Bob Hayes running in 1964 Olympics (© allsport)
America's reigning sprint greats on Thursday mourned the death of one of their sport's legends, 1964 Olympic 100m gold medallist Bob Hayes, who died at the age of 59 after battling several ailments.
"As an athlete and a sprinter, with this huge loss it's difficult," said five-time Olympic medallist Marion Jones. "Everybody is in a positive frame of mind and his legacy will live on for our generation and younger generations."
At the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Hayes earned the title
"World's Fastest Human" by winning the gold medal in tying the then-world record of 10.06 seconds and anchoring the victorious USA 4x100m relay, which set the world record of 39.06sec.
What puts such performances into perspective is that Hayes had to contend with cinder tracks for most of his career. Olympic finals as late as 1980 were won in slower times than his Tokyo gold, even with the assistance of synthetic track surfaces.
"I saw it on TV today," said Tim Montgomery, who on Saturday became the latest to hold the title of world's fastest human with is men's 100m World record of 9.78 set in Paris.
"Anytime you have a fellow sprinter die, it's sad. I saw footage of his Olympic race and he was making holes in the track with his feet (the race was contested on a cinder track). It's incredible how much times have changed."
Hayes switched his focus from track to American football when in 1965 the Dallas Cowboys took a chance on the athlete whose speed caused teams throughout the National Football League to change their defensive strategies.
He remains the only athlete to win both an Olympic gold medal and Super Bowl ring.
"It's a great tragedy," said USA Track and Field's chief
executive officer Craig Masback. "He revolutionized two sports. His raw power in sprinting put him years ahead of his time and his 4x100m anchor leg is recognized as probably the greatest relay leg ever."
IAAF President Lamine Diack paid his own tribute -
"It is always sad to lose a legend, and Bob Hayes will always be remembered for running 10.06 to win the Olympic 100m gold on a cinder track at the 1964 Olympics. He was way ahead of his time and while his technique was raw, he was extremely powerful. We can only imagine what he might have achieved had he been running today."
IAAF & Agencies.