Indiana lost one of its all-time greats over the weekend.
Olympic gold medalist and IU Hall of Famer Greg Bell passed away at home on Saturday.
The world’s top long jumper in the 1950s, Bell highlighted an outstanding track and field career by winning the long jump gold medal at the 1956 Olympic Games, jumping 25′ 8 1/4″ while a sophomore at IU.
Bell earned his undergraduate degree from IU and spent the majority of his adult life in the dental profession in Logansport, Indiana, with 50 years as the director of dentistry at Logansport State Hospital before his retirement in 2020.
In 1957, Bell also won the NCAA long jump title with a 26-7 effort, a meet record that stood for seven years. That same year, he was voted the Most Outstanding Athlete at the Penn Relays for his victories in both the 100 yards and the long jump. His leap of 26-1 1/2 at the Penn Relays set a record that stood until 1981 when Carl Lewis topped his mark.
Bell’s journey to IU and the Olympic Games was far from traditional, as he graduated from Terre Haute’s Garfield High School and joined the workforce. He was then drafted into the Army and served, before starting college at IU at the age of 24.
Following his discharge in 1954, he enrolled at Indiana University and was was undefeated in the long jump during his collegiate career, winning three NCAA championships. He won the first of three National AAU titles in 1955 and was rated the world’s best long jumper three times.
During the 1957 collegiate season, Bell helped the Hoosiers win Big Ten team titles indoors and outdoors. At the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, his NCAA long jump record was just 1 ¼ inches from Jesse Owens’ world record.
In 1958, Bell won at the Penn Relays for a third successive year and claimed a third indoor/outdoor sweep in the event at the Big Ten Championships. Injury prevented him from going for a third NCAA title.
Bell wound up with a total of 13 26-foot long jumps, the most by any long jumper in history up to that time. Bell was also second in the 1959 Pan American Games and competed in the USA-USSR dual meet that same year.
He was awarded a Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1958, which goes to one male (and now one female) student per year for proficiency in academics and athletics at each Big Ten university.
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