Leamon King was an American athlete who jointly held the world record

World record

A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...

 for the 100 metre sprint

Sprint (race)

Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...

 for men from 1956 to 1960.

King, a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

, became joint holder of the record on October 20, 1956 in Ontario, California

Ontario, California

Ontario is a city located in San Bernardino County, California, United States, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire region, it lies just east of the Los Angeles county line and is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area...

, with a time of 10.1 seconds, equal with Willie Williams

Willie Williams (athlete)

Willie Williams is a former American sprinter who set the 100 metres world record in 1956, with a new time of 10.1s, one-tenth of second faster than Jesse Owens' previous record....

 and Ira Murchison

Ira Murchison

Ira James Murchison was an American athlete, winner of the gold medal in 4x100 m relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics....

, and repeated the time a week later in Santa Ana, California

Santa Ana, California

Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....

. (In 1956, times were only recorded to the nearest tenth of a second.) Ray Norton

Ray Norton

Otis Ray Norton is a former American sprinter. In college he ran for San José State University, where he was coached by Lloyd Winter. He later won two gold medals at the 1959 Pan American Games. In that same year he tied Leamon King's record at the 100 meters at 10.1 seconds.In 1960 he set or...

 also recorded a time of 10.1 seconds in 1959.