JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas –
Retired Col. John Russell, who was the oldest living Olympic medalist, respected international equestrian rider and coach, and World War II veteran, passed away at the age of 100 in his home in San Antonio Sept. 30.
Russell competed in two Olympics and several international competitions from 1948-56, winning a bronze medal in team jumping at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.
Born in Dauphin, Pennsylvania on Feb. 2, 1920, Russell’s interest in horses started at a young age. He began riding on his family’s dairy farm near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, according to an article written by Anne Lang in the magazine Chronicle of the Horse in 2011.
It all began when a colonel in the National Guard who lived next door to Russell provided him with his first lessons in basic equitation. Later, he joined the 104th Cavalry National Guard Regiment in Pennsylvania, in 1938, and two years later was assigned to the cavalry unit at Fort Riley, Kansas.
Russell joined the Army on active duty in 1943, serving as a member of Gen. George Patton’s staff during World War II. He served in combat zones in North Africa and Germany, and he received the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Soldier’s Medal. By the end of the war, Russell had risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
He was selected to the U.S. Olympic team for the 1948 London Olympic Games, the last U.S. equestrian delegation chosen from the Army. In London, Russell finished 21st in individual jumping riding on horse Air Mail.
In 1952, he finished first at the U.S. Olympic trials, qualifying for the Helsinki Olympics. He, along with William Steinkraus and Arthur McCashin, earned the bronze medal in the team jumping event.
“If you were an Olympic prospect, the Army would put you on TDY (temporary duty) to that team,” said Russell in a video marking his induction into the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. “So, I was on TDY to the Olympic Committee for two Olympics, which was a good way to do the Army.”
After retiring from competition, he became the head of the United States Modern Pentathlon Training Center at Fort Sam Houston in 1956, where he coached six U.S. Olympic modern pentathlon delegations and 22 World Championship teams over the next several decades. He organized the 1959 and 1977 World Modern Pentathlon Championships, the latter of which was held in San Antonio. He retired from the Army in 1980.
Russell received many honors and awards for his equestrian work and the modern pentathlon, including the Pegasus Medal of Honor from the U.S. Equestrian Federation and the Gold Medal of Honor from Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, the modern pentathlon’s international federation. He was also inducted into the U.S. Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 2001.
In 2010, Russell received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association.
In the same video marking Russell’s induction into the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame, Olympian pentathlete Bob Nieman gave credit to Russell for transforming him from a collegiate swimmer terrified of riding to helping him win the 1979 pentathlon world championship.
“Col. Russell, we never could thank you enough,” Nieman said. “I can’t imagine how we would have ever gotten to where we got to without you, and the success we had. On behalf of everybody who trained under you, thank you very much.”