- Dwight Stones
-
Olympic medalist
Dwight Stones interviews Xavier Carter and Kelly Willie of LSUMedal record Men's Athletics Bronze 1972 Munich High Jump Bronze 1976 Montreal High Jump Dwight Edwin Stones (born December 6, 1953) is an American television commentator and a two-time Olympic bronze medalist and former three-time world record holder in the men's high jump. During his 16-year career, he won 19 national championships. In 1984, Stones became the first athlete to both compete and announce at the same Olympics. Since then, he has been a color analyst for all three major networks in the United States and continues to cover track and field on television. He served as an analyst for NBC Sports coverage of Track and Field at the 2008 Summer Olympics. [1]
Stones, who is Jewish, was born in Los Angeles, California.[2][3] He set his first world record when he cleared 2.30 m (7 ft 7 in) in 1973 at Munich, Germany. That jump also made him the first "flop" jumper to set a world high jump record, five years after Dick Fosbury made that jumping style famous while winning the Mexico City Olympics. Stones raised the world record to 2.31 m (7 ft 7 in) in 1976 and added another centimeter to the record two months later.
Stones was one of the world's top high jumpers from 1972 to 1984 and has been twice named the World Indoor Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News. At age 18, he represented the U.S. for the first time at the 1972 Summer Olympics, placing third in the high jump competition. Four years later at the Montreal Olympics, he was a heavy favorite to win the gold medal but had to settle for a bronze when his jumping ability was hampered by competition in the rain.
His participation at the Montreal Games sparked a heated debate, in which he supposedly said he hated French Canadians (Montréal-Matin Newspaper, July 29, 1976, pages 5 and 8); this debate became so inflamed that he felt the need to start wearing a t-shirt that said he loved the people who organized the Games.
He returned to the Olympics in 1984, finishing fourth after setting his 13th American record at that year's Trials.
Stones attended UCLA his Freshman year 1971–72, and later transferred to California State University, Long Beach and is a member of that University's Hall of Fame.
In 1998, Stones was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame.
Contents
Records held
- World Record: High Jump – 2.30 m (July 11, 1973)
- World Record: High Jump – 2.31 m (June 5, 1976)
- World Record: High Jump – 2.32 m (August 4, 1976)
- American Record: High Jump – 2.34 m (1984)
Championships
- 1984
- 1984 Olympic Games: High Jump (4th)
- 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials: High Jump – 2.34 m (1st)
- 1983
- 1983 TAC Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1983 TAC Indoor Championships: High Jump (3rd)
- 1982
- 1982 TAC Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1980
- 1980 AAU Outdoor Championships: High Jump (3rd)
- 1978
- 1978 AAU Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1977
- 1977 World Cup: High Jump (2nd)
- 1977 AAU Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1977 USTFF Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1977 AAU Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1976
- 1976 Summer Olympics: High Jump (3rd – bronze medal)
- 1976 U.S. Olympic Trials: High Jump (2nd)
- 1976 USTFF Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1976 AAU Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1976 NCAA Outdoor Championships: High Jump – 2.31 m (1st)
- 1976 NCAA Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)(Cal State Long Beach)
- 1975
- 1975 USTFF Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1975 USTFF Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1975 AAU Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1975 AAU Outdoor Championships: High Jump (3rd)
- 1974
- 1974 USTFF Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1974 AAU Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1973
- 1973 USTFF Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1973 USTFF Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1973 AAU Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1973 AAU Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
- 1972
- 1972 Summer Olympics: High Jump – 2.21 m (3rd – bronze medal)
- 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials: High Jump – 2.21 m (1st)
- 1972 NCAA Outdoor Championships: High Jump (3rd)(UCLA)
References
- ^ Medium Well: Your NBC Olympics lineup – A blog on sports media, news and networks – baltimoresun.com
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
External links
Records Preceded by
Pat MatzdorfMen's High Jump World Record Holder
1973-07-11 — 1977-06-02Succeeded by
Vladimir YashchenkoSporting positions Preceded by
Jüri TarmakMen's High Jump Best Year Performance
1973 — 1976Succeeded by
Vladimir YashchenkoMasters athletics Events Records World Records · American RecordsAthletes World Masters Athletics · List of Masters Athletes · USATF Masters Hall of FameCategories:- 1953 births
- American high jumpers
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- California State University, Long Beach alumni
- Living people
- Olympic track and field athletes of the United States
- Olympic bronze medalists for the United States
- Former world record holders in athletics (track and field)
- High school national record holder
- Olympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Jewish American sportspeople
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