Arnie Robinson Jr., Olympic Gold Medalist, Dead at 72 After Contracting COVID-19

Arnie Robinson Jr. Olympic athlete who won a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal, died [...]

By Brian Jones

Arnie Robinson Jr. Olympic athlete who won a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal, died Tuesday morning, Dec. 1, according to USA Track and Field. He was 72 years old. His son, Paul Robinson, told KGTV in San Diego that his father was battling COVID-19 and first felt ill in mid-November.

"You're just in a state of shock and disbelief over how it happened," said Paul, who also had this to say about the coronavirus. "Respect COVID for what it is. Once COVID comes and closes in, there's nothing you can do." Robinson took the gold medal in the long jump at the 1976 Olympic Games. Before that, he won the Bronze medal for the same event at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. From 1976 to 1978, Robinson was the top-ranked long jumper in the world, recording a career-best 27-4.75 in 1976. He retired from track and field after the 1979 season.

"One of the greatest long jumpers in history, Arnie Paul Robinson, Jr., lived in San Diego throughout his career, attending Morse High School, San Diego Mesa College, and San Diego State University, where he was the 1970 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Champion in the long jump," USA Track and field said in a statement. Paul recently started a GoFundMe page to raise money for his youth sports fund.

"Arnie saw his natural talents and accomplishments as gifts that were his responsibility to share them by giving back to those within the community.," Paul wrote on the GoFundMe page. "Arnie applied the same unstoppable commitment, passion and dedication required to win Olympic Gold to helping others. He promoted youth track & field by organizing meets, investing his time and money in timing equipment, being involved with facility improvements in any way he could and also by coaching young athletes."

After a successful track career, Robinson became a coach at San Diego Message college in 1982. He had success there as his women's team won the California Community College State Championship in 1998. Two years later, Robinson was seriously injured in a car accident but recovered to become coach of the USATF jumpers for the 2003 World Championships. In 2005, Robinson was diagnosed with a brain tumor known as glioblastoma and was given six months to live. He is a member of the USATF National Track and Field Hall of Fame, the San Diego Breitbard Hall of Fame and the CCCAA Track and Field Hall of Fame.

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