Olympic Games Gold Medalist Athlete. On July 8, 1912, in Stockholm, Sweden, he sailed over a bar 6'4" high to win first place in the running high jump at the fifth modern Olympic games. He was a student at Brigham Young University when he went to Chicago to try out for the United States Olympic team. Some athletes trained on the ship that took them to Europe, but Richards felt that his event was not suited to shipboard practice so he just relaxed. He began intensive training in Antwerp, where the team had a layover, and continued to train until his event was called. He excelled at many events including the broad jump, pole vault, shot put, discus, and the 100 and 400 meter races and competed until 1932. During his career he set 55 records. Besides his Olympic feat, other major achievements included decathlon champion at the National AAU meet in San Francisco in 1915 and high point honors at the Inter-Allied World Games in Paris in 1919. He attended Murdock Academy and BYU, graduated from Cornell University, and received a law degree from the University of Southern California. He served in the Army during World War I. Although admitted to the California Bar, he elected to teach school (Venice High 32 years) rather than practice law.
Olympic Games Gold Medalist Athlete. On July 8, 1912, in Stockholm, Sweden, he sailed over a bar 6'4" high to win first place in the running high jump at the fifth modern Olympic games. He was a student at Brigham Young University when he went to Chicago to try out for the United States Olympic team. Some athletes trained on the ship that took them to Europe, but Richards felt that his event was not suited to shipboard practice so he just relaxed. He began intensive training in Antwerp, where the team had a layover, and continued to train until his event was called. He excelled at many events including the broad jump, pole vault, shot put, discus, and the 100 and 400 meter races and competed until 1932. During his career he set 55 records. Besides his Olympic feat, other major achievements included decathlon champion at the National AAU meet in San Francisco in 1915 and high point honors at the Inter-Allied World Games in Paris in 1919. He attended Murdock Academy and BYU, graduated from Cornell University, and received a law degree from the University of Southern California. He served in the Army during World War I. Although admitted to the California Bar, he elected to teach school (Venice High 32 years) rather than practice law.
Bio by: Carl W. McBrayer
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