Mal Whitfield

Malvin Greston Whitfield (October 11, 1924 – November 18, 2015) was an American former athlete and goodwill ambassador. He was the Olympic champion in the 800 metres at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics. Overall, he is a five-time Olympic medalist (three gold, one silver, one bronze).

Whitfield was born in Bay City, Texas. He moved at age 4 to Watts, Los Angeles. He joined the United States Army Air Forces in 1943 as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen. After World War II he remained in the military, but also enrolled at the Ohio State University. He served inn the Korean War. Whitfield died under hospice care in Washington, D.C. on the night of November 18, 2015 from heart failure, aged 91.

References

Other websites
 Mal Whitfield's profile at Sports Reference.com 

Category:1924 births
Category:2015 deaths
Category:Deaths from heart failure
Category:African-American track and field athletes
Category:Ambassadors of the United States
Category:American military personnel of the Korean War
Category:American military personnel of World War II
Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States
Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States
Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States
Category:Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Category:Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Category:Military people from California
Category:Military people from Texas
Category:Sportspeople from Los Angeles
Category:Sportspeople from Texas