Died: John Dye, 86
On September 30, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The founder of the Dyestat website revolutionized Internet coverage of high school track & field.
Died: Tudie McKnight, 61
On October 06, in Kernersville, North Carolina. The Kansas star was a 3-time All-America in the long jump, finishing 2nd in the ’82 NCAA. She placed 9th in the ’83 Worlds for Jamaica.
Died: Ladislav Moc, 91
On September 18, in Prague, Czech Republic. He twice set 50K walk WRs on the track, in ’55 & ’56. In the ’60 Olympics he placed 8th in the 20K and 11th in the 50K.
Died: Phil Mulkey, 89
On September 17, in Birmingham, Alabama. The runner-up in the decathlon at the ’60 Trials, he DNFed at the Olympics. The next year he broke the WR. A 4-time World Ranker, he was No. 2 in ’61.
Died: Bill Nieder, 89
On October 07, in Angels Camp, California. A 3-time WR setter in the shot, Nieder won the ’55 NCAA title for Kansas and the ’57 AAU title. He won the ’56 Olympic silver medal and in ’60 won gold. A 6-time World Ranker, he was No. 1 in ’57 & ’60.
Died: Shigeki Tanaka, 91
On October 04, in Tokyo, Japan. Japan’s first winner of the Boston Marathon, in ’51, he had survived the Hiroshima bombing 6 years earlier. ◻︎