in full Robert Bruce Mathias
born Nov. 17, 1930, Tulare, Calif., U.S.
U.S. decathlete.
He suffered from anemia as a child and turned to athletics to gain strength. In 1948, at age 17, he won a gold medal in the Olympic decathlon , becoming the youngest gold medalist ever to win an Olympic track-and-field event. He won a second decathlon gold medal in 1952; that same year he played fullback on Stanford University's gridiron football team at the Rose Bowl. He won all 11 decathlon competitions he entered in his career. He later served in the U.S. House of Representatives.