The Sprinter
Charles Albert Lopez American, born Mexico
Cast by Roman Bronze Works
Lopez is best known for his monumental work, and “The Sprinter,” an academic study of a track runner, is the only athletic figure he executed. Lopez’s figure is posed in a starting position, suggesting that the recently developed crouching start for a running race presented sculptors with a novel pose for the male figure. The United States Navy chose a cast of “The Sprinter" to serve as a championship trophy in track and field events for the Atlantic, Pacific, and Asiatic fleets. This statuette was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum in 1907, the year after the sculptor’s death.