Mathias, Bob

Mathias, Bob
in full Robert Bruce Mathias

born Nov. 17, 1930, Tulare, Calif., U.S.

U.S. decathlete.

He suffered from anemia as a child and turned to athletics to gain strength. In 1948, at age 17, he won a gold medal in the Olympic decathlon, becoming the youngest gold medalist ever to win an Olympic track-and-field event. He won a second decathlon gold medal in 1952; that same year he played fullback on Stanford University's gridiron football team at the Rose Bowl. He won all 11 decathlon competitions he entered in his career. He later served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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▪ 2007
Robert Bruce Mathias 
      American athlete (b. Nov. 17, 1930, Tulare, Calif.—d. Sept. 2, 2006, Fresno, Calif.), became the youngest person to win a gold medal in the decathlon in Olympic competition with his victory in 1948 at age 17; he returned to win a second Olympic gold medal in 1952. Afflicted with anemia in boyhood, Mathias developed strength by engaging in sports, winning success as a teenager in football and basketball. At the suggestion of his high-school track coach, Mathias entered his first decathlon competitions in 1948. At the Olympic Games in London that year, Mathias, despite leading in the shot put and high jump, was in third place after the first day of the decathlon. The next day a strong discus throw of 44 m (144 ft 4 in) put him in first place, and he went on to win the gold. Mathias won four U.S. decathlon championships (1948–50, 1952). He attended Stanford University (B.A., 1953), where he played fullback on the Cardinal football team. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, he won the decathlon easily, despite an injured thigh muscle, setting a record of 7,887 points and taking first place in 5 of the 10 decathlon contests. Altogether he entered and won 11 decathlons in his career. Mathias later performed on television and in films, starring in The Bob Mathias Story (1954). In 1967–75 he represented the Fresno, Calif., area in the U.S. House of Representatives. Mathias was director of the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., from 1977 until 1983, the year he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

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▪ American athlete
byname of  Robert Bruce Mathias  
born Nov. 17, 1930, Tulare, Calif., U.S.
died Sept. 2, 2006, Fresno, Calif.
 American athlete, the youngest to win a gold medal in the decathlon in Olympic competition. After his victory in 1948 at age 17, he returned to win a second Olympic gold medal in 1952.

      Afflicted with anemia in boyhood, Mathias developed strength by engaging in sports, winning success as a teenager in football and basketball. At the suggestion of his high school track coach, Mathias entered his first decathlon competitions in 1948. At the Olympic Games in London that year, Mathias, despite leading in the shot put and high jump, was in third place after the first day of the decathlon. The next day a strong discus throw of 44 metres (144 feet 4 inches) put him in first place, and he went on to win the gold. With his victory, Mathias became the youngest athlete to win a gold medal in an Olympic track-and-field event. In 1948 he received the James E. Sullivan Award as the top American amateur athlete.

      Mathias won four U.S. decathlon championships (1948–50, 1952). He attended Stanford University (B.A., 1953), where he played fullback on the gridiron football team. (Although drafted by the Washington Redskins, Mathias never played professional football.) At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Fin., he won the decathlon easily, despite an injured thigh muscle, setting a record of 7,887 points and taking first place in 5 of the 10 decathlon contests. Altogether he entered and won 11 decathlons in his career.

      Mathias later performed on television and in films, starring in The Bob Mathias Story in 1954. In 1967–75 he represented California in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was director of the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., from 1977 until 1983, the year he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

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Universalium. 2010.

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