Alma Wilfred RICHARDS

After the failure of the world record holder, George Horine, to clear 6-3¼ (1.91), Alma Richards and the German, Hans Liesche, battled it out for the 1912 Olympic high jumptitle. Richards cleared 6-4 (1.93) on his final attempt and, with the German failing three times, the gold medal went to the 22-year-old Brigham Young student. Richards' Olympic victory was, apart from the 1913 AAU title, his major championship honor, although he won the high jump and standing broad jump at the 1919 Inter-Allied Games. Richards later studied at Cornell, Stanford, and Southern Cal and became a science teacher in the Los Angeles area.

Personal Bests: HJ – 1.956 (1915); SP – 42-3¾ (12.90) (1918); Decathlon – 5,719 (1912).