He competed in a golden era for the US.
Dallas Long, the 1964 Olympic shot put champion and multiple world record-breaker, has died at the age of 84.
Long competed in a golden era for US shot putting and was one of the world's best athletes in the 1960s. As well as his Olympic title win and world records, he claimed Olympic bronze at the 1960 Games.
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10:57 - 24.10.2024
Tributes continue to pour in for British shot put legend Geoff Capes
Capes had an illustrious career, twice winning gold in the shot at both the Commonwealth Games and the European Indoor Championships.
Long was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, on June 13, 1940 and attended North Phoenix High School in Arizona, where he was coached by Vern Wolfe. Wolfe continued to guide him as he moved up to the University of Southern California and claimed three successive NCAA titles between 1960 and 1962.
It was in 1960 that Long claimed the first of his two Olympic medals, getting bronze at the Games in Rome behind his compatriots Bill Nieder and Parry O'Brien.
Long set six official world records during his career and equalled the world record once – after equalling O'Brien’s 19.25m in 1959 as an 18-year-old, Long’s first and second world record-breaking throws came in 1960, when he threw 19.38m and 19.67m in March of that year.
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09:45 - 14.11.2024
'Our stories deserve to be told'- McKenzie Long criticizes Netflix docuseries 'Sprint' for bias
American sprinter McKenzie Long and Ivorian athlete Marie-Josee Ta Lou criticized Netflix’s Sprint docuseries, claiming it selectively highlights winners, sidelining other stories of resilience and dedication in track and field.
After Nieder became the first man to throw beyond 20 metres with 20.06m in the August of 1960, Long then regained the world record with a 20.08m put in May 1962. He later improved the world record to 20.10m, 20.20m and 20.68m in 1964.
That year would prove highly successful for Long, as he also became the Olympic champion in Tokyo. Throwing an Olympic record of 20.33m, he took the title ahead of his compatriot Randy Matson and Hungary’s Vilmos Varju, with two-time champion O'Brien finishing fourth.
Following his retirement from competitive athletics, Long became a doctor and dentist. He was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1996.
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