Gregory Curtis Bell (born November 7, 1930) is a former

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete who won the Gold Medal in the Long Jump at the 1956 Summer Olympics in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. He won three national AAU championships, two NCAA Championships, earned NCAA All-American status three times and was a four-time national AAU All-American. From 1956–1958, he was ranked first in the world in the long jump. He set an NCAA record in the long jump, which stood for seven years, and is a charter member of both the Indiana Track and Field and IU Athletic halls of fame. Bell was inducted 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 a ...

Hall of Fame in 1988. Following his appearance in the Summer Olympics, he worked as director of dentistry at Logansport State Hospital for over 50 years and retired on 30 May 2020.

Championships

* 1955 AAU: Long Jump (1st) * 1956 Olympics: Long Jump – 7.83 m (1st) * 1956

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

: Long Jump – (1st) * 1957

: Long Jump – 8.10 m (1st) * 1957

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...

: Long Jump * 1957

: 100-meter dash * 1959 Pan American Games: Long Jump (2nd)

Honors

* 1957

: Most Outstanding Athlete

References

External links

* * * 1930 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1959 Pan American Games Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field American male long jumpers Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Sportspeople from Terre Haute, Indiana Track and field athletes from Indiana Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub