Tewksbury, John Walter

John Walter Tewksbury, in full John Walter Beardsley Tewksbury, (born March 21, 1878, Ashley, Pa., U.S.—died April 24, 1968, Tunkhannock, Pa.), American sprinter who won five medals at the 1900 Olympics in Paris. He earned gold medals in the 200-metre race and the 400-metre hurdles, silver medals in the 100- and 60-metre races, and a bronze in the 200-metre hurdles.

Tewksbury was a member of the track team at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a degree in dentistry. In 1898 and 1899 he captured victories in the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America championships in the 100- and 200-metre dashes. At the Olympic Games in 1900 Tewksbury won medals in all five of the events in which he was entered. The most surprising of his medals was the gold in the 400-metre hurdles. Tewksbury was relatively unfamiliar with the event and faced stiff competition from Henri Tauzin of France, who had never been defeated in this event. The race was marked by poor facilities, including makeshift hurdles constructed from telegraph poles and a water hazard serving as the final hurdle. Tewksbury won the race in 57.6 sec, just 0.4 sec short of the world record and 0.7 sec faster than Tauzin.