Awards

Z.G. Clevenger Award - 1993

IUB Athletics Hall of Fame - 1982

Olympians - 1956

Men's Track and Field

United States of America

Melbourne, Australia

Long Jump

Gold Medalist

About Gregory C. Bell

The world's top long jumper in the 1950s, Greg Bell highlighted an outstanding track and field career by winning the long jump gold medal at the 1956 Olympic Games, jumping 25' 8 1/4" while a sophomore at Indiana University. His longest jump came in 1957 when he won the national collegiate title with a 26' 7" effort, a meet record that stood for seven years. That same year, he was voted the Most Outstanding Athlete at the Penn Relays for his victories in both the 100 yards and the long jump.

Almost 10 years earlier, Bell was second in the long jump at the 1948 Indiana high school championships. His interest in track and field revived during 1950 while he was stationed in the Army near Bordeaux, France. After a few weeks of training, he won the European Armed Forces Championship in Nuremberg, Germany. Following his discharge in 1954, he enrolled at Indiana University. Throughout his college career, Bell was undefeated in the long jump, winning three NCAA championships. He won the first of three National AAU titles in 1955.

Rated the world's best long jumper three times, Bell wound up with a total of 13 26-foot long jumps, the most by any long jumper in history up to that time. Bell was also second in the 1959 Pan American Games and competed in the USA-USSR dual meet that same year. He later became a dentist in Logansport, Indiana, and director of dentistry at Logansport State Hospital.