John Woodruff

I read an obituary about this man the other day, and he's someone I'd never heard of. He was a compatriot of Jesse Owens who ran in 1936 Olympics. Like Owens, he was also black:

John Woodruff, who has died aged 92, was the first black to win gold in Berlin. His triumph in the 800 metres, though overshadowed by Owens' later feats, was one of the most remarkable in Olympic history. To counter the favourite, Italy's European champion Mario Lanzi, Canada's Phil Edwards set an exceptionally slow pace. After 300 metres, Woodruff, an inexperienced 21-year-old college freshman, found himself boxed in. So he stopped. After the field had passed, he restarted in the outside lane, and, within 100 metres, took the lead. A gangly 6ft 3ins, with a 10-foot stride, Woodruff was nicknamed Long John, and though Edwards moved ahead on the back straight, Woodruff strode past him on the final turn, then held off a late charge by Lanzi to win in 1min 52.9secs.

He died a while ago, but his life is certainly one worth celebrating.