George Anthony STANICH

After placing seventh in the 1948 NCAA high jump and sixth at the AAU championships, George Stanich of UCLA seemed an unlikely candidate for the Olympic team. He then showed dramatic improvement at the Final Trials and cleared a personal best of 6-8¼ (2.04) to take second place after a countback with Vern McGrew of Rice. At the London Olympics, McGrew was surprisingly eliminated at 6-2¾ (1.90), but Stanich was one of four athletes to clear 6-4¾ (1.95) and was awarded the bronze medal on the fewer-misses rule.

Personal Best: HJ – 2.04 (1948).