Ted Meredith of Mercersburg Academy is still recognized as the greatest American prep runner of all-time. At Princeton in 1912 he took almost two seconds off the national interscholastic record with a 49.2 440y and he set a new 880y record of 1:55.0. Two weeks later he brought the 440y record down to 48.4, and after an impressive showing at the Finals Trials, was selected for three events at the Stockholm Olympics. The 20-year-old schoolboy’s Olympic career started auspiciously. He defeated the defending champion, Mel Sheppard, in the 800 m in a new world record of 1:51.9, and continued on to the 880y mark, where he also posted a new world record of 1:52.5. In the 400 m he misjudged the pace and finished fourth but he claimed a second gold in the 4×400 m relay. On his return from Stockholm, Meredith enrolled at Penn, and at the 1916 IC4A he set a world record of 47.4 for 440y and won the 880y. He retired in 1918 as the holder of the interscholastic, Collegiate, American, and World Records for 400 m, 400y, 800 m, and 880y, and was a member of the relay world record holders for 1,600 m and the mile. Ted Meredith attempted a comeback in 1920, but was eliminated in the semi-finals of the Olympic 400 m. He then closed out his career and became a real estate broker.
Personal Bests: 440y – 47.4 (1916); 880y – 1:52.2 (1916).
United States