Bob Richards Bio, Gold Medals, Party, Education, Age, Height, Wife, Children, Health, Death

 

American pole vaulter Robert Eugene Richards, a multi-talented athlete, created history by capturing two consecutive gold medals at the Olympics in 1952 and 1956. Also, he was the only man in Olympic Games history to accomplish this feat.

Bob Richards Bio

Richards finished 13th in the decathlon in 1956 and earned a bronze medal in pole-vaulting at the 1948 Olympics. Richards was inducted into the U.S. National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1975 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1983 thanks to his outstanding accomplishments.

Richards kept competing in track and field competitions as he got older, with a focus on throwing. He was one of the sport’s first regular competitors, later known as Masters athletics. In 1957, Richards also had an appearance on the well-known panel game show “What’s My Line?”

Richards had a good sporting career, but he also got into politics. He stood for President of the United States in the 1984 presidential election on the ticket of the Populist Party, a far-right, white nationalist political organization. In the election, Richards and his running mate, Maureen Salaman, received 66,324 votes.

Bob Richards Gold Medals

In the history of the Olympics, only one man has ever won the pole vault Gold Medals twice: Bob Richards in 1952 and 1956.

Bob Richards Party

Bob Richards’s party is Populist Party (American Freedom Party)

Bob Richards Education

Bob Richards enrolled in Bridgewater College in Virginia in 1944, where he continued pole vaulting and played basketball. He later went to the University of Illinois, where he earned his A.B. in 1947. In 1946, he graduated from Illinois with an M.A., and in 1948, he had become a Brethren preacher.

Bob Richards Age

Bob Richards aged 97 (February 20, 1926 – February 26, 2023)

Bob Richards Height

Bob Richards stands 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) tall

Bob Richards Wife

Bob Richards wed Joan. Richards, who carried the Olympic Torch before the 1996 Atlanta Games, runs the Olympian Ranch in Winnsboro, Texas, with his wife Joan.

Bob Richards Children

Richards had four pole, vaulting-talented sons. With a height of 18 feet and 2 inches, one of his sons, Brandon, held the national high school record for fourteen years, starting in 1985.

Tom, a different son, won the 1988 CIF California State Meet. In 1968, Bob Jr. finished second in the same competition, and in 1973, he was placed seventh in the country.

Bob Richards Health and Death

Bob Richards passed away on February 26, 2023. Details on his health and the cause of his death weren’t disclosed.