RIP Ralph Boston

[Batman]

Ralph Boston, one of only a half-dozen people to hold the world record in the long jump in the past 88 years, died last weekend following complications from a stroke. He was 83.
Boston broke the long jump record six times, with four of those bettering his own mark. He won the gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics, medaled in 1964 and '68, and was the first person to jump 27 feet.

Ralph Boston, Laurel native and Olympic gold-medalist, dies at 83

https://www.si.com/olympics/2023/04/30/ralph-boston-usa-olympic-track-and-field-legend-dies-age-83

 

[Starman]

I'm pretty sure he was the favorite to take the long jump gold in '68, before Bob Beamon hit the engines for liftoff in Mexico City.

 

[poindexter]

Ralph Boston, one of only a half-dozen people to hold the world record in the long jump in the past 88 years, died last weekend following complications from a stroke. He was 83.
Boston broke the long jump record six times, with four of those bettering his own mark. He won the gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics, medaled in 1964 and '68, and was the first person to jump 27 feet.

Ralph Boston, Laurel native and Olympic gold-medalist, dies at 83

https://www.si.com/olympics/2023/04/30/ralph-boston-usa-olympic-track-and-field-legend-dies-age-83

That is an insane career. RIP

I'm pretty sure he did commentary on track meets for ESPN in the 80s or 90s

He was good at that too.

 

[Dog8Cats]

That SI piece is so woefully written. I wasn't expecting a William Nack-esque postmortem on Boston, but even for something entirely stripped from information plucked from online sources, that sucked, sucked, sucked.