Ralph Boston (© Getty Images)
World Athletics is deeply saddened to hear that 1960 Olympic long jump champion and multiple world record-breaker Ralph Boston died on Sunday (30) at the age of 83.
Boston earned a complete set of Olympic medals during his career, taking silver in 1964 and bronze in 1968. He also set six ratified world long jump records – more than any other man in history – between 1960 and 1965.
Born in Laurel, Mississippi, in May 1939, Boston first emerged as a top-class long jumper during his early twenties. His big breakthrough season came in 1960, when he went from collegiate to national to international star in the space of just a few months.
His run of success began at the NCAA Championships in Berkeley, California, in early June when he won with 7.76m. One month later, he won the US Olympic Trials with a wind-assisted 8.09m. But the world started to take notice in mid-August when Boston leaped 8.21m in Walnut, California, breaking the world record that had stood to the great Jesse Owens for 25 years.
That performance suddenly made Boston the favourite to win gold at the Olympic Games in Rome that year, but he was still just 21 years of age and had never competed in an international championships before. Nevertheless, he lived up to expectations and won gold with an Olympic record of 8.12m, finishing just one centimetre ahead of compatriot Bo Roberson.
After setting four world indoor bests at the start of 1961, Boston went on to break the world record twice outdoors that year, first with 8.24m in Modesto in May, and then with 8.28m in Moscow in July. He added another gold medal to his collection in 1963 when winning the Pan-American title in Sao Paulo.
Having lost the world record in 1962 to Soviet rival Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, who jumped 8.31m, Boston equalled the world record in 1964 and went on to break it outright at the US Olympic Trials that year, leaping 8.34m.
Boston went to the Tokyo Olympic Games as a medal favourite and led the qualifying round by 25 centimetres. He took the lead in the final in round two and improved to 7.88m in round four. Britain’s Lynn Davies then jumped 8.07m to take the lead and Ter-Ovanesyan improved to 7.99m, bumping Boston down to third. Boston responded with 8.03m in the final round to eventually finish second.
Boston set his sixth and final world record in 1965, leaping 8.35m in Modesto, and in 1967 he successfully defended his Pan-American title with 8.29m in Winnipeg.
In 1968, Boston started to coach up-and-coming talent Bob Beamon, who was starting to make waves on the US collegiate circuit. Beamon won the US Olympic Trials that year with a wind-assisted 8.39m, beating Boston’s windy 8.26m.
Even so, few could have predicted what was to come at the Olympic Games in Mexico City later that year. Boston broke the Olympic record in the qualifying round with 8.27m, but Beamon was the star of the final, sailing out to an incredible world record of 8.90m in the opening round. A somewhat stunned Boston responded as best he could with 8.16m, which was eventually enough for bronze.
Boston – who also produced world-class marks in the 110m hurdles, high jump and triple jump throughout his career – didn’t compete in any major international championships after 1968, but he continued to compete to a high level until 1972.
From 1968 to 1975, Boston worked as coordinator of minority affairs and assistant dean of students at the University of Tennessee. He also occasionally worked as a reporter for CBS, and was inducted into the USATF Hall of Fame in 1974.
He died of complications from a stroke at his home in Georgia on 30 April.
“I’m devastated about Ralph Boston's passing,” said four-time Olympic long jump champion Carl Lewis. “As a child, I idolised him and he was a major influence in my life. I'll miss his voice and support. He changed the game as an athlete, advocate and mentor. His legacy and contributions will live on for generations to come.”
World Athletics
