Bob Richards, the only man with two Olympic gold medals in the pole vault, has died

Athletics is in mourning. Last Saturday the athlete passed away Bob Richards, the only man so far capable of winning two Olympic golds in the pole vault. The American passed away at his home in Waco, Texas, at the age of 97.

Richards competed in all three Olympic Gameswon a bronze medal in London 1948 with a jump of 4.20 meters, then he won gold helsinki 1952 with 4.55 meters and his last victory was in Melbourne 1956 where he managed to jump one centimeter more, 4.56 meters, which ended up being the best mark of his career. Furthermore, in Melbourne He also participated in the decathlon event, where he was proclaimed a three-time champion of USA.

in the athlete of Illinois, however, he fell short of achieving the pole vault world record. Between 1940 and 1942 his countryman Cornelius Warmerdam he achieved the record by jumping 4.77 meters using bamboo poles, a record that stood until 1957.

After his withdrawal, Richards is a commentator on Olympic Games in Rome, Tokyo and Montrealand even had a children’s program The Angels where he gave motivational speeches to students, workers and associations. In addition, he is the face of a well-known brand of cereals from USA and in 1970 he traveled 5,300 kilometers by bicycle, from New York to Los Angelesto raise awareness about the importance of following a healthy lifestyle.

YELENA ISINBAYEVA, THE ONLY WOMAN WITH TWO GOLDS

The former Russian athlete Yelena Isinbaeva, Olympic, world and European pole vault champion, the only woman to hold two Olympic titles. He did this in 20024 and 2008 and with Richards they are the only athletes who have won three Olympic medals in this discipline.