First black Olympic decathlon champion dead at 78

GAINESVILLE, Georgia (AFP) -

Photo illustration. Milt Campbell, the first black athlete to win the Olympic decathlon, died Friday of prostate cancer at age 78 at his home northwest of Atlanta.

Milt Campbell, the first black athlete to win the Olympic decathlon, died Friday of prostate cancer at age 78 at his home northwest of Atlanta.

Linda Rusch, who had spent the past 13 years with Campbell, announced his passing on Saturday.

Campbell was a high school senior when he took a silver medal in the decathlon at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, losing out to fellow American Bob Mathias.

Campbell won Olympic decathlon gold in 1956 at the Melbourne Olympics and later played professional American football.

He remains the only athlete to have been enshrined in the US Track and Field Hall of Fame and US Swimming Hall of Fame.