Arnie Paul Robinson Jr. (April 7, 1948 – December 1, 2020) was an American athlete. He won a bronze medal in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

at the 1972 Olympics and a gold medal in 1976.

Early life and education

Arnie Paul Robinson Jr. was born in San Diego in 1948. He mother, Verneater Robinson, worked as a volunteer at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in San Diego. Robinson stayed in the San Diego area throughout his career, first at

Samuel F. B. Morse High School Samuel F. B. Morse High School is an urban public high school located in southeastern San Diego in the neighborhood of Skyline Hills serving grades 9–12 in the American K-12 education system. Morse, which serves a predominantly socioeconomical ...

, then

San Diego Mesa College San Diego Mesa College (Mesa College or Mesa) is a public community college in Clairemont Mesa in San Diego, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges and the San Diego Community College District. It is the largest communi ...

and

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

, where he was the 1970 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Champion in the long jump.

Athletic Career

The following year, in 1971, Robinson won his first

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Oly ...

title, representing the San Diego Track Club. That qualified him to go to the Athletics at the 1971 Pan American Games, where he won the Gold Medal. In 1972 he won the USA Championships again, this time representing the U.S. Army. That was the first time he qualified for the Olympic team winning the

Olympic Trials Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

. In Munich that year he was third in the Olympics behind youngster

Randy Williams Randy Lavelle Williams (born August 23, 1953) is an American athlete. Education In high school, Williams attended Edison High School in Fresno, California. He then attended the University of Southern California.

who was setting the still standing World Junior Record in the long jump. Then starting in 1975, Robinson went on to win four straight USA Outdoor Championships, representing an assortment of clubs. The 1975 championship qualified Robinson to again go to the Pan Am Games, where he won the silver medal behind the first of 4 jumping gold medals for

João Carlos de Oliveira João Carlos de Oliveira, also known as "João do Pulo" (May 28, 1954May 29, 1999) was a Brazilian athlete who competed in the triple jump and the long jump. Born in Pindamonhangaba, São Paulo De Oliveira won two Olympic bronze medals. His per ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. In 1976, he bested Williams in both the Olympic Trials and the Olympics, taking home the Gold Medal and a career best 8.35m jump. In 1977, his National Championship qualified him to go to the first ever

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

meet in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

, where he again took home Gold.

Teaching Career

As of 2005, he was teaching physical education courses at Mesa College in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. He was previously the head track coach at Mesa College, starting in 1982.

Honors

In 2000, Robinson was elected into the

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 an ...

National Track and Field Hall of Fame The National Track and Field Hall of Fame is a museum operated by The Armory Foundation in conjunction with USA Track & Field. It is located within the Armory Foundation (the former Fort Washington Avenue Armory) at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, ...

. He was voted into the San Diego Sport Association's Breitbard Hall of Fame in 1984, and the California Community College Athletic Association Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2007. On April 13, 2013, San Diego Mesa College honored the Olympian Long Jumper by naming their Invitational (Arnie Robinson Invite hosted in San Diego at Mesa College) after him, and presenting him with an award.

Personal life

Early in 2000, he was seriously injured in an auto accident when a drunk driver hit his car. After he recovered he became the coach of the USA Track & Field long jump team at the 2003 world championships. In 2005. he was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer,

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality ...

, and told he would only live another 6 months. Later in life he took up a new hobby, building houses. His first marriage to Cynthia Eley ended in divorce. He has a son, Paul, born shortly before Robinson retired from competing. He had three sisters and a younger brother who died in 2011.

Death

Robinson began to have trouble breathing and excessive coughing around mid-November 2020. He died on December 1, 2020, at the age of 72, after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

during the COVID-19 pandemic in San Diego.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Arnie 1948 births American male long jumpers 2020 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1975 Pan American Games Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Track and field athletes from San Diego Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States San Diego State Aztecs men's track and field athletes Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in California Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games