Donald George Bragg (May 15, 1935 – February 16, 2019) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the
pole vault
Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...
and won a gold medal in that event at the
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...
Penns Grove, New Jersey
Penns Grove is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Salem County, New Jersey, Salem County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 5,147,Penns Grove High School
Penns Grove High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Carneys Point Township and Penns Grove in Salem County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Penn ...
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'', April 20, 1959. Accessed December 16, 2008.
Bragg was the last of the great pole vaulters to use an
aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
pole. From 1954 until 1960, he was always world ranked and capped a championship career in 1960 by setting a
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
of 15' " (4.80 m) at the Olympic Trials and winning an Olympic gold medal with a vault of 15' 5" (4.70 m). He set a world indoor record of 15' " (4.81 m) at
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
in 1959 and, like Hall of Famer
Cornelius Warmerdam
Cornelius "Dutch" Warmerdam (June 22, 1915 – November 13, 2001) was an American pole vaulter who held the world record between 1940 and 1957. He missed the Olympics due to World War II, and retired from senior competitions in 1944, though he co ...
, vaulted better indoors than outdoors.
At 6' 3" and 197 pounds, Bragg was one of the largest vaulters in history. He had to stay on a diet to stay at that weight — any more and the aluminum alloy poles would crumple under the strain. The aluminum pole had another disadvantage: While taking it aboard a train in Philadelphia, Bragg hit an electrical line and was nearly electrocuted.
While at
Villanova University
Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...
, he won the NCAA pole vault championship in 1955 and was the IC4A champion, both indoors and outdoors, from 1955 to 1957. He also tied for the AAU indoor championship. After graduating in 1957, Bragg again tied for the AAU indoor championship in 1958, then won the event from 1959 through 1961. He was also the AAU outdoor champion in 1959.
Nicknamed "
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
" because of his size and strength, Bragg's goal was to play that role in the movies. Few have so actively pursued a role. He toured Europe and Africa for the U.S. Department of State as a goodwill ambassador, climbing trees and swinging from vines. He met
Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...
, who agreed that Bragg would be perfect as Tarzan. When he won the gold at the 1960 Olympics he did the infamous Tarzan yell from the podium, shocking the crowd. He was offered the role twice, but was injured and missed both opportunities. His dream went unfulfilled.
He later became athletic director at Stockton State College in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, the owner of a summer camp, and the author of ''A Chance to Dare: The Don Bragg Story''. His time running a summer camp is chronicled in ''Kamp Olympik'' by Don and Theresa Bragg, as told to Patricia Doherty.
In August 2010, Bragg made a speech in Rome at a ceremony commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the 1960 Summer Olympics. He concluded this speech with his Tarzan yell.
His younger sister,
Diane Bragg
Diane Bragg is an American pole vaulter. On July 6, 1952 she jumped at a meet in Philadelphia to improve upon Zoya Romanova's world record in the pole vault. Romanova had held the world record for over 16 years. Bragg's record was equalled mor ...
, also learned how to pole vault by watching her brother. In 1952, long before women were pole vaulting competitively, Diane set the women's world record that stood for over 25 years.
Bragg died at his home in
Oakley, California
Oakley is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is within the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. The population at the 2020 United States census was 43,357. Oakley was incorporated in 1999, making it the newest incorporate ...
, from the effects of
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
,
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
, and a stroke on February 16, 2019, aged 83.
Records
*World record: pole vault — 4.80 m (July 2, 1960)
Championships
*1955 NCAA: Pole Vault (1st)
*1957 AAU Indoors: Pole Vault (1st)
*1958 AAU Indoors: Pole Vault (1st)
*1959 AAU Indoors: Pole Vault (1st)
*1959 AAU Outdoors: Pole Vault (1st)
*1960 AAU Indoors: Pole Vault (1st)
*1960 Summer Olympics: Pole Vault — 4.70 m (1st)
*1961 AAU Indoors: Pole Vault (1st)
Education
*High school:
Penns Grove High School
Penns Grove High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Carneys Point Township and Penns Grove in Salem County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Penn ...