Clifton Cushman

Clifton Cushman
Olympic medal record
Men’s athletics
Silver 1960 Rome 400 metre hurdles

Clifton Cushman (Clifton Emmett "Cliff" Cushman; 2 June 1938 – 25 September 1966) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metre hurdles.

He competed for the United States in the 1960 Summer Olympics held in Rome, Italy in the 400 metre hurdles where he won the silver medal.

Contents

High school

Cliff Cushman was a graduate of Grand Forks Central High School in Grand Forks, North Dakota in 1956. Cushman was an outstanding athlete while running in track for the Redskins, breaking and setting many records. In 1990 Cushman was inducted into the Grand Forks Central Athletic Hall of Fame. Randy Heuther of Lisbon High School, ND broke Cushman's record in the hurdles, but then was stripped of the title after a wind-aided controversy.

College

After high school Cliff attended the University of Kansas where he again broke and set many track records. In 1959 Cliff took second place in the 400-meter hurdles providing Kansas with their back bone to reach their first NCAA Championship. In the next year he was named captain of the Jayhawks, in this same season he also earned most outstanding performer honors at the Kansas Relays, as well as winning the national title in the 400 meter hurdles. Again helping to provide the Jayhawks with that back bone needed to defend the NCAA Championship.

His biggest achievement during his college career was during the 1960 season where Cliff Cushman became an Olympian, competing in the 1960 games in Rome. Cushman finished second overall with a time of 49.6 seconds in the 400 meter hurdles.

Race to the Gold Medal

In 1964 Cliff Cushman hoped to compete again in the Olympics. But his hopes of winning a medal were lost when he stumbled over a hurdle at the final U.S. Olympic trial meet in Los Angeles.

Just hours after the meet, Cushman wrote a letter to the youth of his hometown of Grand Forks asking them to not feel sorry for him but instead to set goals for themselves.

U.S. Air Force

After Cushman's successful career at the University of Kansas, he joined the United States Air Force.

Cushman's Death

On September 25, 1966 Captain Clifton E. Cushman was the pilot of the #2 F-105D in a flight of three that was conducting an afternoon combat mission to bomb a railroad bridge located on the northeast railroad line approximately one mile north-northeast of Kep MiG base and 29 miles northeast of Bac Giang, Lang Son Province, North Vietnam. Capt. Cushman's call sign was "Devil 2." The flight arrived in the target area on schedule and immediately checked in with the airborne battlefield command and control center (ABCCC). Devil flight was directed to begin their bomb runs on the bridge.

At 1530 hours, Devil Lead made his pass on the target followed in order by the rest of his flight. After pulling off the target, Capt. Cushman radioed that he had been hit by anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) fire and he had a fire warning light. Devil 3 asked if he could steer, Cliff Cushman replied he had "lost his stability, augmentation and aircraft power."

Devil Lead observed 37 mm AAA fire bursting to the left and rear of Devil 2 (Cushman), and told Capt. Cushman to break right. Lead then saw his afterburner light and simultaneous torch of flames coming from the right aft section of Devil 2 (Cushman)'s aircraft. Devil Lead then observed Cushman's aircraft break into several burning parts. He also saw Cliff Cushman's ejection seat arcing up and to the front of the falling wreckage. They could not find the body of Cliff Cushman anywhere. Because of the rough landscape it was nearly impossible for anyone to gain radio control. Cliff Cushman was immediately listed Missing in Action.

On November 6, 1975, Cliff Cushman was officially declared dead.

Surviving family members were spouse Carolyn Cushman and son Colin Cushman.

Always Remembered

Grand Forks Central High School named its football stadium after him, Cushman Field. His picture is displayed in GFC's gymnasium, and his name is mentioned in almost every Hall of Fame cabinet. There are still records to be broken at GFC that Clifton Emmet "Cliff" Cushman set over 50 years ago.

His wife said after being informed of her husband's status: "Somewhere in Vietnam he's running the biggest race of his life. It's like watching a race in which Cliff is running - only you can't see the finish tape. He's in excellent physical condition. Cliff also has a very deep faith in God. What better combination could there be?"

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Clifton Cushman — Informations Discipline(s) 400 mètres haies …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Clifton Cushman — (Clifton Emmett „Cliff“ Cushman; * 2. Juni 1938 in Cedarville, Michigan; † 25. September 1966 in Hải Phòng) war ein US amerikanischer Hürdenläufer, der sich auf die 400 Meter Distanz spezialisiert hatte. Bei den Panamerikanischen Spielen 1959 in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Clifton B. Cates — Clifton Bledsoe Cates 19th Commandant of the Marine Corps (1948 1951) Born August 31, 1893( …   Wikipedia

  • Clifton Clagett — (* 3. Dezember 1762 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; † 25. Januar 1829 in Amherst, New Hampshire) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker. Zwischen 1803 und 1805 sowie von 1817 bis 1821 vertrat er den Bundesstaat New Hampshire im US Repräsentantenhaus.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • List of Olympic medalists in athletics (men) — This is the complete list of men s Olympic medalists in athletics from 1896 to 2008. See also: List of Olympic medalists in athletics (women), Athletics at the Summer Olympics, and Lists of Olympic medalists Contents 1 Current program …   Wikipedia

  • 400-Meter-Hürdenlauf — Ein Damenrennen über 400 Meter Hürden. Die Läuferinnen befinden sich auf der Gegengeraden Der 400 Meter Hürdenlauf ist eine olympische Leichtathletik Disziplin, bei der eine Stadionrunde zu laufen ist, auf der in gleichmäßigen Abständen zehn… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • 400-m-Hürdenlauf — Ein Damenrennen über 400 Meter Hürden. Die Läuferinnen befinden sich auf der Gegengeraden Der 400 Meter Hürdenlauf ist eine olympische Leichtathletik Disziplin, bei der eine Stadionrunde zu laufen ist, auf der in gleichmäßigen Abständen zehn… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • 400 m Hürden — Ein Damenrennen über 400 Meter Hürden. Die Läuferinnen befinden sich auf der Gegengeraden Der 400 Meter Hürdenlauf ist eine olympische Leichtathletik Disziplin, bei der eine Stadionrunde zu laufen ist, auf der in gleichmäßigen Abständen zehn… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste der Olympiasieger in der Leichtathletik/Medaillengewinner — Olympiasieger Leichtathletik Übersicht Alle Medaillengewinner Alle Medaillengewinnerinnen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Olympische Sommerspiele 1960/Leichtathletik — Bei den XVII. Olympischen Sommerspielen 1960 in Rom fanden 34 Wettkämpfe in der Leichtathletik statt. 31 dieser Wettbewerbe fanden im Olympiastadion Rom statt, das ein Fassungsvermögen von 80.000 Zuschauern hatte. Erstmals in der Leichtathletik… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”