Bob Richards

Track and field athlete and Protestant minister, born in Champaign, Illinois, USA. A juvenile delinquent as a teenager, he found himself through religion and sports. He was ordained a minister in the Church of the Brethren (1946), and then became the only two-time Olympic gold medallist in the pole vault (1952, 1956). He accepted the pastorate of a Brethren church in Long Beach, CA (1957) but continued as an advocate of physical fitness in the USA.

The Rev.

The second man to pole vault 15 feet, he was the Olympic pole vault gold medalist in 1952 and 1956 after winning the bronze medal in 1948. While a student at the University of Illinois, Richards tied for the national collegiate pole vault title and followed that with 20 national AAU titles, including 17 in the pole vault.

The only two-time Olympic gold medal winner in the pole vault, Richards later became involved in promoting physical fitness and continued to vault in his later years.