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Ashton Eaton Reflects On Rafer Johnson's 'Storied Life'Published by
Eaton Says 1960 Olympic Champion Was 'Someone I Aspired To Be Like' By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor Photos courtesy of Ashton Eaton Two-time Olympic decathlon champion and former world record holder Ashton Eaton paid his respects to the 'greatest athlete' of a previous generation Wednesday upon hearing news of Rafer Johnson's death at the age of 86. In an email to DyeStat, Eaton wrote that he met Johnson at various times and that the 1960 Olympic champion was present when he broke the world record at Hayward Field during the 2012 Olympic Trials. "Regarding Rafer, he was a bastion of the sport and someone I aspired to be like both athletically and in character," Eaton said. "Everyone who knew him only had good things to say about him. And you never heard Rafer talk about himself. He was a man who had a storied life who used his action to speak more than his words. But, when he did speak you couldn't help but listen. Seems to me that outside of sport he spent his time on Earth in service of others." Johnson was the first African-American athlete to serve as flag-bearer at an Olympic Games Opening Ceremony (1960) and also lit the cauldron in Los Angeles at the 1984 Games. Both honors point to the stature that Johnson held within the sporting world and the Olympic movement. "Overall, I find it an honor to have been alive when he was, and to have participated in the same discipline in sport," Eaton said. Eaton, 32, ruled the decathlon globally from 2012 to 2016, winning Olympic gold medals in London and Rio de Janeiro and also World Championship titles in 2013 (Moscow) and 2015 (Beijing). RAFER JOHNSON PASSES AWAY (12/2/2020) More news |