Dwight Stones

Olympic medalist
Dwight Stones interviews Xavier Carter and Kelly Willie of LSU
Medal record
Men's Athletics
Bronze	1972 Munich	High Jump
Bronze	1976 Montreal	High Jump

Dwight Edwin Stones (born December 6, 1953) is an American television commentator and a two-time Olympic bronze medalist and former three-time world record holder in the men's high jump. During his 16-year career, he won 19 national championships. In 1984, Stones became the first athlete to both compete and announce at the same Olympics. Since then, he has been a color analyst for all three major networks in the United States and continues to cover track and field on television. He served as an analyst for NBC Sports coverage of Track and Field at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Stones, who is Jewish, was born in Los Angeles, California. He set his first world record when he cleared 2.30 m (7 ft 7 in) in 1973 at Munich, Germany. That jump also made him the first "flop" jumper to set a world high jump record, five years after Dick Fosbury made that jumping style famous while winning the Mexico City Olympics. Stones raised the world record to 2.31 m (7 ft 7 in) in 1976 and added another centimeter to the record two months later.

Stones was one of the world's top high jumpers from 1972 to 1984 and has been twice named the World Indoor Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News. At age 18, he represented the U.S. for the first time at the 1972 Summer Olympics, placing third in the high jump competition. Four years later at the Montreal Olympics, he was a heavy favorite to win the gold medal but had to settle for a bronze when his jumping ability was hampered by competition in the rain.

His participation at the Montreal Games sparked a heated debate, in which he supposedly said he hated French Canadians (Montréal-Matin Newspaper, July 29, 1976, pages 5 and 8); this debate became so inflamed that he felt the need to start wearing a t-shirt that said he loved the people who organized the Games.

He returned to the Olympics in 1984, finishing fourth after setting his 13th American record at that year's Trials.

Stones attended UCLA his Freshman year 1971–72, and later transferred to California State University, Long Beach and is a member of that University's Hall of Fame.

In 1998, Stones was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame.

Records held

• World Record: High Jump – 2.30 m (July 11, 1973)
• World Record: High Jump – 2.31 m (June 5, 1976)
• World Record: High Jump – 2.32 m (August 4, 1976)
• American Record: High Jump – 2.34 m (1984)

Championships

1984

• 1984 Olympic Games: High Jump (4th)
• 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials: High Jump – 2.34 m (1st)

1983

• 1983 TAC Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
• 1983 TAC Indoor Championships: High Jump (3rd)

1982

• 1982 TAC Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)

1980

• 1980 AAU Outdoor Championships: High Jump (3rd)

1978

• 1978 AAU Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)

1977

• 1977 World Cup: High Jump (2nd)
• 1977 AAU Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
• 1977 USTFF Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
• 1977 AAU Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)

1976

• 1976 Summer Olympics: High Jump (3rd – bronze medal)
• 1976 U.S. Olympic Trials: High Jump (2nd)
• 1976 USTFF Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
• 1976 AAU Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
• 1976 NCAA Outdoor Championships: High Jump – 2.31 m (1st)
• 1976 NCAA Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)(Cal State Long Beach)

1975

• 1975 USTFF Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
• 1975 USTFF Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
• 1975 AAU Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
• 1975 AAU Outdoor Championships: High Jump (3rd)

1974

• 1974 USTFF Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
• 1974 AAU Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)

1973

• 1973 USTFF Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
• 1973 USTFF Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
• 1973 AAU Indoor Championships: High Jump (1st)
• 1973 AAU Outdoor Championships: High Jump (1st)

1972

• 1972 Summer Olympics: High Jump – 2.21 m (3rd – bronze medal)
• 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials: High Jump – 2.21 m (1st)
• 1972 NCAA Outdoor Championships: High Jump (3rd)(UCLA)

External links

• Dwight Stones official site

Records
Preceded by Pat Matzdorf	Men's High Jump World Record Holder 1973-07-11 — 1977-06-02	Succeeded by Vladimir Yashchenko
Sporting positions
Preceded by Jüri Tarmak	Men's High Jump Best Year Performance 1973 — 1976	Succeeded by Vladimir Yashchenko