Lou Jones (athlete)

{{short description|American sprinter}}

{{Other people|Lou Jones}}

{{No footnotes|date=July 2015}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

|birth_date={{birth date|1932|01|15}}

|birth_place=New Rochelle, New York, USA

|death_date={{Death date and age|2006|02|03|1932|01|15}}

|death_place=

|medaltemplates={{MedalSport | Men's athletics}}

{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}

{{MedalOlympics}}

{{MedalGold | 1956 Melbourne | 4x400 metres relay}}

{{MedalCompetition|Pan American Games}}

{{MedalGold| 1955 Mexico City | 400 metres}}

{{MedalGold| 1955 Mexico City |4×400 metres relay}}

}}

Louis Woodard Jones (January 15, 1932 – February 3, 2006) was an American athlete. He won a gold medal in the 4x400 m relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics.

Born in New Rochelle, New York, Jones graduated from Manhattan College in 1954. He won the 400 m at the 1955 Pan-American Games, where he set a new world record of 45.4. He was also a member of the gold medal-winning American 4 × 400 m relay team.

Just four months before the Melbourne Olympics, Jones broke his own 400 m world record, clocking 45.2 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the US Olympic Trials, thus becoming a main favorite at this event in Melbourne. But in the Olympic 400 m final, Jones was off form, and managed to finish only in a disappointing fifth place, 1.50 seconds behind teammate Charles Jenkins. A few days later, Jones partly compensated for his disappointment, running the second leg in the gold medal-winning American 4 × 400 m relay team.