Ron Jourdan
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ronald Lee Jordan |
| National team | United States |
| Born | February 28, 1947 Pensacola, Florida |
| Died | January 1, 2014 (aged 66) Baldwyn, Mississippi |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 150 lb (68 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event | High jump |
| College team | University of Florida |
| Club | Florida Track Club |
Ronald Lee Jourdan (February 28, 1947 – January 1, 2014) was an American college and Olympic track and field athlete. Jourdan was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion in the high jump from Florida and member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic team. Jourdan, along with Reynaldo Brown of California, were the last great American high jumpers to use the straight-leg straddle, the style which dominated the sport in the 1950s and 1960s. Jourdan's personal best was 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters).
Early years
Jourdan was born and raised in
1972 Olympics
After graduating from the University of Florida with a
While training in Italy immediately prior to the Olympics, Jourdan sustained a leg injury. At the Olympics in September, he did not advance out of the Qualifying Round. He began competition at the low height of 1.90 (6'-3") because of his injury and progressed through 2.00, 2.06, 2.09 and 2.12 all on his first attempts, before missing all three tries at 2.15 (7'-03⁄4"). Jourdan holds the distinction of being the first athlete from the University of Florida to qualify for the Olympics in the sport of track and field (athletics).[8] Track & Field News magazine ("The Bible of the Sport") ranked Jourdan the #2 U.S. high jumper in 1972 (behind Dwight Stones, who won the Bronze medal at Munich with a leap of 7'-3" in the finals).
In 1973, Jourdan gave up his amateur status and continued to compete in the high jump as a professional on tour with the newly created International Track Association (ITA).[9] Despite initial success, the ITA folded within a few years.
He died January 1, 2014, in Baldwyn, Mississippi, shortly after retiring from a 30-year career with Warrior & Gulf Navigation Company, a barge company in Mobile, Alabama.[10]
Photographs
- Jourdan was featured on the cover of the April (II) 1969 edition of Track & Field News, Past Covers 1969; in a unique photograph taken from underneath the high jump bar as Jourdan, with his right leg still straight, rotates over the bar.
See also
Olympics portal
- Florida Gators
- List of University of Florida alumni
- List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members
- List of University of Florida Olympians
References
- ^ Ron Jourdan at Sports Reference
- ^ "Article 404 - Gainesville Sun - Gainesville, FL".
- ^ "Track and Field Crown to Kansas" (PDF). NCAA News. Vol. 6, no. 4. April 1969. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-03-29. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ^ "Past Covers 1969". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
- ^ "Track and Field Statistics".
- ^ F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
- ^ Hymans, Richard (2008). "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field" (PDF). USA Track & Field.
- ^ http://www.coachdonovan.com/trackfield/media/2008/pdf/uf.pdf [dead link]
- ^ "Registered & Protected by MarkMonitor".
- ^ "Ronnie Jourdan Obituary (1947 - 2014) - Baldwyn, MS - Chickasaw Journal". Legacy.com.
