View source for Mal Whitfield

{{short description|Tuskegee Airman and US Olympic athlete 1924–2015)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Mal Whitfield
| image = Mal Whitfield 1998.jpg
| caption = Whitfield in 1998
| sport = Track and field
| event = [[400 metres]], [[800 metres]]
| club =
| birth_name = Malvin Greston Whitfield
| birth_date = {{birth date|1924|10|11}}
| birth_place = [[Bay City, Texas]], U.S.
| nickname = Marvelous Mal
| residence =
| death_date = {{nowrap|{{death date and age|2015|11|19|1924|10|11}} }}
| death_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
| religion = 
| height = {{convert|6|ft|0|in|cm|abbr=on}}
| weight = {{convert|168|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}
| pb = '''400 m''': 45.9 (1953)<br>'''800&nbsp;m''': 1:47.9 (1953)
| medaltemplates =
{{Medal|Sport|Men's [[sport of athletics|athletics]]}}
{{Medal|Country|the {{USA}}}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Athletics at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1948 Summer Olympics|1948 London]]|[[Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres|800 m]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|1948 London|[[Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 400 metres relay|4 × 400 m relay]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1952 Summer Olympics|1952 Helsinki]]|[[Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres|800 m]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|1952 Helsinki|[[Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 400 metres relay|4 × 400 m relay]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze|1948 London|[[Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres|400 m]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Athletics at the Pan American Games|Pan American Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[Athletics at the 1951 Pan American Games|1951 Buenos Aires]]|[[Athletics at the 1951 Pan American Games – Men's 400 metres|400 m]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|1951 Buenos Aires|[[Athletics at the 1951 Pan American Games – Men's 800 metres|800 m]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|1951 Buenos Aires|[[Athletics at the 1951 Pan American Games – Men's 4 × 400 metres relay|4 × 400 m relay]]}}
}}

'''Malvin Greston Whitfield''' (October 11, 1924 – November 19, 2015) was an American athlete, [[goodwill ambassador]], and [[airman]]. Nicknamed '''Marvelous Mal''', he was the [[Olympic Games|Olympic]] champion in the [[800 metres|800 meters]] at the [[1948 Summer Olympics|1948]] and [[1952 Summer Olympics]], and a member of the [[Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 400 metres relay|1948 gold medal team]] in the [[4 × 400 metres relay]]. Overall, Whitfield was a five-time Olympic medalist (three gold, one silver, one bronze). After his competitive career, he worked for 47 years as a coach, goodwill ambassador, as well as an athletic mentor in [[Africa]] on behalf of the [[United States Information Service]].<ref name="NYT" />

==Early life==
Whitfield was born in [[Bay City, Texas]]. He moved to the [[Watts, Los Angeles|Watts]] district of [[Los Angeles]] when he was 4 years old. At that age, his father died. His mother died when he was 12, after which he was raised by his older sister. He sneaked into the [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]] during the [[1932 Summer Olympic Games]], where he watched [[Eddie Tolan]] defeat [[Ralph Metcalfe]] in the 100 meter race, an event that spurred his own Olympic goals.<ref name="NYT" />

Whitfield joined the [[United States Army Air Forces]] in 1943 as a member of the [[Tuskegee Airmen]].<ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news |last1=Shapira |first1=Ian |title=Olympian and Tuskegee Airman who survived segregation and combat is buried at Arlington |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/olympian-and-tuskegee-airman-who-survived-segregation-and-combat-is-buried-at-arlington/2016/06/08/33070662-2d93-11e6-9b37-42985f6a265c_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=February 26, 2022}}</ref> After [[World War II]], he remained in the military, but also enrolled at [[Ohio State University]]. In the early 1950s, he also served in the [[United States Air Force]] during the [[Korean War]], flying 27 combat missions as a [[tail gunner]].<ref name="teamusa">{{cite web |url=http://www.teamusa.org/News/2015/November/19/Three-Time-Olympic-Track-Champion-Mal-Whitfield-Dies-At-91 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120061426/http://www.teamusa.org/News/2015/November/19/Three-Time-Olympic-Track-Champion-Mal-Whitfield-Dies-At-91 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 20, 2015 |title=Three-Time Olympic Track Champion Mal Whitfield Dies at 91 |publisher=Team USA.org |access-date=November 19, 2015}}</ref> Under the coaching of [[Larry Snyder (athlete)|Larry Snyder]], he won the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] title while at Ohio State in the 800 m in 1948 and 880 yd in 1949. After leaving the university, he won the [[Amateur Athletic Union|AAU]] title from 1949 to 1951 at 800 m, in 1953 and 1954 at 880 yd and in 1952 at 400 m. He also won the 800 m at the 1951 [[Pan American Games]] in [[Buenos Aires]], [[Argentina]].<ref name="Sports Reference">{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/wh/mal-whitfield-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417050955/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/wh/mal-whitfield-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 17, 2020 |title=Mal Whitfield |publisher=Sports Reference |access-date=November 19, 2015}}</ref>

==Olympic career==
[[File:Mal Whitfield USA Athlete, Olympic Games, London, 1948.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Whitfield at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
At the [[1948 Summer Olympics|1948 Olympics]] in [[London]], Whitfield won the 800 m and was a member of the winning 4 × 400 m [[relay race|relay]] team. He also earned a bronze medal in the 400 m. At the [[1952 Summer Olympics|1952 Olympics]] in [[Helsinki]], [[Finland]], he repeated his 800 m victory. He also earned a silver medal as a member of United States 4 × 400 m relay team. He set a [[world record]] at 880 yd of 1:49.2 in 1950 and dropped it to 1:48.6 in 1952. In 1954, Whitfield became the first black athlete to win the [[James E. Sullivan Award]], given annually by the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States (AAU) to the outstanding amateur athlete in the country. Whitfield narrowly missed making the [[1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Olympic]] team while a student at [[California State University, Los Angeles]], and he retired from track competition shortly thereafter.<ref name="Sports Reference" />

==Sports ambassador==
After graduating, he worked for the [[United States Department of State]] and the [[United States Information Service]], conducting sports clinics in [[Africa]].<ref name="Jet">{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTgDAAAAMBAJ&q=whitfield+%22learning+to+run%22&pg=PA59 |title=US Ex-Olympian Trained African Olympic Stars |author=Garnett, Barnard |journal=Jet |date=October 31, 1968 |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=57–59}}</ref>

In his 47 years in Africa, Whitfield trained and gave consultation to dozens of athletes who represented their countries as Olympians and [[All-Africa Games]] champions. He coached in 20 countries and lived in [[Kenya]], [[Uganda]] and [[Egypt]].<ref name="NYT" /> Whitfield also arranged sports scholarships for over 5,000 African athletes to study in the United States.<ref>[http://www.whitfieldfoundation.org/about/index3.html "Marvelous" Mal Whitfield Biography – Page 3] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004212958/http://www.whitfieldfoundation.org/about/index3.html |date=October 4, 2011 }}</ref> During his career as a diplomat, he traveled to over 132 countries and played a key role in training and developing African athletes. United States President [[Ronald Reagan]] wrote of him: "Whether flying combat missions over Korea, or winning gold medal after gold medal at the Olympics, or serving as an ambassador of goodwill among the young athletes of Africa, you have given your all. This country is proud of you, and grateful to you." Shortly after his retirement from government service in 1989, Whitfield was invited to the Oval Office, where President [[George H. W. Bush]] recognized his service to the nation and the world.<ref>[http://www.whitfieldfoundation.org/about/index2.html "Marvelous" Mal Whitfield Biography – Page 2] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004213022/http://www.whitfieldfoundation.org/about/index2.html |date=October 4, 2011 }}</ref>

==Awards==
In 1954, Whitfield won the [[James E. Sullivan Award]] for amateur athletics.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/20/sports/mal-whitfield-olympic-gold-medalist-and-tuskegee-airman-dies-at-91.html |title=Mal Whitfield, Olympic Gold Medalist and Tuskegee Airman, Dies at 91 |newspaper=New York Times |date=November 19, 2015 |access-date=November 19, 2015 |author=Litsky, Frank}}</ref> Whitfield was inducted into the [[National Track and Field Hall of Fame]] in 1974, and [[Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame]] in 1978. Among track and field athletes, only [[Jesse Owens]] had been inducted before him.<ref name="teamusa" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/trads/men-varsityo-hof.html |title=Men's Varsity "O" Hall of Fame |publisher=Ohio State Buckeyes |access-date=November 19, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116171021/http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/trads/men-varsityo-hof.html |archive-date=November 16, 2012}}</ref>

==Memoir==
Whitfield wrote the book ''Learning to Run'', which was translated into French.<ref name="Jet" /><ref>{{cite book |title=Learning to Run |publisher=East African Pub. House |author=Whitfield, Mal |year=1967 |oclc=639849}}</ref> His memoir was published by his foundation and titled ''Beyond the Finish Line''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Beyond the Finish Line |publisher=Whitfield Foundation |author=Whitfield, Mal |year=2002 |isbn=0972443908 |oclc=51464414}}</ref>

==Personal life==
He was married to Nola Whitfield. He was also the father of Nyna Konishi, Lonnie Whitfield, [[CNN]] anchor [[Fredricka Whitfield]]<ref>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0507/06/lol.03.html Navy SEALs in Afghanistan; Dance fever.] July 6, 2005. [[CNN]]. Retrieved July 12, 2008</ref> and accomplished high jumper Ed Wright.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Cal-s-Wright-has-genes-of-an-Olympic-champion-2595897.php |title=Cal's Wright has genes of an Olympic champion |work=SFGate |date=May 10, 2007}}</ref> In 1989 Whitfield founded the Mal Whitfield Foundation for the promotion of sports, academics, and culture. The foundation has distributed 5,000 athletic scholarships.<ref name="foundation">{{cite web |url=http://www.whitfieldfoundation.org/whitfield_foundation.html |title=The Mal Whitfield Foundation |date=2004 |access-date=November 19, 2015}}</ref>

Whitfield died at a [[United States Department of Veterans Affairs|Department of Veterans Affairs]] hospice center in [[Washington, D.C.]] on the night of November 19, 2015, aged 91.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Schudel |first1=Matt |title=Mal Whitfield, three-time Olympic gold medalist, dies at 91 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mal-whitfield-three-time-olympic-gold-medalist-dies-at-91/2015/11/19/12300ba2-8f08-11e5-ae1f-af46b7df8483_story.html |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=November 22, 2015}}</ref> He was interred at [[Arlington National Cemetery]].<ref name="washingtonpost.com"/>

==Competition record==
{| {{AchievementTable|Event=yes|Time=yes|NotesOff=yes}}
|-
!colspan="6"|Representing {{flagIOC|USA|1948 Summer}}
|-
|1948
|[[Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres|Olympics]]
|[[London]], [[United Kingdom]]
|3rd
|400 m
|[[Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres|46.9]]
|}

==See also==
* ''[[Dogfights (TV series)]]''
* [[Executive Order 9981]]
* [[List of Tuskegee Airmen]]
* [[Military history of African Americans]]
* [[The Tuskegee Airmen|''The Tuskegee Airmen'' (movie)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Walter, John C., and Malina Iida. ''Better Than the Best: Black Athletes Speak, 1920–2007''. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2010. {{ISBN|9780295990538}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Mal Whitfield}}
* {{World Athletics}}
* {{Team USA Hall of Fame|new_id=mal-whitfield}}
* {{Olympics.com|malvin-groston-whitfield|org_id=mal-whitfield|org_archive=20210311003220}}
* {{Olympedia}}
* {{InterSportStats|3000013720}}
* Whitfield, Fredricka (2015) [http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/22/opinions/whitfield-marvelous-mal/ My dad, Marvelous Mal]. [[CNN]].

{{Sullivan Award winners}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 800 m Men}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 4x400 m Men|1948}}
{{Footer Pan American Champions 400m Men}}
{{Footer Pan American Champions 800m Men}}
{{Footer Pan American Champions 4x400m Men}}
{{Footer US NC 400m Men}}
{{Footer US NC 800m Men}}
{{Footer US NC Indoor 800m Men}}
{{Footer US NC Indoor 600y Men}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1948 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1952 Summer Olympics}}
{{Tuskegee Airmen}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield, Mal}}
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:2015 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Bay City, Texas]]
[[Category:People from Watts, Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Texas]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:African-American track and field athletes]]
[[Category:American men middle-distance runners]]
[[Category:American men sprinters]]
[[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:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:James E. Sullivan Award recipients]]
[[Category:California State University, Los Angeles alumni]]
[[Category:Ohio State Buckeyes men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:Tuskegee Airmen]]
[[Category:United States Air Force airmen]]
[[Category:United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces soldiers]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1951 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1951 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American people]]
[[Category:NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]