- Rafer Johnson, the 1960 Olympic champion in the decathlon, has died at 86.
- The decathlete set the world record three times and appeared in movies along side Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.
- He also helped subdue the man who shot Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles in 1968.
Rafer Johnson, an Olympic legend and American icon, has died. He was 86.
Per the Associated Press, Johnson died at his home in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, according to family friend Michael Roth. A cause of death has not been announced.
Johnson is best known for his success at the 1960 Rome Olympics. After being selected as the first Black captain of a U.S. Olympic team, he went on to win gold in the decathlon. He defeated C.K. Yang of Taiwan in a heart-pumping competition, edging out Yang in points in the final event (the 1500 meters).
The decathlete was no stranger to success. In addition to winning gold in 1960, Johnson also won the silver medal in the decathlon at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and he broke the decathlon world record three different times. He, Yang, and Vasily Kuznetsov, of the former Soviet Union, exchanged the record a number of times from 1956 through the 1960 Games.
Johnson retired from the decathlon after winning Olympic gold, and he then began acting in movies, appearing films like Wild in the Country with Elvis Presley, None But the Brave with Frank Sinatra, and the 1989 James Bond film License to Kill. He worked briefly as a TV sportscaster before becoming a vice president at Continental Telephone in 1971.
But Johnson didn’t stay far from sport, and he was chosen to light the Olympic torch at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
In addition to his athletic feats, Johnson was a hero off the track and field. While working on Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1968, he, along with former NFL star Rosey Grier and journalist George Plimpton, helped apprehend the man who shot Kennedy in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968.
Johnson’s life also involved a great amount of humanitarian work. His long list of efforts includes serving on the organizing committee of the first Special Olympics in 1968, founding the California Special Olympics in 1969, and worked for organizations like the Peace Corps, March of Dimes, Muscular Dystrophy Association and American Red Cross.
Johnson is survived by his wife of 49 years, Betsy; his two children, Jenny and Josh; and his four grandchildren.
Drew covers a variety of subjects for Runner’s World and Bicycling, and he specializes in writing and editing human interest pieces while also covering health, wellness, gear, and fitness for the brand. His work has previously been published in Men’s Health.
