Floyd Simmons

Floyd Macon Simmons, Jr. (born April 10, 1923 in Charlotte , North Carolina , † April 1, 2008 ibid) was an American track and field athlete and two-time Olympic medalist in the decathlon .

Simmons attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . As a football player , he earned the nickname “Chunk” there. However, the versatile athlete gained fame primarily as a decathlete. At the Olympic Games in London in 1948 he won the bronze medal with 6950 points behind his compatriot Bob Mathias (7139 points) and the French Ignace Heinrich (6974 points). Four years later at the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952 , he repeated his placement with 6788 points. Bob Mathias topped this competition with 7887 points and won again. Milt Campbell completed the US triumph in second place with 6975 points.

After his competitive sports career, Simmons played a few mostly smaller roles in various Hollywood films from 1956 , including the film adaptation of the musical South Pacific (1958) and most recently the horror film The Poison of Evil (1963). During this time he befriended young Clint Eastwood . Simmons later settled in his hometown of Charlotte, where he worked as a photographer. He was also active as a senior athlete until 2005.

Web links

• Floyd Simmons in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Floyd Simmons in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ masterstrack.com 'Chunk' Simmons dies at 84; Olympian, masters thrower ( Memento of the original from November 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), April 11, 2008