Frank Wykoff

Who was Frank Wykoff?

Frank Clifford Wykoff was an American athlete, triple gold medal winner in 4x100 m relay at the Olympic Games.

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Frank Wykoff has a place in track and field history by being the first man to ever win three Olympic relay gold medals, all in world record time.

Wykoff made his debut at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam, where he finished fourth in the 100 m and ran an opening leg in the American 4x100 m relay team, which equalled the world record of 41.0 seconds in the final.

After the Olympics, in 1929, Wykoff enrolled at Glendale Community College. He enrolled for one year to be able to train one more season with his Glendale High School coach, Normal Hayhurst. He was close to death the previous fall with a severe throat infection but recovered enough in the spring to tie the world record four times as a sprinter for Glendale. He then transferred to the University of Southern California where he came under the tutelage of the famous coach Dean Cromwell. He won the AAU championships in 100 yd in 1928 and 1931 and NCAA championships in 100 yd in 1930 and 1931. He ran a new world record in 100 yd of 9.4 s in May, 1930 and repeated it a month later.