Ray Armstead

{{short description|American sprinter}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Ray Armstead

| fullname = Ray Ricky Armstead

| image = Ray Armstead (1984).jpg

| caption = Ray Armstead (1984).

| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|May 27, 1960}}

| birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.

| headercolor = lightsteelblue

| show-medals = yes

| universityteam = Truman State University

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

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

{{MedalOlympics}}

{{MedalGold | 1984 Los Angeles | 4 × 400 m relay}}

}}

Ray Ricky Armstead (born May 27, 1960 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American former track athlete who specialized in the 400 meters. He was a 1984 Summer Olympics gold medalist in the men's 4 × 400 meter relay. In the 1985 IAAF Grand Prix season, he won the 400 m in Rieti (time 45.24s){{cite news |first=Frank |last=Litsky |title=Aouita Defeats Maree in Italy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/05/sports/aouita-defeats-maree-in-italy.html |access-date=19 September 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=5 September 1985 |page=27 D}} and

West Berlin (45.36s){{cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=Aouita Sets Mark In 1,500-Meter Run |date=24 August 1985 |page=44 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/24/sports/aouita-sets-mark-in-1500-meter-run.html}} and came second in the final in Rome (45.24s). In 1989 he contested the US Trials in Baton Rouge for 1989 the World Indoor Championships.{{cite news |first=Frank |last=Litsky |work=The New York Times |date=21 February 1989 |page=16 D |title=Track and Field; McKay's First Goal Goes Well Beyond Money |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/21/sports/track-and-field-mckay-s-first-goal-goes-well-beyond-money.html |access-date=19 September 2024}}

{{As of|2020}}, he was an elementary-school art teacher in the Hazelwood School District.{{cite web |publisher=Hazelwood School District |url=https://www.hazelwoodschools.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=4&ModuleInstanceID=43&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=25984&PageID=1 |title=HSD’s Own Olympic Champion}}