John Curtis Thomas (March 3, 1941 – January 15, 2013) was an American

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who set several world records in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

using the

straddle technique The straddle technique was the dominant style in the high jump before the development of the Fosbury Flop. It is a successor of the Western roll, for which it is sometimes confused. Unlike the scissors or flop style of jump, where the jumper ...

. As a youth, he earned the

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

award. At the age of 17, while a freshman at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, Thomas became the first man to clear indoors. He subsequently pushed the world indoor record to , and broke the world outdoor record three times, with a career best jump of in 1960, at the age of 19. Thomas' meteoric career briefly captivated the track world, but he failed to win an Olympic gold medal, despite being favored to win in both the 1960 and 1964 Games. In 1960, he settled for the bronze medal behind the USSR's

Robert Shavlakadze Robert Shavlakadze ( ka, რობერტ შავლაყაძე; , 1 April 1933 – 4 March 2020) was a Georgian high jumper. He competed for the Soviet Union at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and finished in first and fifth place, respectiv ...

(gold), and

Valeriy Brumel Valeriy Nikolayevich Brumel (; 14 April 1942 – 26 January 2003)Great Russian Encyclopedia (2006), Moscow: Bol'shaya Rossiyskaya Enciklopediya Publisher, vol. 4, p. 243 was a Soviet-Russian high jumper. The 1964 Olympic champion and multiple wo ...

(silver). Thomas's failure in 1960 on Thursday 1 September was accompanied by other failures that day by American favorites, and the day become known as 'Black Thursday'. In 1964 he was again beaten by Brumel, who cleared the same top height as Thomas, but was declared the winner based on fewer misses at lower heights.

John Rambo John James Rambo is a fictional character in the Rambo (franchise), ''Rambo'' franchise. He first appeared in the 1972 novel ''First Blood (novel), First Blood'' by David Morrell, but later became more famous as the protagonist of the film serie ...

won the bronze in 1964. Thomas is an inductee of 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 ...

Hall of Fame.John Thomas
USATF Hall of Fame

Jumping orientation

Thomas planted his left foot for take-off and high kicked with his right leg that would lead over the bar.

Biography

Thomas was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and grew up in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

. His father Curtis was a bus driver and his mother Ida was a kitchen employee at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

.Trounson, Rebecca. (2013, January 24)
''John Thomas dies at 71' U.S. high jumper medaled in two Olympics''.
The Los Angeles Times. He graduated from Boston University in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in physical and psychological rehabilitation. Thomas retired from competition at the age of 27 and became a businessman. He later served as an assistant coach at Boston University and athletic director at

Roxbury Community College Roxbury Community College (RCC) is a public community college in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. RCC offers associate degrees in arts, and sciences, as well as certificates. RCC has transfer agreements with Curry College, No ...

. Thomas died at age 71 while undergoing vascular surgery at a

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 105,643 at the 2020 United States census. Along with Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, ...

hospital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, John 1941 births 2013 deaths American male high jumpers Boston University College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (Sargent College) alumni Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) Use mdy dates from August 2011 Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field African-American track and field athletes NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Boston University Terriers men's track and field athletes 20th-century American sportsmen