Otis Davis: 400m gold medal winning Olympian dies aged 92
Otis Davis has died at the age of 92.
Two time gold medal winning US Olympian Otis Davis has died at the age of 92 on Saturday, September 14 - the news was announced by the University of Oregon on Monday.
Davis’ crowning moment came at the 1960 Rome Olympics during the 400m dash. He won the gold medal by the tightest of margins, breaking a world record along the way - he also won a gold medal in the 4x400m relay race that year. His two gold medal victories came just two days apart from each other.
Perhaps even more amazingly, Davis was relatively inexperienced in the 400m event before the Olympics - he had only competed in nine 400m dashes prior to his gold medal winning performance. Additionally, at 28 years of age, he was also one of the oldest competitors in the competition.
His contributions to the Olympic games were immortalised in 1996, when he was one of the torchbearers at the Atlanta Olympics in his home country.
Following his Olympic success, Davis began to wind his athletics career down. He returned to Oregon later in 1960, where he attained a Bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education. He would go on to become a school teacher, a coach and a truant officer in the wake of his time in athletics. In 1980, he was appointed as the Director of Recreation of the Sports Complex for the U.S. Military in Germany.
Oregon Track and Field issued a statement in the wake of Davis’ death on their official Instagram page, which reads: “We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Otis Davis, our first Olympic gold medallist. He was a two-time Olympic champion (400, 4x400) at the 1960 Games in Rome and is one of the icons featured on the tower at Hayward Field. You will be missed, Mr. Davis.”