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At last, fates and the atmospheric elements smiled down upon the Colored athletic world wonder and marvel, “Ned” Gourdin, by giving him “A Perfect Day” (no drizzling rains, no wet slippery grounds, no damp heavy airs) on July 23, 1921. On this date, that hilariously kissed the sun “good night” and joyously embraced the moon “good morning”, was held a dual track meet between the Harvard-Yale teams and the Oxford-Cambridge teams of England, at the Harvard Stadium. Regarding the results of that meet, the writer quotes the following extracts as part of an article that, according to the Chicago Defender of July 30, 1921, appeared in the July 25, 1921 issue of the Boston Daily Post:
“By Wilton Vaugh”
“Edward Orval Gourdin now goes down in the Harvard annals as the greatest track athlete ever to represent the Crimson.
“His record-breaking jump of 25 feet 3 inches in the running broad jump last Saturday at the stadium international college meet was just a climax to his amazing achievements on the cinders.
“Amazing Record”
“But that particular feat alone would have been enough to rank “Ned” with the elite of Cambridge, because the world has been waiting twenty years for a man capable of matching Peter O’Connor’s leap of 24 feet 11¾ inches. The Harvard idol accomplished it, and with such a margin that it now seems hopeless of developing a greater jumper for a number of years, anyway.
“His all-round prowess on the track would have been sufficient to rate him with the best. Had he chosen to specialize in any one of the eight events it is not beyond the scope of human thought to see him shatter different marks. His best winning records in the matches he has already tried are:
100-yard dash—9 4-5 seconds.
220-yard dash—22 1-5 seconds.
440-yard run—52 1-5 seconds.
Running broad jump—25 feet 3 inches.
Running high jump—5 feet 9 inches.
Running hop, step and jump—45 feet 3 inches.
Javelin throw—140 feet.
Discus throw—110 feet.
In the above meet on July 23, 1921 Gourdin also won the 100-yard dash from his closest rival, Rudd, the famed sprinter and captain of the British team.