Gilkes Completed Unique Triple Crown In 1974

James Gilkes of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, wasn’t the favorite when the 220-yard finalists lined up at the 1974 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

That role fell to Tennessee’s Reggie Jones – a freshman, who was coming back from winning the 100 – and Larry Black of North Carolina Central – silver medalist from the Munich Olympics in 1972, as well as 1971 NCAA champ.

Indeed, as the runners came off the curve into the homestretch, Jones and Black were clearly ahead of everyone else – until Gilkes turned on his afterburners and passed Jones in the last 10 yards with jaw-dropping speed.

The race was wind-aided (+3.4 m/s), but Gilkes was timed in 19.9, just as fast as the hand-timed world record. Jones finished in 20.0, while Black faded to fifth (20.2) as all six finishers ran the fastest times of their lives.

“I was a bit tight because of a groin injury, and I knew I wouldn’t be too good around the turn,” Gilkes said. “But I felt I could finish strong because I normally come from behind, and I was correct.”

Gilkes’ win made some big history, giving the native of Guyana a Triple Crown of collegiate national titles in the 220 after winning the NAIA and NCAA Division III meets in the two weeks prior. The only others with three titles in the same year are Black (1971 in the 220) and Southern’s Rodney Milburn (1971 and 1973 in the 120-yard hurdles).

Gilkes’ Triple Crown was slightly different, however, as Black and Milburn competed when the NCAA had just two divisions – university and college – before the current three-division setup began with the 1974 meet.

Even rarer is Gilkes’ status as a Division III athlete to also win a Division I crown. The only other with such a combination is Rowan javelin thrower Mike Juskus, who did so in 1981. Gilkes and Juskus will likely remain alone in that regard as the NCAA Division I meet no longer allows athletes from other divisions to compete.