NORTH Vancouver track star Harry Jerome will be part of the secondever class inducted into the Athletics Canada Hall of Fame, earning recognition as an in memoriam inductee.
Born in Prince Albert, Sask., Jerome moved to North Vancouver with his family when he was 12. He is the only athlete ever to hold the 100-yard and 100-metre sprinting world records simultaneously. He competed in three Olympic Games, winning bronze in Tokyo in 1964, and won the Commonwealth Games title in 1966 and Pan American Games gold in 1967. Jerome owned seven world records throughout his sprinting career.
After retiring from athletics he remained active in sports, working with organizations throughout British Columbia and Canada to encourage young people to pursue their athletic dreams. He died suddenly in 1982 at the age of 42 after suffering a brain aneurysm. He was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1971 and received the Order of Canada that same year.
Joining Jerome in the 2012 Athletics Canada Hall of Fame class are athletes Charmaine Crooks, Milt Ottey, Guillaume LeBlanc, Dave Steen and Bruny Surin, coach Lyle Sanderson, builder Bob Adams and in memoriam inductees Myrtle Cook and Fred Foot.
