Rafer Johnson
Rafer Lewis Johnson (August 18, 1935 – December 2, 2020) was an American decathlete who won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, edging out his close friend and rival C.K. Yang in a dramatic final event.[1][2] He had previously secured the silver medal in the same event at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.[1] Johnson set three world records in the decathlon, in 1955, 1958, and at the 1960 U.S. Olympic Trials, establishing himself as one of the premier multi-event athletes of his era.[1][2] Beyond athletics, he pursued acting roles in films and television, worked as a sportscaster, and engaged in public service, including co-founding the California Special Olympics in 1969 with a group of volunteers and serving as an early advisor and enthusiast for the organization.[3][4] On June 5, 1968, Johnson was present at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles and assisted in subduing Sirhan Sirhan immediately after the assassin shot Robert F. Kennedy.[5] He later carried the Olympic torch up the steps of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to light the cauldron at the 1984 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.[6]Early Life
Family Background
Rafer Lewis Johnson was born on August 18, 1935, in Hillsboro, Texas, to Lewis Johnson, a cotton picker and farm handyman, and Alma Gibson Johnson, a domestic worker and homemaker.[7][8] The family resided initially with Johnson's paternal grandparents in a large home that also housed five aunts and uncles, reflecting the multigenerational living arrangements common among working-class African American families in the segregated South during the Great Depression.[9] When Johnson was approximately 18 months old, his parents relocated the family to a segregated African American neighborhood in Dallas, Texas, seeking better opportunities amid economic hardship.[10] As the second of six children, Johnson grew up in conditions marked by poverty and racial segregation, with his father often absent due to seasonal labor demands.[8] His younger brother, Jimmy Johnson, later achieved prominence as a professional football player and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, highlighting a family pattern of athletic talent emerging from modest beginnings.[10] In 1945, when Johnson was nine years old, the family moved again to Kingsburg, California, after his father secured employment in the Oakland shipyards during World War II, a migration driven by the promise of industrial jobs for Black workers in the West.[11] This transition from rural Texas sharecropping life to California's Central Valley exposed Johnson to new environments, though the family continued facing economic challenges and discrimination.[12]Education and Early Athletic Development
Johnson attended Kingsburg High School in Kingsburg, California, graduating in 1954. There, he distinguished himself as a multisport athlete, earning varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field. In football, he averaged nine yards per carry; in basketball, he scored 17 points per game; in baseball, he batted over .400; and in track, he secured two California state decathlon championships.[10][2] His high school experiences fostered a focus on track and field, particularly the decathlon, which aligned with his versatile skills across sprints, jumps, throws, and endurance events. Johnson initially participated in various sports but shifted emphasis to the decathlon after recognizing its demand for comprehensive athleticism.[10][4] Following high school, Johnson enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he joined the track and field team and competed in his first decathlon as a freshman in 1954, posting competitive scores that signaled his potential. At UCLA, he also played basketball under coach John Wooden and captained the varsity track team, while maintaining strong academic performance. He graduated in 1959 with a degree, having balanced rigorous training with campus leadership roles.[2][4][13]Athletic Career
Collegiate Achievements
Johnson attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he competed in track and field and basketball from 1954 to 1958.[2] As a freshman in 1955, he established a decathlon world record of 7,608 points at the Los Angeles Coliseum, eclipsing the mark set by Bob Mathias in the 1952 Olympics.[2][14] This performance marked the first of three world records he would set in the event, with another following in 1958 during a dual meet against the Soviet Union in Moscow, where he scored 8,302 points.[2] During his sophomore year, Johnson contributed to the UCLA track team by competing in 10 of the 15 standard events, demonstrating versatility across sprints, jumps, throws, and distance runs.[15] In addition to track, Johnson played forward on the UCLA basketball team, appearing in 23 games with career averages of 8.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 50.7% from the field.[16] His multifaceted athletic involvement exemplified the student-athlete ideal, complemented by academic leadership as president of the UCLA student body.[17] These collegiate endeavors laid the foundation for his national and international success, including multiple Amateur Athletic Union decathlon titles won during his time as a Bruin.[2]International Competitions and Records
Johnson won the decathlon gold medal at the 1955 Pan American Games in Mexico City, establishing his first world record with a score of 7,985 points under the prevailing scoring tables.[18][1] This marked his international debut in the event and surpassed the previous record held by Bob Mathias.[2] In July 1958, during a United States–Soviet Union dual meet in Moscow, Johnson reclaimed the world record with 8,302 points, defeating Soviet athlete Vasiliy Kuznetsov by 405 points.[19][18] He improved upon this mark on July 9, 1960, at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, scoring 8,683 points to set his third and final world record.[18][20] These performances highlighted Johnson's dominance in the decathlon on the global stage, with his records reflecting advancements in training and technique during the era, though scores are not directly comparable to modern tables due to revisions in point calculations implemented after 1960.[18]Rivalries and Training Methods
Johnson's primary rivalry developed with his UCLA teammate C.K. Yang of Taiwan, with whom he trained intensively and competed closely in multiple decathlons, culminating in their legendary duel at the 1960 Rome Olympics where Johnson edged Yang for gold by 58 points (8392 to 8334), despite Yang winning seven of the ten events.[21][22] Their friendship motivated mutual improvement, as Yang's strengths in events like the 400 meters and hurdles pushed Johnson to refine his all-around consistency.[2] Another significant rivalry was with Soviet decathlete Vasily Kuznetsov, against whom Johnson competed in international meets, including a 1958 U.S.-Soviet dual where Johnson defeated Kuznetsov by 405 points to reclaim the world record at 8302 points after Kuznetsov had set it earlier that year at 8016.[2][10] These encounters, often framed within Cold War athletic competition, highlighted Johnson's edge in endurance and technical versatility, as he surpassed Kuznetsov's paces in multi-event scoring.[23] Johnson's training regimen emphasized a comprehensive workload across all ten decathlon events to build proficiency and stamina for the two-day format, involving daily practice of sprints, jumps, throws, and distance runs under UCLA coaches who stressed technique mastery amid high-volume sessions.[15] Training alongside Yang amplified intensity, with the pair simulating competition pressures through joint workouts that included event-specific drills and recovery-focused conditioning, enabling Johnson to break the world record three times between 1958 and 1960.[21][24] Post-injury recoveries, such as after a 1959 heel issue, incorporated gradual jogging and walking to rebuild base fitness before resuming full event training.[24] This methodical approach, prioritizing incremental gains in each discipline, distinguished Johnson's preparation from less balanced regimens of contemporaries.Olympic Career
1956 Summer Olympics
Rafer Johnson competed in the decathlon at the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia, from November 23 to December 8. He earned a silver medal with a total score of 7,587 points, finishing behind teammate Milton Campbell, who won gold with 7,937 points, an Olympic record.[25] Bronze went to Soviet athlete Vasili Kuznetsov with 7,465 points.[25] Johnson had qualified for both the decathlon and long jump events but withdrew from the long jump due to injury.[1] A knee injury, sustained earlier and aggravated during the competition, hampered his performance, preventing him from challenging for the gold despite leading after the first day.[26] [27] The decathlon spanned two days, November 29 and December 1, consisting of ten events: 100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 meters, 110 meter hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and 1500 meters.[25]| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Milton Campbell | United States | 7,937 (OR) |
| Silver | Rafer Johnson | United States | 7,587 |
| Bronze | Vasili Kuznetsov | Soviet Union | 7,465 |