TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Charles E. Greene 1944–2022 U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist, World Record Sprinter, U.S. Army By Aaron Williams
U .S. Olympic Gold Medal- ist Charles E. Greene (Eta 1965) entered the Chapter Invisible on March 14, 2022, at age 77. He was a seven-time All-American and 11-time Big 8 Con- ference champion. His University of Nebraska-Lincoln school records in the 50-yard, 60-yard, and 100-meter dashes still stand. Greene held six individual NCAA championships and four world sprint records. He is an inaugural member of the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame, the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame, and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. In the late 1960s, Greene was known as the world's fastest human. Charles Edward Greene was born on March 21, 1944, in Pine Bluff, AR, to Bertha Johnson and grew up in Seattle, WA. He graduated from O'Dea High School, playing football and running track. In his junior year, he won the Washington state high school championship in the 100-yard dash and captured the state titles in the 100 and 220 in his senior year. He won the 100-year dash at the Golden West Invitational in Sacramento, CA, making Greene the top-ranked high school sprinter in 1963. The University of Nebraska offered an athletic scholarship to Greene. As a freshman, he pushed legendary sprinter
Bob Hayes to a world-record perfor- mance in the 60- yard dash in New York City at the Madison Square Garden's indoor meet in January 1964. Green attempted to make the 1964 U.S. Olympic team but did not qualify due to an injury. At Nebraska, Greene became the nation's leading collegiate sprinter capturing three consecutive NCAA titles in the 60-yard indoors from 1965 to 1967 and three straight NCAA titles in the 100-yard dash outdoors. In ad- dition to his collegiate exploits in track and field, Greene was a member of the Eta Chapter and ROTC. After earning a bachelor's degree in 1967, Greene re- mained at Nebraska to earn a graduate degree and train for the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Mexico. At the 1968 AAU outdoor national champion- ships, Greene's win in the 100-meter final capped off a remarkable evening of competition sports historians have referred to as "The Night of Speed." Greene earned two medals at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games, including the bronze medal in the 100-meter final despite suffering an injury in the last 30 meters of the race. A few days later, Greene ran the lead leg of the U.S. men's 4 x 100-meter relay, winning the gold and setting a new world record. Greene is Nebras-
ka's first student-athlete in Nebraska Athletics history to win an Olympic gold medal. After his 1968 Olympic experience, Greene competed in the 100 meters/ yards through the 1972 Olympic trials, where he finished sixth in the quarter- finals of the 100 meters, thus failing to make the U.S. team. Greene served in the United States Army for 20 years. After retiring from the U.S. Army with the rank of Major, Greene served as an executive for Spe- cial Olympics International and worked for his alma mater before finally retir- ing. Greene remained a big part of the Lincoln community throughout his life. He trained high school track and field athletes, volunteered for the Husker Life Skills program, supported all Nebraska Cornhusker student-athletes. Brother Charles E. Greene is sur- vived by his wife, Linda, and daughters, Mercedes and Sybil.
52 | SUMMER 2022 ♦ THE JOURNAL
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