Russell Arden Hodge (born September 12, 1939) is an American

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, world record holder in decathlon (1966–1967), Olympic competitor from 1964, and silver medalist from the Pan American Games (1971).

Track and field career

Hodge competed at the

1963 Pan American Games The 1963 Pan American Games were held from April 20 to May 5, 1963, in São Paulo, Brazil. Host city selection For the first time, two cities submitted bids to host the 1963 Pan American Games that were recognized by the Pan American Sports O ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, where he finished 4th in decathlon. He competed in decathlon at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he placed ninth. In July 1966 he set a world record in '' decathlon'' at a competition in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, with 8,230 points, a record which lasted until May 1967. Hodge received a silver medal in decathlon at the

1971 Pan American Games * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

Cali, Colombia Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

with a score of 7314, behind winner

Rick Wanamaker Rick Wanamaker (born March 20, 1948 in Marengo, Iowa) is an American track and basketball athlete, known principally for winning the decathlon in the 1971 Pan American Games and for blocking a shot against Lew Alcindor in the 1969 NCAA national b ...

.Pan-American Games
'' Athletics Weekly'' 2007. Accessed August 30, 2008. He finished fourth in the AAU National Championship in decathlon in 1963 and in 1964, and second in 1965 and 1966.History of US Nationals Results: Decathlon
, ''

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 ...

'' Archive, 2005. Accessed August 30, 2008. In 1970 he finished second again, as he did in 1971, after a close race with

.Ho, Ho, Ho Went The Jolly White Giant
''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'', June 21, 1971. Accessed 2008-08-30. Hodge did not compete at the Olympics after 1964. He became injured before the U.S. trials both in 1968 and 1972, and again in 1976.

Family

Hodge is son of

Alice Arden Alice Arden (1516–1551) was an English murderess. She was the daughter of John Brigantine and Alice Squire, who conspired to have her husband, Thomas Arden of Faversham, murdered so she could carry on with a long-term affair with a tailor, Ric ...

, who placed ninth in high jump at the 1936 Summer Olympics in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. His father Russel "Rusty" Hodge was a semi-professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player, playing center for the Liberty Emeralds.

Awards

In August 2003, both Hodge and his mother were honoured with the Sullivan County Historical Society "History Maker" award. They are the only mother-son Olympians in the United States' Olympic history.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hodge, Russ 1939 births Living people American male decathletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1963 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Pan American Games World record setters in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games People from Rockland, New York