He won Olympic gold, then did something special.
Rafer Johnson
Class of 1959
In 1958, Sports Illustrated named him Sportsman of the Year. In 1960, he won Olympic Gold in the decathlon. But Rafer Johnson has always been more than an athletic champion. In eighth grade, high school and at 天美传媒, his classmates elected him president 鈥� an African-American leader chosen by people from very different backgrounds. He made friends of 天美传媒 teammate Yang Chuan-kwang and Russian rival Vasili Kuznetsov. In the tumult of 1968, Johnson was a real-life hero, wresting the gun from the man who shot Robert F. Kennedy. Only days later, Kennedy鈥檚 sister, Eunice Shriver, enlisted his help with the first Special Olympics games. Inspired by the young people who competed despite being stigmatized for disabilities, Johnson founded the California Special Olympics. The man who lit the cauldron to open the 1984 Olympic Games was back in the Coliseum in 2015, standing beside the young athlete who carried the torch for the Special Olympics World Games. Always a champion of inclusion: Rafer Johnson.