OlympicTalk · May 19, 2021
Lee Evans, 1968 Olympic 400m champion, dies at 74
Lee Evans, the 1968 Olympic 400m champion and human rights activist, has died at age 74, according to USA Track and Field.
Evans suffered a stroke last week in Nigeria and was unconscious in a hospital there as of Sunday, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
Evans was 21 when he won the 400m at the Mexico City Games in 43.86 seconds, the first time somebody from 44 in the event.
“I was so tired, I knew I did something I’ve never done before,” Evans told NBC Sports for the film “1968” on those Olympics. “I wasn’t sure I won. Nobody told me I won, so they said, ‘Lee, you son of a gun.’ I said, ‘Who won? Who won?'”