Current:Home > Contact-usDallas Long, who won 2 Olympic medals while dominating the shot put in the 1960s, has died at 84-InfoLens
Dallas Long, who won 2 Olympic medals while dominating the shot put in the 1960s, has died at 84
View Date:2024-12-23 11:00:53
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dallas Long, a three-time NCAA shot put champion who won a gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, has died. He was 84.
He died of natural causes Sunday in Whitefish, Montana, USC said Tuesday after being informed by a family member. No further details were provided.
Long ruled the shot put in the 1960s, winning three consecutive NCAA titles from 1960-62.
His gold-medal performance in Tokyo included a then-Olympic record throw of 66 feet, 8.50 inches. He earned a bronze medal at the 1960 Rome Games behind fellow Americans Bill Nieder and Parry O’Brien.
Long set the shot put world record 11 times from 1959 to 1965 and was ranked No. 1 in the world three times. His best effort was 67-10.25.
He was a member of USC’s 1961 NCAA championship team. His throw of 65-10.50 set in 1962 still ranks sixth on USC’s all-time list. His freshman mark of 63-7 set in 1959 stood until 2015.
Long was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1996, as well as the Arizona Hall of Fame in 1964, the National High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and the USC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003.
Born Dallas Crutcher Long on June 13, 1940, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, he first came to national prominence in the event as a senior at North High in Phoenix, Arizona, where he set a national prep record in the shot put.
Long earned a dental degree from USC and a doctor of medicine degree from Washington University in St. Louis. He worked as a dentist and then practiced emergency medicine.
He served as a defense witness in the Rodney King trial against Los Angeles Police Department officers Laurence Powell and Stacey Koon in early 1993. Long did not treat King, whose beating by officers was captured on videotape in 1991.
He is survived by children Kristen Long, Kelly Nordell, Karin Grandsire and Ian Long, nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren. He was twice divorced.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
veryGood! (36)
Related
- 'I heard it and felt it': Chemical facility explosion leaves 11 hospitalized in Louisville
- Pennsylvania mom convicted of strangling 11-year-old son, now faces life sentence
- US investigators visit homes of two Palestinian-American teens killed in the West Bank
- Cleveland-Cliffs to shutter West Virginia tin plant and lay off 900 after tariff ruling
- 'Wheel of Fortune' contestant makes viral mistake: 'Treat yourself a round of sausage'
- At least 7 Los Angeles firefighters injured in explosion, multiple in critical condition
- Authorities are investigating the death of Foremost Group CEO Angela Chao in rural Texas
- The Excerpt podcast: At least 21 shot after Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade
- What Just Happened to the Idea of Progress?
- EA Sports drops teaser for College Football 25 video game, will be released this summer
Ranking
- Sofia Richie Reveals 5-Month-Old Daughter Eloise Has a Real Phone
- Montana’s Malmstrom air base put on lockdown after active shooter report
- Wyoming standoff ends over 24 hours later with authorities killing suspect in officer’s death
- Lottery, casino bill passes key vote in Alabama House
- Glen Powell Addresses Rumor He’ll Replace Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible Franchise
- Tribes in Washington are battling a devastating opioid crisis. Will a multimillion-dollar bill help?
- Angelia Jolie’s Ex-Husband Jonny Lee Miller Says He Once Jumped Out of a Plane to Impress Her
- Migrating animals undergo perilous journeys every year. Humans make it more dangerous
Recommendation
-
Beyoncé has released lots of new products. Here's a Beyhive gift guide for the holidays
-
Israel launches series of strikes in Lebanon as tension with Iran-backed Hezbollah soars
-
AP Week in Pictures: North America
-
Reduce, reuse, redirect outrage: How plastic makers used recycling as a fig leaf
-
Special counsel Smith asks court to pause appeal seeking to revive Trump’s classified documents case
-
2023's surprise NBA dunk contest champ reaped many rewards. But not the one he wanted most
-
Wayfair’s Presidents' Day Sale Has Black Friday Prices- $1.50 Flatware, $12 Pillows & 69% off Mattresses
-
2 former Didion Milling officials sentenced to 2 years in Wisconsin corn plant blast