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mikelarrabee.jpg mike larrabee

mike larrabee

mike larrabee -lrb- `` michael denny larrabee ; '' december 2 , 1933 -- april 22 , 2003 -rrb- was an american athlete , winner of two gold medals at the 1964 summer olympics .
born in hollywood , california and raised in ventura , larrabee was a young running talent in the mid-1950s .
in 1952 , his athletic performances earned him a scholarship at the university of southern california , from which he graduated as a geology major .
a series of injuries hampered his running career , causing him to miss out on the 1956 and 1960 olympics , but he had his best season in 1964 .
at first he won his only aau title in 400 m , then he won the 400 m -lrb- tying the world record of 44.9 -rrb- at the 1964 olympic trials in los angeles .
in the tokyo olympics final , larrabee was in fifth place going into the final turn , when he passed everyone in front of him with a burst of speed to win the gold medal in 45.1 .
larrabee also ran the second leg on united states gold medal winning 4x400 m relay team that won in the world record time of 3:00.7 .
after the tokyo olympics larrabee worked as a mathematics teacher , ran a beverage distributing company with his brother and worked part-time as adidas ' u.s. shoe representative to track and field , a position that allowed him to travel and keep connected to the sport .
larrabee remained physically active well after his running career had wound down , taking up tennis , scuba diving , skiing , hiking -lrb- for which he raised llamas as pack animals -rrb- and mountain climbing .
although he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer in 2001 and was only expected to live a few weeks , he continued to live life to the fullest for two more years , thanks to chemotherapy treatments .
mike larrabee died in his home at santa maria , california , aged 69 .
he was posthumously added to the national track and field hall of fame in december 2003 .
the stadium at ventura high school , which he attended , is named for him .
