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Vincent Matthews (athlete)

Vincent Matthews, American sprinter

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Born
December 16, 1947
Age in 2026
79
Zodiac sign
Sagittarius
Birth year
1947

About Vincent Matthews (athlete)

Vincent "Vince" Edward Matthews (born December 16, 1947) is an American former sprinter, winner of two Olympic gold medals, at the 1968 Summer Olympics and 1972 Summer Olympics. Matthews was one of the best African American long sprinters to appear in the mid-1960s, and developed a fierce rivalry with future Olympic champion Lee Evans. At the warm-up meet two weeks before the Olympic Trials in 1968, Matthews set the new world record 44.4 s in 400 m, but his time was rejected as a world record due to his use of PUMA's illegal "brush spikes". At the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Matthews ran the first leg on the United States gold medal-winning 4 × 400 m relay team that set the world record of 2:56.16, which lasted for 20 years.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Vincent Matthews (athlete) timeline

  1. At the warm-up meet two weeks before the Olympic Trials in 1968, Matthews set the new world record 44.4 s in 400 m, but his time was rejected as a world record due to his use of PUMA's illegal "brush spikes".
  2. At the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Matthews ran the first leg on the United States gold medal-winning 4 × 400 m relay team that set the world record of 2:56.16, which lasted for 20 years.

The world when Vincent Matthews (athlete) was born

Vincent Matthews (athlete) was born in 1947. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1947

  • #1 song"Near You" – Francis Craig
  • Top movieMiracle on 34th Street
  • Top TV showHowdy Doody
  • Best-selling bookThe Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJackie Robinson breaks baseball's color barrier
  • Top headlineJackie Robinson breaks Major League Baseball's color barrier
  • Technology milestoneTransistor invented at Bell Labs
  • Defining fadFlying saucer mania
  • Notable inventionPolaroid instant camera
  • World population2.47 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonPhiladelphia Warriors (BAA)
  • U.S. population144.1M

1947 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Vincent Matthews (athlete)'s birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19472026
Gas$0.23$3.45/gal
Average home$7,800$435,000
Average income$4,700$67,500
Minimum wage$0.40$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.40$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population144.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, International Olympic Committee, Olympedia. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.