Who Was Arnie Robinson Jr.? Olympic Gold Medalist Succumbs To COVID

Not even "one of the greatest long jumpers in history" could escape the lethal effects of the coronavirus.

Olympic gold medalist Arnie Robinson Jr. died earlier this month after testing positive for COVID-19. He was 72 years old.

Robinson was considered to be "one of the greatest long jumpers in the history" of the sport, according to U.S. Track & Field. He won the bronze medal in the long jump at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The 1976 Montreal Olympics is where Robinson won the gold medal.

"I think that’s one of the things that drove him. Wanting to achieve something really, really big ... setting it out there and making it happen," Paul Robinson, Arnie Robinson’s son, told KGTV in San Diego.

Robinson was the champion of the 1971 Pan American Games and finished second in 1975. He was the world’s No.1 ranked long jumper from 1976-1978, according to USA Track & Field. Robinson finished his career with seven national long jump championships. His career-best jump was 27 feet, 4 3/4 inches in 1976.

Robinson retired after 1979 and became a coach at San Diego Mesa College in 1982. He led the women’s team to the California Community College State Championship in 1998. He also served as a professor in health and exercise science until his retirement in 2010.

The last 20 years of Robinson’s life included several health issues. He survived a serious car accident in 2000 and was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a Grade IV brain tumor, in 2005. Robinson was told he might not live more than six months after the diagnosis, though he made it another 15 years.

The former Olympian died one week after his COVID-19 diagnosis, according to his son.