This year marks the 70th anniversary of the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
Basking in the glow of a gold-medal performance at those Games was John Woodruff, a 21-year-old African-American middle distance runner from the coal-mining town of Connellsville, Pa. The grandson of slaves, Woodruff won the 800 meters in Berlin on Aug. 4, 1936, becoming Pitt's first Olympic Gold Medalist and the first Olympic champion from Western Pennsylvania.
Now 91 years of age, Woodruff is the last surviving gold medalist of the United States' 1936 Olympic track and field team. He never had the opportunity to defend his title because the 1940 and '44 Games were cancelled due to World War II.
Still, as a collegian at the University of Pittsburgh he would go on to capture six IC4A championships, three NCAA titles and a gold medal at the 1937 Pan American Games.
To commemorate that historic race in the '36 Games, the University of Pittsburgh honored Woodruff this evening at Heinz Field during the Pitt-Rutgers football game.
Click Here to play the John Woodruff recognition video.
