'''Walter Thane Baker''' (born October 4, 1931) is an American former sprinter and winner of the gold medal in the [[4 × 100 m relay]] at the [[1956 Summer Olympics]] in [[Melbourne, Australia]], with a new world record of 39.5 seconds. At those Olympics, Baker also won a silver medal in the 100-meter and a bronze in the 200-meter. At the [[1952 Summer Olympics]] in [[Helsinki]], he won a silver medal in the 200-meter.<ref>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ba/thane-baker-1.html |title=Thane Baker |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417094704/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ba/thane-baker-1.html |archive-date=2020-04-17}}</ref>

==Biography==
Baker was born in [[Elkhart, Kansas]]. In 1953, as a [[Kansas State University]] student, Baker won the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] championship in the {{convert|220|yd}}, and in 1956 he won the [[Amateur Athletic Union|AAU]] championships in 200 m. Baker also won numerous conference titles at Kansas State, and was a four-time [[All America]]n.

Before the [[Melbourne]] [[Olympic Games|Olympics]], Baker equaled [[Jesse Owens]]'s long-standing 100 m [[world record]] time of 10.2 seconds, and also twice equaled the 200 m world record of [[Men's 200 metres world record progression|20.6]]. He tied the world record in the 100 yd in 9.3 seconds, twice tied the world record in 60 yd indoor events at 6.1 seconds, and set the world record in the 300 yd at 29.4 seconds. He co-held several world records in relays.

After turning forty, Baker participated in the Masters Track and Field program and held numerous [[Masters Athletics World Records|world records]] in the 100 yd, 100 m, 220 y, 200 m, and several relays in the age groups categories of 40–44, 45–49, and 50–54 years of age. Baker is enshrined in the [[USATF Masters Hall of Fame]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.legacy.usatf.org/HallOfFame/Masters/|title=USATF - Masters Hall of Fame|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the [[Kansas Sports Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kshof.org/hof-profiles.cfm?record_id=4 |title=Kansas Sports Hall of Fame |access-date=2006-09-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927042937/http://www.kshof.org/hof-profiles.cfm?record_id=4 |archive-date=2007-09-27 }}</ref> He is also in the Kansas State University Sports Hall of Fame and the Kansas State High School Activities Hall of Fame. In 1978, he was named a "Silver Athletics Top Ten" for personal achievement.

He began as a track meet "starter" in 1959 and has started NCAA National Championships and National Federation Championships. The year 2010 was his forty-fourth year of serving at the Texas Relays. He was selected "Outstanding Official" by the Texas Relays Committee in 2010 and inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ttfca2.wixsite.com/txtfhalloffame/inductees |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116170038/http://ttfca2.wixsite.com/txtfhalloffame/inductees |archive-date=2017-01-16 |title=txtfhalloffame}}</ref> He also has the track named after him in his home town of Elkhart, Kansas.

He retired in 1983 as a colonel from the United States Air Force after serving thirty years of active and reserve status. Additionally, in 1992, he retired from Mobil Research and Development after thirty-nine years of employment. His civic involvement included serving as president of a Rotary Club chapter, a member of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association board of directors, the United States Olympians board of directors, and volunteered on other boards and associations.

Thane Baker's daughter, Catherine Baker Nicholson JD, wrote a book about his first Olympics called Running in Borrowed Shoes: Thane Baker and the 1956 Summer Games, which Texas Christian University Press published in Summer 2024. Because he did not expect to make the 1952 Olympic team, Baker competed in the Men's 200 meters and won a silver medal wearing borrowed socks and borrowed shoes.

BYUtv produced a video about Thane Baker's experiences in 2024.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny3KaKWbPdA | title=The Dream: Kansas State Big Story | website=[[YouTube]] | date=9 February 2024 }}</ref>

Baker is the oldest living United States Olympic medalist in track, and ranks third in the world in the same category.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ptchir |url=https://acsweb.ucsd.edu/~ptchir/ |website=acsweb.ucsd.edu}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions 4x100 m Men|1956}}
{{Footer US NC 200m Men}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1952 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1956 Summer Olympics}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Thane}}
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Elkhart, Kansas]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Kansas]]
[[Category:Kansas State Wildcats men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:American men sprinters]]
[[Category:World record setters in the sport of athletics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:American referees and umpires]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:American masters athletes]]
[[Category:NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]