Rafer Johnson
United States
Decathlon
B: August 18, 1935
1960 Olympic Decathlon Champion
Johnson is regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time, and his post athletic career was equally as impressive. Johnson won the silver medal at the 1956 Olympics, despite being the world record holder at the time. His classmate and training partner at U.C.L.A., C.K. Yang of Taiwan, was Johnson's main challenger in 1960. He out dueled Yang in Rome by just 58 points to win the gold medal. In 1968, Johnson was with presidential candidate Robert Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles when Kennedy was assassinated. He received one of sport's greatest honors when he was selected to light the Olympic torch at the Opening Ceremony of the 1984 games in Los Angeles. His brother Jimmy played for the San Francisco 49ers and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his daughter Jenny played beach volleyball at the 2000 Olympics.
SUPERSTARS RECORD
EVENT |
PLACE | POINTS | MONEY | EVENT WINS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 Preliminary 2 | 2 |
37 |
$7,450 |
Baseball Hit, Obstacle Course |
| 1976 Final | 13 |
7 |
$2,100 |
None |
| TOTALS | 44 |
$9,550 |
2 |
PERSONAL BESTS
| Tennis | 5th |
1976 Preliminary 2 |
| Weight Lifting |
200 |
1976 Final |
| Bowling | 152 |
1976 Preliminary 2 |
| Rowing |
43.32 |
1976 Preliminary 2 |
| Baseball Hit | 18 |
1976 Preliminary 2 |
| Bike Race - 1/2 Mile |
1:11.81 |
1976 Final |
| Bike Race - Mile | 2:45.32 |
1976 Preliminary 2 |
| Obstacle Course | 26.97 |
1976 Preliminary 2 |
| Points Scored |
37 |
1976 Preliminary 2 |