1960 Olympic champion Johnson dead at age 86

ANKARA

US Olympic decathlon champion Rafer Johnson passed away on Wednesday, the international governing body for athletics said on Twitter

"World Athletics is deeply saddened to hear that 1960 Olympic decathlon champion Rafer Johnson – widely regarded as one of the all-time greats in the combined events – has died at the age of 86," the body announced Thursday.

Johnson bagged an Olympic silver medal in the Melbourne 1956 games and gold in Rome in 1960 in men's decathlon.

US media reported that Johnson died at his home in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles.

In 1968, Johnson was among three men to subdue and disarm Sirhan Sirhan after he assassinated US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy.

Johnson also lit the Olympic torch during the opening ceremony of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.