When Mal Whitfield sneaked into the Los Angeles Coliseum in the summer of 1932, he saw an African American sprinter win a gold medal. The experience ignited a dream for the then-8-year-old from Watts.

At the crack of the starter’s gun, Mal Whitfield broke from his crouch and eased into his power-glide stride. The four-man field in the 500-yd. race whirled around the first turn, Whitfield dead last.

Mal Whitfield, a Tuskegee airman who won Olympic track and field titles in the 800 meters in 1948 and 1952 and served for decades as a sports affairs officer for the U.S. Information Agency, died ...

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 18: 1948 Olympic gold medalist Mal Whitfield attends the Team USA Road to London 100 Days Out Celebration in Times Square on April 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Jeff ...

Mal Whitfield, a Tuskegee Airman who won Olympic track and field titles in the 800 meters in 1948 and 1952 and served for decades as a sports affairs officer for the U.S. Information Agency, died ...

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MAL Whitfield, who has died aged 91, was a celebrated athlete and the world’s foremost two lap runner between 1948 and 1954, twice winning Olympic gold over 800 metres during that time, in 1948 in ...

Three-times Olympic champion Mal Whitfield of the United States has died at the age of 91, it has been announced. The American, who was nicknamed “Marvellous Mal”, won double gold at the 1948 Games in ...

Mal Whitfield, a record-setting middle-distance runner who won three Olympic gold medals in 1948 and 1952 and later spent many years as a U.S. Foreign Service officer and sports ambassador in Africa ...

Mal Whitfield (136), of the United States, leads runners in the 800-meter final enroute to a gold medal at the XIV Summer Olympic Games at Wembley Stadium in London, England in 1948. (AP Photo) Mal ...