Nathaniel Cartmell facts for kids
Nathaniel Cartmell at the 1908 Olympics
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nathaniel John Cartmell | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | January 13, 1883 Uniontown, Kentucky, U.S. |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Died | August 23, 1967 (aged 84) Forest Hills, New York, U.S. |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in | |||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 157 lb | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 100–400 m | |||||||||||||||||||
| Club | University of Pennsylvania Louisville YMCA |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 100 m – 11.0 (1908) 200 m – 21.5 (1907)) 400 m – 50.1 (1909) |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Nathaniel John Cartmell (born January 13, 1883 – died August 23, 1967) was an American athlete. He was also known as Nat or Nate. He won several medals at the Olympic Games.
Nate was a key part of the first racially integrated Men's Medley relay team. This team won a Olympic gold medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. Nate helped form this team. It included his friend and former teammate, Dr. John Baxter Taylor Jr.. John Taylor was the first black athlete in America to win an Olympic gold medal. Nate Cartmell is also known for being the first head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team.
Contents
Olympic Achievements
1904 St. Louis Games
At the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri, Nate Cartmell won two silver medals. He earned these medals in the 100 meter dash and the 200 meter straightaway races. He also competed in the 60 meters event. However, he did not advance past the early rounds in that race.
1908 London Games
Cartmell was a member of the American gold medal-winning medley relay team. This happened at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. He ran the second 200-meter part of the race. He received the lead from William Hamilton. Then he passed it on to John Taylor and Mel Sheppard.
The team won both their first race and the final. They completed the 1,600 meters in 3 minutes, 27.2 seconds in the first round. In the final, they finished in 3 minutes, 29.4 seconds. Cartmell's own time for his part in the final was 22.2 seconds.
He also won a bronze medal in the 200 meter race at the same Olympics. This was his second medal in this event. He won his first two races with times of 23.0 and 22.6 seconds. In the final, he placed third with a time of 22.7 seconds.
In the 100 meters race, Cartmell finished in fourth place. He won his first two heats with times of 11.0 and 11.2 seconds. His time in the final was 11.0 seconds.
Olympic Incident
During the 1908 Olympics, Cartmell had a misunderstanding with a local policeman. Cartmell quickly left the scene. Later, the police mistakenly arrested Charles Hollaway, another team member who looked like Cartmell. Cartmell found out about the mistake and tried to help. However, Hollaway was already released by the time Cartmell arrived at the police station.
Coaching Career
Nate Cartmell joined the University of North Carolina (UNC) in 1909. He started as a track-and-field coach for the Tar Heels. In 1910, some students and school officials wanted to create a varsity basketball team at UNC. The school did not have enough money to hire another full-time coach. Cartmell was asked to be the first coach, even though he did not know much about basketball.
Cartmell coached his first college basketball game on January 27, 1910. UNC's team played their first intercollegiate game in Bynum Gymnasium. They played against Virginia Christian College. The Tar Heels won their first game with a score of 42–21. The team finished their first season with 7 wins and 4 losses. Cartmell coached the team until 1914.
Later Life and Legacy
After leaving UNC, Cartmell continued his coaching career. He coached track and sometimes basketball at several other universities. These included West Virginia University, Princeton University, Fordham University, and Manhattan College. He also coached at LaSalle Military Academy.
From 1923 to 1933, he coached track and field and cross country at Penn State. He ended his long coaching career at the United States Military Academy in 1956. Nathaniel John Cartmell was known as a respected athlete and coach of his time. He passed away in his home in New York City on August 23, 1967. He also served as the track coach at his old school, the University of Pennsylvania.
See also
- List of Pennsylvania State University Olympians
