Hayes Jones

Who is Hayes Jones?

Hayes Wendell Jones is a former American athlete, winner of 110 m hurdles at the 1964 Summer Olympics.

Born in Pontiac, Michigan, Hayes Jones was quite short for a hurdler, but his outstanding speed, great start, and nearly perfect technique won him many championship titles.

Jones burst onto the international athletics scene by winning the 120 yd hurdles in 1958 AAU championships. He won four more AAU titles: 1960 and 1964 in 110 m hurdles and 1961 and 1963 in 120 yd hurdles.

In 1959, Jones, as an Eastern Michigan University representative, won the NCAA titles in 120 yd and 220 yd hurdles, following his first major international experience, when he won the 110 m hurdles at the Pan American Games.

A year later, at the Rome Olympics he was third behind teammates Lee Calhoun and Willie May, after which many observers believed he had reached his peak performance. But he returned to the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where he won the gold medal and his teammate Blaine Lindgren won the silver. Jones also ran on a 4x100 m relay team that set a world record in 1961.

After retiring from competition, Jones became New York City's director of recreation in 1967. He has also worked in American Airlines and owned his own baggage check-in service at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.