Lindy Remigino, who went from fifth at the NCAA Championships to winning the Olympic 100m in about a month in 1952, died at age 87 on Wednesday, according to Manhattan College, his alma mater.
Remigino, then 21, earned gold at the Helsinki Games in the closest Olympic sprint final in history (video here), according to the Olympic historians.
The first four finishers were given times of 10.4 seconds, and a photo was needed to determine the medalists.
“I wasn’t nervous,” Remigino said later, according to Manhattan College. “I was used to running in front of a lot of people at Madison Square Garden.