Daughters of Central IL Olympian celebrating his legacy 100 years later

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris kick off Friday. The last time the “City of Love” played host was a century ago when an athlete from Central Illinois went for gold— twice. Now, the University of Illinois is celebrating Harold Osborn’s life and legacy ahead of the games.

The university welcomed back two of Harold Osborn’s daughters to give a webinar about their father Thursday morning. They said he is a reminder that humble beginnings can lead to global success.

“With this hundredth anniversary coming out of his Olympics, it was the right time to toot his horn, which we did,” Elizabeth Osborn said.

One hundred years ago, a 25-year-old from Butler, Illinois, ran on the track in Paris at the 1924 Olympics. Two years before that, he graduated from U of I. Now, Harold Osborn’s daughters are bringing his lengthy accomplishments back to light.

“We did a webinar for the university, talking about my dad, his career in athletics, and also about his life and his time here at the University of Illinois,” Elizabeth Osborn said.

Harold Osborn earned his awards for a generational performance on the track.

“[In the] ’24 Olympics, he got gold medals in both the high jump and the decathlon. And he’s the only man to have ever done that,” said Susan Osborn-Jones. “No one else has competed in the same Olympics and gotten the decathlon in another event.”

The family previously donated their father’s memorabilia to the U of I’s archives in 2022, including his two gold medals, Olympic jersey, and more from the games in 1924 and ’28. Harold Osborn’s youngest daughter, Susan, said their connections to the area made it the obvious choice.

“I felt like the university was the place that we should donate those items,” Susan Osborn-Jones said. “And then I kind of campaigned in the family that that’s where they should be, because especially in an archives where they really want to preserve the items and make them available to anyone in the future who wants to do research.”

Also in the archives is Harold Osborn’s personal training journal, with new entries and locations spanning through 1945.

“In his book, he has every exhibition and every track meet, and how many points he scored, and how high he jumped. It’s really amazing that he kept all those records,” Susan Osborn-Jones said.

His training exhibitions took him everywhere from across Central Illinois to across the pond in England. Now, just ahead of the games, Elizabeth and Susan’s two nephews — Osborn’s grandsons — made the trip out to Paris wearing shirts celebrating Harold. A reminder that even small-town athletes like Harold can strive for gold.

“They’re over there wearing these t-shirts, so hopefully someone will say, ‘Oh, what are, you know, what are you all about?’ And then someone else will hear the story of our father,” Susan Osborn-Jones said.

The family said they discussed sending his memorabilia to the International Olympic Museum in Switzerland and the Track and Field Hall of Fame, but they wanted to keep their father’s spikes and jersey on the campus where he trained.

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