John Lee Gray, Jr. was an American world class 800 meter runner from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. A four-time-Olympian in 1985 he set the US record of 1:42.60 at a meet in Koblenz. That time puts Gray as the #13 performer of all time. He came seventh in the 1984 Summer Olympics, fifth in 1988, and won the bronze medal at the Barcelona Olympics of 1992. In 1993 Gray was one of the favourites to win a gold medal at the World Championships in Stuttgart as he had won the A-race at the prestigious meeting in Zurich. However, he failed to qualify for the final in Stuttgart. He also set a world 600 m best in 1986 at 1:12.81. In 1992 and 1993 Gray came close to breaking the world indoor record over 800 m several times. He holds the US indoor record at 1:45.00. Having led the Olympic 800 m race at the 1992 Summer Olympics with a blazing first lap at better than world record pace, Gray was passed twice during the final lap to claim the bronze medal. A reporter later asked him what he would have done differently if he could run the race a second time, and it is rumored that he responded, "I would have taken it out harder." 

June 19th, 1960 in Los Angeles (Age 64)