Overview

Harold Blaine Lindgren (June 26, 1939 – October 5, 2019) was an American track athlete best known for competing in the 110 metres hurdles. Active at the highest level in the early 1960s, Lindgren claimed major international honors and represented the United States on the Olympic stage. For a concise summary of his career and results see the Blaine Lindgren profile.

Career highlights

Lindgren's most prominent victories came in the early 1960s. He won the 110 m hurdles at the 1963 Pan American Games, a regional championship that gathers athletes from across the Americas. The following year he earned a silver medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, a performance that placed him among the world’s leading hurdlers of that era. Contemporary accounts and result lists from that Olympiad are summarized at the 1964 Olympic results.

Event characteristics and technique

The 110 m hurdles is a sprint race that demands a combination of raw speed, precise stride pattern, and efficient hurdle clearance. Men’s sprint hurdles are run over ten evenly spaced barriers, each 42 inches high, requiring athletes to blend fast sprinting between obstacles with a smooth, low center-of-gravity clearance at each hurdle. Competitors of Lindgren’s generation trained to perfect a three-step rhythm between hurdles and to minimize time lost on takeoff and landing.

Historical context and significance

The early 1960s were a competitive period in men’s hurdling, with strong domestic fields in the United States and rising international standards. Medaling at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics signified that an athlete was among the globe’s best, and Lindgren’s silver contributed to the United States’ continued prominence in the event. His Pan American title the year prior demonstrated regional dominance and served as a lead-up to Olympic competition.

Legacy

Lindgren died on October 5, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the age of 80. He is remembered as part of a generation of American hurdlers who maintained the nation’s competitive tradition in sprint hurdling. His career provides a reference point for students of the event and for sports historians tracking U.S. performance in mid-20th-century track and field.

Major achievements

  • Gold medal, 110 m hurdles — 1963 Pan American Games
  • Silver medal, 110 m hurdles — 1964 Summer Olympics (Tokyo)

For further reading and detailed statistics about meets, times, and placements consult archival athletics resources and the athlete pages linked above: athlete profile and Olympic results.