CHARLES GREENE (ATHLETE)

'Charles (Charlie) Edward Greene' (born March 21, 1945^[1]) is a former American athlete, winner of gold medal in 4x100 m relay at the 1968 Summer Olympics.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Charles Greene was considered a sure bet to make the 1964 Olympic team, but he suffered a muscle pull that held him to a sixth place at the Olympic Trials.
Greene won the AAU championships in 100 yd in 1966 and in 100 m in 1968. At the 1968 AAU Championships, Greene broke the 100 m world record twice. First in the heats he equalled the world record of 10.0, then in the second semifinal he ran 9.9, the same time which had been run by Jim Hines and Ronnie Ray Smith in the previous race. As a University of Nebraska student, Greene won the NCAA championships in 100 yd from 1965 to 1967 and tied the world record at 9.1.
At the Mexico Olympics, Greene felt pain in his hamstring late in the race and was third in the 100 m. Despite the injury, he led off the American 4x100 m relay team that won the gold medal and set a new world record of 38.19.
Following his athletic career, Greene became an Army officer, serving as sprint coach at West Point and head coach of the All-Army team. After retiring from the Army, he became a director for Special Olympics International.
1. other sources report his year of birth: ''1944''