Bob Seagren

He is also an active supporter of the Commission on Athletics of the California Community Colleges. It is believed that he was shortly due to have received a knighthood when he died from esophageal cancer at the age of 60 in 2002. Today, he is CEO of International City Racing, which specializes in the development, management, and implementation of road racing, endurance, and fitness events, including the Long Beach International City Marathon. Thaw was awarded the CBE in 1994. A 1968 University of Southern California graduate, Seagren took a try at professional track and later he started his career in television and movies as a show host and soap opera actor. Thaw was eventually cured a year before his death. East German Wolfgang Nordwig didn't use a Cata-Pole and won the gold medal, with Seagren coming second. In her 2004 autobiography Sheila Hancock revealed the extent of Thaw's alcoholism that had started in the late 1970s and caused problems in their marraige and the gaps in Thaw's career in the early 1980s and later 1990s .

In the 1972 Summer Olympics, a last-minute ruling barred the new Cata-Pole from Olympic competition, forcing some vaulters, including Seagren, to compete with unfamiliar poles. Thaw has two daughters, Abigail Thaw from his first marriage, and Joanna Thaw from his second. Four years later, in Munich, he's best remembered for the Olympic gold medal he didn't get. He married actress Sheila Hancock in 1973 whom he remained with until his death in 2002. He, silver medallist Claus Schiprowski (West Germany) and the bronze medal winner Wolfgang Nordwig (East Germany) had reached the same height (5,40m). In 1964 Thaw married Sally Alexander, but they divorced four years later. In an exciting contest, he won the gold medal. Thaw has appeared in a number of films, including Cry Freedom, which received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and Chaplin for director Richard Attenborough.

In 1968, Bob Seagren participated in his first Olympic Games in Mexico City. His only screen project not considered a popular success was the BBC series 'A Year in Provence'. He jumped his first world record (5,32m) in Fresno on May 14, 1966, followed by his world records 1967 in San Diego (5,36m), 1968 in South Lake Tahoe (5,41m) and 1972 in Eugene (5,63m). Thaw also tried his hand at comedy with his own sitcom called Home to Roost (1985 - 1988). He was also the Pan American Games champion in 1967. He subsequently played liberal barrister James Kavanagh in Kavanagh QC (1995 - 1999, with a special in 2001). Indoors he posted eight world bests between 1966 and 1969. He won two BAFTA awards for Inspector Morse.

He won six National AAU and four NCAA titles indoors and outdoors. Thaw will perhaps be best remembered for two roles: the hard-bitten Flying Squad detective Jack Regan in the television series (and two films) The Sweeney (1975 - 1978), which established him as a major star in the United Kingdom, and as the quietly-spoken, introspective and bitter detective Inspector Morse (1987 - 2001), with specials in 1995 - 1998 and 2000. A native of Pomona, California, Bob Seagren was one of the world's top pole vaulters in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His first film role was a bit part in the 1962 adaptation of The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner starring Tom Courtney. Robert "Bob" Seagren (born October 17, 1946) was an American pole vaulter, the 1968 Olympic champion. On leaving RADA Thaw was awarded a contract with the Liverpool Playhouse. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he was a contemporary of Tom Courtney.

Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in West Gorton, Manchester. John Thaw (January 3, 1942 - February 21, 2002) CBE, was a British actor who achieved his first starring role in the military police television drama Redcap (1964 - 1966), and subsequently appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles.