Forrest Towns

Forrest Towns, born on February sixth, nineteen fourteen, in Fitzgerald, Georgia, was a remarkable American track and field athlete and coach. Growing up in Augusta, he initially showcased his athletic prowess in football at Richmond Academy. His journey into athletics took a pivotal turn in nineteen thirty-three when a sports journalist discovered his high jumping skills, leading to a football scholarship at the University of Georgia.

While at the University of Georgia from nineteen thirty-three to nineteen thirty-seven, Towns shifted his focus from high jumping to the high hurdles. His dedication paid off as he clinched five Southeastern Conference individual titles and two NCAA titles, including both the NCAA and AAU titles in the one hundred twenty-yard hurdles in nineteen thirty-five. This success marked the beginning of an impressive sixty-race winning streak that lasted until nineteen thirty-seven.

In nineteen thirty-six, Towns made history by becoming the first Georgian to be named to the American Olympic team. Competing in the Berlin Olympics, he not only won the gold medal in the one hundred ten-meter hurdles but also set a world record with a time of fourteen point one seconds. Shortly after the Games, he became the first hurdler to break the fourteen-second barrier, dramatically improving the world record to thirteen point seven seconds during a race in Oslo, a record that would stand until nineteen fifty.

After his illustrious athletic career, Towns returned to his alma mater as the head track and field coach, a role he held until nineteen seventy-five. His contributions to the sport were recognized posthumously when he passed away from a heart attack in Athens, Georgia, in nineteen ninety-one at the age of seventy-seven. The University honored his legacy by naming the Spec Towns Track after him in nineteen ninety-one and establishing the annual Spec Towns Invitational.

Towns' accolades include induction into the Georgia Hall of Fame in nineteen sixty-seven, the USATF Hall of Fame in nineteen seventy-five, and the University of Georgia Athletic Association’s Circle of Honor in nineteen ninety-seven. In twenty twenty-five, he became the first University of Georgia track athlete to be inducted into the Collegiate Track & Field/Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame. Additionally, he served as the official starter for the inaugural Peachtree Road Race on July fourth, nineteen seventy.