Cougar

[DoubleRBar]

Happy 55th birthday today (Sunday) to an Olympic champion who competed in only one Olympic Games (and not in the hurdles).

This champion defeated the defending Olympic champion to win the Olympic gold medal.

Our birthday athlete shares the same initials with a fairly famous singer from the same country as our birthday person.

The fairly famous singer (with the same initials) died in a plane crash the year after the Atlanta Olympic Games.

Please name this Olympic champion with a birthday on this first Sunday of June.

[Trickstat]

I think the singer would be John Denver. I think the athlete with the same initials is Joe Deloach who won the 1988 Olympic 200m in Seoul beating Carl Lewis.

[DoubleRBar]

Trickstat, you are right on both counts. Very good and happy 55th birthday today to Joe DeLoach. John Denver was the singer who died in 1997.

Joe DeLoach was born in Texas, made the U.S. Olympic team in 1988, and beat Carl Lewis for the gold medal in the men's 200 in Seoul, South Korea.

I'm sure you know that both Carl Lewis and Joe De Loach went to the University of Houston (Cougars).

Thank you to Trickstat.