George Kerr won back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1959 (880y) and 1960 (800m) and was a seven-time Big Ten champion in middle distances (3 in 800m, 2 in 400m and 2 in the 4x400m relay). He was the 1960 Olympic Bronze medalist in the 800m and 4x400m relay at Rome Games while competing for British West Indies. In 1962, he became the first Jamaican athlete to have the national flag flown in recognition of winning a gold when he won double gold in the 400m and 800m at the Central American and Caribbean Games held in Kingston. At the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, representing Jamaica, Kerr finished fourth both in the 800m and the 4x400m relay. Kerr broke the Olympic record for the 800m in the semifinals but lost the bronze by less than one-tenth of a second. He won gold in the 400m and 4x400m relay at the 1959 Pan American Games. Kerr was named the 1962 Jamaican Sportsman of the Year. He died in 2012.