Jerome Cousins Biffle (March 20, 1928 – September 4, 2002) was an American athlete who competed mainly 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 gr ...

, where he was the Gold Medalist at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games. Biffle was born in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and attended

Denver East High School East High School is a historical public high school located in the City Park neighborhood on the east side of Denver, Colorado, United States. It is part of the Denver Public Schools system, and is one of four original high schools in Denver. The ...

, where he won all-state honors in the 100 and 220-yard sprints,

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

and broad jump before landing at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

. Biffle was known as "the one-man track team" while attending university. He led the Pioneers to the

Skyline Conference The Skyline Conference is a college athletic conference based in the New York City area that competes in the NCAA's Division III. The league was originally chartered on May 16, 1989, as a men's basketball conference and now sponsors 17 sports (ni ...

title in 1949. In 1950, Biffle captured first-place finishes at the

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

, and

West Coast Relays Started April 30, 1927, the West Coast Relays grew to one of the premier track and field events in the United States. Held in Fresno's Ratcliffe Stadium, it was the site of thirty-six world records and many national and collegiate records. It becam ...

, which were known as the "big three" of college track events during that period, as well as winning the

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 title. In that same year, Biffle was named ''

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runni ...

'' top collegiate track star. After graduating from university, he joined the U.S. Army in 1951. Next year he earned a spot on the 1952 U.S. Olympic team and won a gold medal on his final attempt in the Olympic final, jumping 7.57 meters (24 feet, 10 inches). He retired from competition in 1953. Biffle later became a track coach and youth counselor at Denver East. In conjunction with Murray S. Hoffman, MD (President of the Colorado Heart Association) and

Marilyn Van Derbur Marilyn Elaine Van Derbur (born June 16, 1937) is an American author, motivational speaker, and beauty pageant titleholder. In July 1957, she was crowned Miss Colorado 1957. On September 7, 1957, she was crowned Miss America 1958 in Atlantic Cit ...

(1958 Miss America) he worked with the Colorado Heart Association to establish one of the earliest jogging programs to promote heart health. He died in Denver in 2002 from

pulmonary fibrosis Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred over time. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, and nail clubbing. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, respiratory failu ...

References

1928 births 2002 deaths Track and field athletes from Denver Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis American male long jumpers Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics University of Denver alumni {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub