WENDELL MOTTLEY - YALE VIA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Wendell Mottley became the fastest man in Yale University and Ivy League history. In fact, his single-lap best of 45.2 seconds still sits atop the Ivy rankings more than 40 years later.
As a youngster in Trinidad, Mottley grew up as one of four brothers who all showed early promise competing in track. But he was also fortunate enough to be a student at Queens Royal College High School, an elite public school for boys that valued academic excellence as much as athletics. Mottley credits QRC with giving him the foundation in both sport and studies upon which his success has been built. "At Queens Royal College solid excellence was the rule, not the exception."

In his time he was not only the best long sprinter in the Ivy League but also one of the best in the world.

Months after receiving his diploma from Yale he represented Trinidad & Tobago in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo where he and his teammates earned the first-ever Olympic medals in their sport for their country. Mottley took Olympic silver in the 400m dash and teamed with his countrymen to win bronze in the 1600m relay, considered one of the most outstanding moments in the athletic history of Trinidad & Tobago.

In 1981 when he was appointed by the Prime Minister to be the Minister of Housing. He was later named Minister of Industry, then Minister of Finance.

In terms of his athletic accomplishments, his performances wearing the colors of Trinidad & Tobago made him one of his country's most revered athletes.

Mottley spent a recent weekend at the Penn Relays participating in a reunion of his Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games medal-winning relay teams. "It is the friends I made from participating in track that was an invaluable part of my experience."