July 22, 1952 - Tuskegee Airman Mal Whitfield wins Olympic gold in the 800m

Today is Tuesday, July 22, 2025, and on this day in 1952, Malvin "Marvelous Mal" Whitfield won his second consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 800 metres.   In this episode, we'll hear about Whitfield's time as a Tuskegee Airman who saw combat in both World War 2 and the Korean War, how he earned his 5 medals across 2 Olympic games (becoming the first active duty military servicemember to do so in US history), and the ways he gave back to the community in the decades following his retirement.   It's Tattoosday, which means that this episode is sponsored by MyRaceTatts, the awesome temporary tattoos with motivational phrases that I love to wear during races. Listeners of Today in Running History can get 15% of your purchase with ⁠this link⁠, or by using my code "HILLARY" at checkout.    This episode was edited and produced by my good friend and confidant, Rob Garcia. Check out his podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Rob on the Run on Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠, or on Instagram as @robontherunpod.   If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, subscribe, and share, then connect with me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram as well at @running_up_that_hillary⁠⁠⁠⁠, or check out my website at runningupthathillary.com.    Bibliography: https://usopm.org/mal-whitfield/ https://web.archive.org/web/20111004212958/http://www.whitfieldfoundation.org/about/index3.html https://web.archive.org/web/20181003052718/http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=181 https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/olympian-and-tuskegee-airman-who-survived-segregation-and-combat-is-buried-at-arlington/2016/06/08/33070662-2d93-11e6-9b37-42985f6a265c_story.html https://web.archive.org/web/20101019085202/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=15469 https://web.archive.org/web/20151120061426/http://www.teamusa.org/News/2015/November/19/Three-Time-Olympic-Track-Champion-Mal-Whitfield-Dies-At-91 https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/mal-marvelous-mal-whitfield https://lagoldeneagles.com/honors/hall-of-fame/mal-whitfield/87 https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/whitfield-malvin-greston