FILE – United States runners Larry James, left, Lee Evans, center, and Ron Freeman are shown after receiving their medals for the 400-meter race at the Mexico City Games in Mexico City, in this Oct. 18, 1968, file photo. Evans won gold, James took silver and Freeman got the bronze medal. Lee Evans, the record-setting sprinter who wore a black beret in a sign of protest at the 1968 Olympics, died Wednesday, May 19, 2021. He was 74. USA Track and Field confirmed Evans’ death. The San Jose Mercury News reported that Evans’ family had started a fundraiser with hopes of bringing him back to the U.S. from Nigeria, where he coached track, to receive medical care after he suffered a stroke last week.
FILE – Three out of four members of the United States 4×400-meter relay team, right, hold up clenched fists as they leave the Olympic stadium after receiving their gold medals during the Mexico City Games in Mexico City, in this Sunday Oct. 21, 1968, file photo. The four, from left, are Ron Freeman (273), Vince Matthews, Lee Evans and Larry James. Lee Evans, the record-setting sprinter who wore a black beret in a sign of protest at the 1968 Olympics, died Wednesday, May 19, 2021. He was 74. USA Track and Field confirmed Evans’ death. The San Jose Mercury News reported that Evans’ family had started a fundraiser with hopes of bringing him back to the U.S. from Nigeria, where he coached track, to receive medical care after he suffered a stroke last week.
FILE – Lee Evans, a member of the United States 4X400-meter relay team, holds up a clenched fist after receiving his gold medal during medal presentations at the Mexico City Games in Mexico City, in this Oct. 21, 1968, file photo. Lee Evans, the record-setting sprinter who wore a black beret in a sign of protest at the 1968 Olympics, died Wednesday, May 19, 2021. He was 74. USA Track and Field confirmed Evans’ death. The San Jose Mercury News reported that Evans’ family had started a fundraiser with hopes of bringing him back to the U.S. from Nigeria, where he coached track, to receive medical care after he suffered a stroke last week.
Lee Evans, the record-setting sprinter who wore a black beret in a sign of protest at the 1968 Olympics then went onto a life of humanitarian work in support of social justice, died Wednesday. He was 74.
USA Track and Field confirmed Evans’ death. The San Jose Mercury News reported that Evans’ family had started a fundraiser in hopes of bringing him back to the U.S. from Nigeria, where he coached track, to receive medical care after he suffered a stroke last week.
Evans became the first man to crack 44 seconds in the 400 meters, winning the gold medal at the Mexico City Games in 43.86. His victory came shortly after his teammates, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, were sent home from the Olympics for raising their fists on the medals stand.
In later interviews, Evans said an official warned him not do anything similar. He took a different approach, wearing a black beret to show support for the Black Panther Party and other civil rights organizations.
“Lee Evans was one of the greatest athletes and social justice advocates in an era that produced a generation of such courageous, committed, and contributing athlete-activists,” said Harry Edwards, the architect of the Olympic Project for Human Rights, of which Evans was a key member.
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