Drake Stadium, Des Moines, IA, April 25–26, 1924
Charley Paddock, the Olympic champion in the 100 meters, was persuaded to participate in the traditional Drake Relays in Iowa. He got off to a cannon-like start in the first 100-yard dash—perhaps too good a start, as his time of 9.6, which tied the world record, was later relegated to the rolling start category in statistical books.
Paddock's trip to Iowa went poorly in other ways as well. He injured his leg during the meet, which seemingly continued to trouble him during the Final U.S. Olympic Trials in mid-June. There, he dropped out of the 200 in its final quarter.
The University of Iowa team, strengthened by 220-yard timbers world record holder Charles Brookins and international-level sprinter Chan Coulter, won the 4x440-yard relay with a time of 3:21.5 (equivalent to 3:20.4 for 4x400 meters).
The best performance on the field came from Earle McKeown, who cleared a pole vault height of 3.96 (13-0) for the fourth-best mark in the world at the time. Despite his strong showing, McKeown narrowly missed qualifying for the Paris Olympics during the final trials about a month and a half later.
In the high jump, Leroy Brown, the New Yorker, beat Harold Osborn of the Illinois Athletic Club. The tables turned two months later at the Paris Olympics.
1–5 (Spalding’s NCAA Track and Field Guide 1925)