Died: Erkki Ahvenniemi, 85; on May 18, in Jyväskylä, Finland. Twice World Ranked twice in the javelin with a high of No. 7 in ’57.
Died: Kebede Balcha, 66; on July 10, in Toronto. Silver medalist in the ’83 World Champs marathon for Ethiopia. World Ranked twice with a high of No. 5 in ’79.
Died: Steve Caminiti, 71; on July 1, in Thousand Oaks, California; of pancreatic cancer. Running for Crespi Carmelite of Encino, he set High School Records twice in one day in ’64, tying the 13.7 best for the 120y highs and then clocking 18.1 in the 180y lows (straight). At New Mexico he qualified for the NCAA twice in the 100.
Died: Aleksey Desyatchikov, 85; on June 4. The 4th-placer from the ’60 Olympic 10,000, he twice World Ranked with a high of No. 4 in ’60. Also ranked No. 8 in the 5K that year.
Died: Pedro Pérez, 66; in July, in Havana. He set a triple jump world record with his 57-1 (17.40) in winning the ’71 Pan-Am Games. World-ranked 3 times, topped by his No. 4 in ’71.
Hired: Golf executive Sarah Hirshland, as CEO of the USOC. She’s the first woman ever to fill that role on a permanent basis.
Died: Bob Redington, 73; on May 23, in Fort Lauderdale. Former Tennessee star won seven SEC titles and finished 4th in the ’65 NCAA XC.
Died: Hall of Famer Lindy Remigino, 87; on July 11, in Newington, Connecticut; of pancreatic cancer. Manhattan sprinter who, despite never having won a major championship, upset the field to win the ’52 Olympic gold in the 100 and came back for a second gold on the 4×1. He had placed 5th in the NCAA final and ranked No. 1 in the World that season, the only one in which he would earn a World Ranking.
Died: Hall of Famer Irena Szewińska, 72; on June 29, in Warsaw; of cancer. See Last Lap for more on one of the sport’s all-time greats. □
