Died: Wade Bell, 79
On July 04, in Eugene. The Oregon star ranked No. 2 in the world after winning the NCAA 880 in ’67, after having placed 4th in the mile the previous year, and 5th in the ’65 half-mile. In ’68 he ran on the Oregon TC 4×8 team that set an unratified WR. He won the ’68 Trials 800, ran in the OG heats and ranked No. 7 in the world. From the end of his competition days until his passing, he served as an important official and volunteer in Eugene.
Died: Dianne Burge, 80
On June 11. A 4-time World Ranker at 100 (No. 3 in both ’63 & ’67), she also Ranked twice at 200, with a No. 2 in ’67. A 2-time Aussie Olympian, she ran in the 100 heats and on the 6th-place 4×1 in ’64; in ’68 she was 6th in the 100, ran in the 200 heats and was on the 5th-place relay.
Died: Jacques Freitag, 42
In July, in Pretoria West, South Africa; shot to death. The Springbok high jumper won gold at the ’03 Worlds. He World Ranked 3 times, and was No. 1 in ’03.
Died: Kevan Gosper, 90
On July 19. A 2-time Australian Olympian, he won silver on the Melbourne 4×4 and ran in the individual 400 heats in ’56 and ’60. A 2-time NCAA scorer for Michigan State, he World Ranked 4 times with a high of No. 6 in ’54. A longtime member of the IOC, he was twice 1st Vice-President.
Died: Ron Helmer, 77
On July 04, in Bloomington, Indiana. The head coach of the Indiana teams 2007–22, Helmer had been head coach at Georgetown prior to that. In his time with the Hoosiers he mentored more than 400 All-Americans and 52 individual Big 10 champions.
Died: Brooks Johnson, 90
On June 29, in Florida. A gold medalist on the Pan-Am 4×1 in ‘63, he became a USTFCCCA Hall Of Fame coach and mentor to many Olympians, as well as other coaches. Had a notable collegiate coaching career at Stanford and was women’s Olympic coach in ’84.
Died: Brian Kilby, 86
On June 30. In 1962, the British marathoner was European and Commonwealth champion and earned No. 1 in the World Rankings. In ’64 he placed 4th in the Olympics. He made No. 1 in the World Rankings for ’62, and Ranked the following two years as well.
Died: Stefano Malinverni, 65
On June 19, in Milan. Won bronze on the Italian 4×4 in ’80.
Died: Ron Morris, 89
On May 31, in California. After setting the national high school record in ’53, he went on to be 3-time national champion in the vault (’58, ’61, ’62). He was a 10-time World Ranker, with No. 1s in ’62 and ’63. A 2-time NCAA scorer for USC, he won Olympic silver in ’60. He went on to a long coaching career at LA State.
Died: Bob Schul, 86
On June 16, in Middleville, Ohio; of Alzheimer’s. The only American ever to win Olympic 5000 gold, the Miami/Ohio grad rose to world-class while in the Air Force. His only World Ranking was No. 1 in ’64. He twice held U.S. Rankings in the 1500 (1964–65), and 3 times at 5000 (’64, ’65, ’68). He won AAU titles in ’64 and ’65.
Died: Paul Piwinski, 62
On March 29, in Atlanta. The Michigan State high jumper placed 6th in the ’80 NCAA Indoor and 7th in the ’83 outdoor meet, the same year he won the Big 10 Indoor title.
Died: Charles Rich, 72
On June 16, in California. The UCLA high hurdler was 3rd in the ’72 NCAA and 4th in ’73. He placed 4th in the ’72 Olympic Trials and 4th in the ’74 AAU. A 2-time World Ranker, he was No. 10 in ’72 and No. 7 in ’74.
Died: Ricardo Urbina, 78
On June 17, in Washington, D.C., of Parkinson’s. The ’67 NCAA Indoor 880 champ for Georgetown as “Ricky,” he placed 3rd in the ’66 outdoor meet, and 4th the next year before going on to a notable legal career. The New York Times characterized him as a “Trailblazing Latino Judge.”