Track & Field | November 12, 2024
Three-time NCAA shot put champion and USC Olympic gold medalist Dallas Long died of natural causes at the age of 84 in Whitefish, Mont. on November 10.
Long ruled the shot put world in the 1960s, winning three consecutive NCAA titles in the event (1960-61-62) and winning the shot put gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics with an Olympic record at the time of 66-8.50. He also won the bronze medal in the shot put at the 1960 Rome Olympics and set the shot put world record 11 times from 1959 to 1965 (with a best of 67-10.25).
He was ranked No. 1 in the shot put in the world in 1961, 1962 and 1964. The three-year letterman (1960-61-62) was a member of USC’s 1961 NCAA championship team and captained the 1962 squad. His USC record throw of 65-10.50 set in 1962 stood for 10 years and still ranks sixth on USC’s all-time shot put list. Long also set the USC freshman mark of 63-7 in 1959 which stood until the 2015 season.
Long was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1996, as well as the Arizona Hall of Fame in 1964, the National High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and the USC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003. He prepped at North High in Phoenix (Ariz.), where he became the first high schooler to throw the 16-pound shot past 60 feet to set a national prep record.
Long, originally from Pine Bluff, Ark., earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from USC and then earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. After his competing days, he became a dentist, then a doctor practicing emergency medicine.
Long is survived by his four children Kristen Long, Kelly Nordell, Karin Grandsire and Ian Long, nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Funeral services are pending.
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