Ray Ewry Video | Olympic Competition Highlights

Raymond "Ray" Clarence Ewry was an American track and field athlete who won 8 gold medals at the Olympic Games and 2 gold medals at the Intercalated Games. This puts him among the most successful Olympians of all time. His 8 Olympic gold medals in individual events are second only to Michael Phelps's 11. Ewry was born in Lafayette, Indiana, and contracted polio as a young boy. For a short...  MORE

Raymond "Ray" Clarence Ewry was an American track and field athlete who won 8 gold medals at the Olympic Games and 2 gold medals at the Intercalated Games. This puts him among the most successful Olympians of all time. His 8 Olympic gold medals in individual events are second only to Michael Phelps's 11. Ewry was born in Lafayette, Indiana, and contracted polio as a young boy. For a short while, he was in a wheelchair, 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, where he became a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity. After receiving a graduate degree in engineering at Purdue, he became a member of the New York Athletic Club. There, he specialised in now defunct events, the standing jumps: the standing high jump, the standing long jump and the standing triple jump. These events are identical to their normal versions, but are contested without a run-up. Ewry proved to be the best standing jumper in the world. At his first Olympics, held in Paris, he won gold medals in all three standing jumps. Incidentally, all three finals were held on the same day. LESS