Legendary San José State discus thrower John Powell will be the latest Spartan product inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame, USA Track & Field recently announced.
The new Hall of Fame class will be inducted on December 7 in Reno at the Grand Sierra Resort. The honor comes on the heels of former SJSU standouts Tommie Smith and John Carlos being inducted into the United States Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame last week in Colorado Springs.
Powell was on San José State's NCAA Championship team in 1969. He would go on to be a four-time Olympian, winning the bronze medal in both the 1976 and 1984 games.
A standout in the Speed City era of Spartan track and field, Powell was ranked inside the top-10 in the world 13 times in just a 15-year span. That mark is still a program record.
Powell set a world record in the discus throw at 69.08 meters in 1975, and his personal best of 71.26 meters ties him for ninth place on the world's all-time performers list. The San Francisco native is a seven time U.S. champion in the discus, winning titles in both 1974 and 1975 before reclaiming the throne in five consecutive years from 1983-1987.
Exhibits honoring the members of the National Track & Field Hall of Fame will be on display at the Hall's home at The Armory in New York City. Powell will join former Spartans Willie Steele, John Carlos, Coach Bud Winter, Lee Evans and Tommie Smith in the Hall.
For more information on the National Track & Field Hall of Fame, visit www.usatf.org.
