2-Time Olympic Pole Vault Champion Bob Richards Dies at 97

American pole vaulter Bob Richards, left, talks with Brazilian pole vaulter Helcio Buck-Silva during a break in a training session in Helsinki, July 11, 1952. Bob Richards, a two-time Olympic pole vault gold medalist who also became an ordained minister, died Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. .AP Photo/Olympic World Photo, Pool, File

INDIANAPOLIS—Bob Richards, a two-time Olympic pole vault gold medalist who also became an ordained minister, died Sunday. He was 97.

USA Track and Field confirmed his death. His son, Brandon, wrote in a social media post that his father “passed in his sleep peacefully surrounded by loved ones.”