Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson passed away in his Los Angeles home Wednesday at the age of 86.
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The news was confirmed by a family friend who did not disclose the former athlete’s cause of death. Johnson is infamously known as an all-around athlete and tackling the man who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy. He earned the Olympic gold for the decathlon at the 1960 games in Rome and retired from competitive sports shortly afterward.
After his retirement, Johnson worked on the 1968 presidential campaign for Robert F. Kennedy. During an event in June of that year, Kennedy was shot several times by Sirhan Sirhan and Johnson disarmed him along with a group of other people.
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According to the New York Post, Maria Shriver said Johnson remained close to the family after her uncle’s untimely death.
“His devotion to Uncle Bobby was pure and real. He had protected his friend. Even after Uncle Bobby’s death he stayed close.”
The athlete is survived by his wife Elizabeth, their two children and four grandchildren.