Decathlete Rafer Johnson, 'World's Greatest Athlete', dies at 86
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[December 03, 2020]
(Reuters) - Rafer Johnson, who
was crowned the world's greatest athlete after winning the decathlon
gold medal at the 1960 Olympics and later helped tackle Robert F.
Kennedy's assassin, died on Wednesday at the age of 86.
The LA84 Foundation, of which he was a founding member, confirmed
Johnson's death, saying he passed away at his home in Los Angeles
surrounded by family.
"Our sense of loss is only eclipsed by the gratitude we will always
feel for the opportunity to work so closely with Rafer. He embodied
the Olympic Movement," said Peter Ueberroth, CEO of the 1984 Summer
Olympics who chose Johnson to light the torch for those Games.
"There are so many lives he touched and improved as a true hero who
cared deeply for others. Each day we are focused on honoring his
legacy."
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After winning silver at the 1956 Melbourne Games, Johnson claimed
the top step on the Olympic podium four years later in Rome,
clinching the gold ahead of training partner C.K. Yang of Taiwan
with an Olympic record score.
The achievement earned Johnson the AAU James E. Sullivan Award as
the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States, putting
his picture on the cover of Time and Sport Illustrated magazines.
Johnson was a fine all-round sportsman. He was drafted by the NFL's
Los Angeles Rams as a running back in 1959 and played basketball at
UCLA under legendary coach John Wooden.
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![](../images/120320PIX/decathlete%20rafer_small.jpg)
L-R: Rafer Johnson,
1960 Olympic gold medalist shakes hands with Eric Garcetti, Mayor of
Los Angeles at the torch lighting ceremony before the game between
the Los Angeles Rams and the Washington Redskins at the Los Angeles
Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY
Sports
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Johnson turned to acting after his athletics career.
Among his credits were parts in the Elvis Presley film Wild in the
Country and the James Bond movie License to Kill.
In 1968, while working on Kennedy’s presidential campaign, Johnson
was one of the men to subdue Sirhan Sirhan after he shot and killed
the U.S. presidential candidate.
"Olympic champion. Civil rights pioneer. Angeleno.
"Rafer Johnson was one of the greatest people I have ever known — an
athlete without peer, an eyewitness to history and a leader in
making it, a founder of the Special Olympics, a champion for justice
and our city," Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti said in a Tweet.
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto, Editing by Ed Osmond)
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