| Otto Anderson | |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Event: | Decathlon |
| Birth Date: | 28 October 1900 |
| Birth Place: | Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Pasadena, California, U.S |
Otto Anderson (October 28, 1900 - November 15, 1963) was an American athlete.[1] He competed at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics and the 1924 Paris Olympics,.[2] [3]
Anderson was born in Guthrie, Oklahoma on October 28, 1900. He started his athletics career with the hurdles while still a student at Pomona High School. Still at school, he qualified for the 1920 Antwerp Olympics team in the hop, skip and jump (now called the triple jump).[4] He competed at that event, but the results are proving difficult to find.[2] [5]
After leaving school, he attended the University of Southern California (U.S.C.) where he added more track events and football to his activities.[4] In the 1922 AAU Championship he finished second in the 220 yard hurdles.[2] In March 1923 at the annual games between Stanford University and U.S.C., he equalled the world record for the 220 yard "low hurdles" event, in 24.8 seconds.[6]
Anderson qualified for the fourth of four places to compete in the men's decathlon at the 1924 Olympics.[7] Once in Paris, he was injured in a bad landing in the sawdust pit during pole vault practice. His Achilles tendon was torn loose among other injuries, and he was unable to complete the competition.[3] [8]
1925 was his final year at U.S.C. and he was captain of their track team, and captain of the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (I.C.A.A.A.A.) champions.[9] After graduating from U.S.C., he competed for Los Angeles AC and Hollywood AC. At the national AAU Championship he finished second in the decathlon.[2] [9]
Later he took a coaching role at Fremont High School in Los Angeles, where he coached Anne Vrana-O’Brien, who went on to represent the USA at the Olympics in 1928 and 1936.[10] [11]