Recognizing Both For Fame

[DoubleRBar]

Happy birthday today (Monday) to two Olympic champions with a total of 210 years since their births which were approximately 707 miles (1,138 kms) apart.

Both won a total of four Olympic medals at a total of four Olympic Games and both won Olympic gold medals in Europe.

These two people will be known today as "F" and "P".

Athlete "F" was 44 years old when athlete "P" was born.

Neither champion ran the hurdles at the Olympic Games and neither competed in the Olympic Games in South America, Australia, Antarctica, or Africa.

Our birthday individuals ran "similar" events at the Olympic Games and won a total of two Olympic gold medals.

You might like to know that one of our birthday athletes died at the age of 93 and the other person celebrates 83 years today.

Interesting to note that one of these two set a world record to win that Olympic gold medal and the other champion won a complete set of Olympic medals (in this order: gold silver, and bronze).

I imagine you might know one of these two birthday athletes, so please go ahead and name our birthday people on this second of five Mondays in May.

[Trickstat]

I make it that athlete F was born in 1895 and athlete P in 1939.

Athlete P competed at 3 Olympics and won a set of medals with a gold medal won in Europe. I think P is Ralph Boston who won gold in Rome in 1960, silver in Tokyo in 1964 and bronze in Mexico City in 1968.

[bambam1729]

Older one (*1895) must be Frank Foss - only athletics gold medalist I can think of who is F F.

Younger one - similar events, born in 1939, likely gold in 1960-68. Similar to PV must be a jump event - probably Ralph Boston, who did win a full set of medals in the long jump

[DoubleRBar]

Happy 83rd birthday today to Ralph Boston. Nice going, Trickstat.

Ralph Boston was born in Mississippi in 1939. He went to Tennessee State University and made three U.S. Olympic teams in the long jump Boston won Olympic gold (8.12 or 26' 7 3/4") at the first (1960, Rome) of those three Games. He took the long jump silver medal (8.03 or 26' 4 1/4") in Tokyo (1964) and he got the bronze medal (8.16 or 26' 9 1/4") at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games.

Frank Foss was born in Chicago, Illinois 127 years ago today. Very well done, bambam1729.

Not many pole vaulters win Olympic gold medals with a world record, however that is what Frank Foss did at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. He cleared 4.09 (13; 5") for a world record and an Olympic gold medal.

Foss graduated from Cornell University about three years before winning that Olympic gold medal. He lived and worked in Argentina for a few years. Foss died in Illinois in 1989 at the age of 93.

Thank you, Trickstat and bambam1729.

[dukehjsteve]

H

Not many pole vaulters win Olympic gold medals with a world record,1920 Antwerp Olympics. He cleared 4.09 (13; 5") for a world record and an Olympic gold medal.

Fm1729.

I think it has happened only once before ! But I'll let someone else say where/when/who/ how high .

[Olli]

Since DoubleRBar wrote:

"Our birthday individuals ran "similar" events...",

I thought they are runners. But apparently my knowledge of English idioms is defective. "Run" has another meaning here?

[bambam1729]

I think it has happened only once before ! But I'll let someone else say where/when/who/ how high .

Kozakiewicz 1980 Moscow

[dukehjsteve]

Gee, what a surprise that bambam knew the answer to such a difficult question... lol .. but how high ?

[Trickstat]

Gee, what a surprise that bambam knew the answer to such a difficult question... lol .. but how high ?

I think it was 5.78? He famously made a gesture towards the Russian spectators who had jeered and whistled him. I think this went down well with many fellow-Poles at a time when the anti-communist Solidarnosc (Solidarity) union was beginning to make headlines.

[DoubleRBar]

Since DoubleRBar wrote:

"Our birthday individuals ran "similar" events...",

I thought they are runners. But apparently my knowledge of English idioms is defective. "Run" has another meaning here?

Both the pole vault and the long jump require some running to successfully complete those events. On the other hand, an official will often "run" an event, meaning that the official is in control of the event. Sorry if there was some confusion with "ran".

[JMysterio]

I think it was 5.78? He famously made a gesture towards the Russian spectators who had jeered and whistled him. I think this went down well with many fellow-Poles at a time when the anti-communist Solidarnosc (Solidarity) union was beginning to make headlines.

"jak się masz"

[dukehjsteve]

and 5.78 is correct.