The American Gregory "Greg" Bell, who won the Olympic gold medal in long jump at the 1956 Melbourne Games, has passed away on Saturday at the age of 94.
Greg Bell’s winning jump in the Olympic final in Melbourne measured 7.83 meters. With this leap, he secured victory ahead of his compatriot John Bennett (7.68 meters) and Finland’s Jorma Valkama, whose bronze medal performance of 7.48 meters remains Finland's only Olympic medal in long jump history.
The Olympic gold in Melbourne was Bell’s sole international championship during his career. He achieved silver at the Pan American Games in 1959.
Bell set his personal best of 8.10 meters in Austin in June 1957. At the time, it was the fifth-best jump in the world’s history, falling just three centimeters short of
Jesse Owens’ then-world record.
Greg Bell spent his professional career at a hospital in Logansport, Indiana, where he served as the director of dental care services for over 50 years.