Sports

1956 Olympics triple gold medallist Morrow passes away

New York, May 31 (IANS) 1956 Olympics triple gold medallist Bobby Joe Morrow died aged 84. His family announced that Morrow died of natural causes at his home in San Benito, Texas.

Born in Harlingen, Texas and raised in San Benito, Morrow was deemed as one of the most dominant sprinters of the 1950s.

He won the 1955 Amateur Athletic Union 100-yard dash and went on to defend the title the next year. 1956 turned out to be his most successful year with his triple gold haul at the Melbourne Olympics. He won the 100m and 200m events and helped the American team to gold in the 4x100m relay.

Morrow had matched the world record of 20.6 seconds in the 200m and helped the relay squad set a world record. He was the first since Jesse Owens in 1936 to win gold in these three events.

He continued to be successful in the US domestic circuit before retiring in 1958 to become a farmer and woodworker. However, he attempted a comeback two years later but failed to make the US team for the 1960 Olympics.

The 1956 haul earned him great fame. Morrow was honored as “Sportsman of the Year” by Sports Illustrated that year, and won the AAU’s James E. Sullivan Award the following year.

–IANS

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