MERIWETHER, W. DELANO 1943-

HEMATOLOGIST AND PHYSICIAN-ATHLETE

Medical Researcher

Dr. W. Delano Meriwether, the director of the federal government's 1976 ambitious and controversial swine flu immunization program, was the first African-American student to integrate Duke University's School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina. He developed an interest in medical research and decided to become a hematologist. Hematology is the study of the anatomy, physiology, pathology, and therapeutics of blood. Dr. Meriwether's studies centered on leukemia and sickle-cell anemia. After graduation he became affiliated with the National Institutes of Health, where he worked with young leukemia patients.

Sports Hero

In 1970, in an effort to take his mind off the depressing aspects of the tragic situation of the leukemia victims he treated, he took up running in the evenings on a high-school track. At the age of twenty-seven, without any previous training in track or any other organized sport, he won two National Amateur Athletic Union sprinting championships. He became a legend for his unorthodox but winning running form (poor starts out of the block compensated for by incredible bursts of speed), his odd track costume (snug gold swimming trunks, a white hospital shirt, and gold and white suspenders), and his low-key manner. In his successes he symbolized the fantasies of many armchair athletes and physical-fitness buffs.

Director of the Swine Flu Immunization Program

Dr. Meriwether became one of the most appealing sports heroes in the United States after his stunning upset victory at his first track meet, where he defeated two record-holding sprinters in the 60-yard dash with a time of 6.0 seconds, just .1 second off the world indoor record. Although injuries kept him out of the 1972 and 1976 Olympics, Dr. Meriwether continued to compete in track and to practice medicine. In 1973 his professional career took him to Washington, D.C., where he served as a special assistant at HEW. In addition to articles about him in Sports Illustrated, he was in the news in 1976 as the director of the federal government's swine flu immunization program.