Letters: A Philly Olympian's mark falls after a century; more Staley gold

ISSUE | SUMMER OLYMPICS

From Philly streets to 3 gold medals

When Matthew Centrowitz captured the gold medal in the 1,500-meter final on Saturday, he became the first American to win the "metric mile" since 1908 ("U.S. cleans up on final night," Sunday).

Melvin Sheppard was the American who won that race in 1908. Mel grew up in the Grays Ferry neighborhood of South Philly. He was a street tough, known for his fighting skills, but fighting rival gangs was not his only skill. He was the fastest runner in the neighborhood. Mel's running ability got him a chance to attend Brown Prep School for Disadvantaged Boys.

In 1904, pre-Olympic races were run in St. Louis. Mel ran for the school and won three races. He caught the attention of Olympic coaches and was asked to participate in the 1908 trials and qualified by winning the 800-meter race.

Peerless Mel Sheppard came off the streets of Philadelphia to win Olympic gold in London. He won the first of his three gold medals in the 1,500-meter race, and it took more than 100 years for an American to do it again.

|Eileen Troxell, Glenside

Dobbins Tech's Staley golden again

Congratulations to the U.S. women's basketball team for winning six consecutive gold medals ("Americans complete quest for 6 in a row," Sunday). Dawn Staley, a Philadelphian and Dobbins Tech graduate, won her fourth gold, this time as an assistant coach after playing on three of these teams.

|Edward Magliocco, retired Dobbins principal, Havertown, edmag@icloud.com

A gold-medal fool

U.S. gold-medal swimmer Ryan Lochte shamefully claimed he and three teammates had been robbed in Rio de Janeiro, when they actually had vandalized a gas station and paid for damages ("Lochte's future in question," Saturday). He not only hurt his reputation, his endorsement deals, and his future Olympic swimming career, but also the swim team, the entire U.S. Olympic team, and the reputations of America and Brazil. The Ugly American has reared his despicable head once again.

|Kenneth L. Zimmerman, Huntington Beach, Calif., kennethzim@aol.com