Arnie Paul Robinson Jr. (April 7, 1948 – December 1, 2020) was an American athlete. He won a bronze medal in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

at the 1972 Olympics and a gold medal in 1976.

Early life and education

Arnie Paul Robinson Jr. was born in San Diego in 1948. His mother, Verneater Robinson, worked as a volunteer at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in San Diego. Robinson stayed in the San Diego area throughout his career, first at Samuel F. B. Morse High School, then San Diego Mesa College and

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

, where he was the 1970 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Champion in the long jump.

Athletic career

The following year, in 1971, Robinson won his first

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Oly ...

title, representing the San Diego Track Club. That qualified him to go to the Athletics at the 1971 Pan American Games, where he won the gold medal. In 1972, he won the USA Championships again, this time representing the U.S. Army. This was the first time he qualified for the Olympic team, winning the Olympic trials. In Munich that year, he was third in the Olympics behind youngster Randy Williams, who was setting the still standing World Junior Record in the long jump. Starting in 1975, Robinson won four straight USA Outdoor Championships, representing an assortment of clubs. The 1975 championship qualified Robinson to again go to the Pan Am Games, where he won the silver medal behind the first of four jumping gold medals for João Carlos de Oliveira of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. In 1976, he bested Williams in both the Olympic trials and the Olympics, taking home the gold medal and a career best 8.35m jump. In 1977, his National Championship qualified him to go to the first ever

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

meet in

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, where he again took home gold. He won the British

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title in the long jump event at the 1980 AAA Championships.

Teaching career

As of 2005, he was teaching physical education courses at Mesa College in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. He was previously the head track coach at Mesa College, starting in 1982.

Honors

In 2000, Robinson was inducted into the

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is a United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and 1 ...

National Track and Field Hall of Fame National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

. He was voted into the San Diego Sport Association's Breitbard Hall of Fame in 1984, and the California Community College Athletic Association Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2007. On April 13, 2013, San Diego Mesa College honored Robinson by naming their Invitational (Arnie Robinson Invite hosted in San Diego at Mesa College) after him, and presenting him with an award.

Personal life

In 2000, Robinson was seriously injured in an auto accident when a drunk driver hit his car. After he recovered, he became the coach of the USA Track & Field long jump team at the 2003 world championships. In 2005, he was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer,

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is the most aggressive and most common type of cancer that originates in the brain, and has a very poor prognosis for survival. Initial signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nons ...

, and was told he would only live another six months. Later in life, Robinson took up a new hobby, building houses. His first marriage to Cynthia Eley ended in divorce. He has a son, Paul, born shortly before Robinson retired from competing. He had three sisters and a younger brother who died in 2011.

Death

Robinson began having trouble breathing and excessive coughing around mid-November 2020. He died on December 1, 2020, at the age of 72, after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

during the COVID-19 pandemic in San Diego.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Arnie 1948 births 2020 deaths American male long jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in California Track and field athletes from San Diego Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics San Diego State Aztecs men's track and field athletes Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen San Diego Mesa College alumni NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners