London 2012: Remembering Summer Olympians

We look back at the great athletes of the summer Olympic who died in 2011 - 2012.

The 2012 Summer Olympics kicked off a week ago today, and for the past week, we haven’t been able to get enough of the Games. From Queen Elizabeth parachuting (sort of) into the opening ceremonies to Missy Franklin swimming her way to a gold medal 10 minutes after winning a semifinal heat, from the U.S. beach volleyball team of Misty May and Kerri Walsh reaching for their third consecutive gold to the weird fun of watching team handball or water polo, from the spectacular U.S. gymnastics team to Michael Phelps’s record-breaking 19th (and then 20th) medal, we’re hooked.

But while we enjoy the festivities and the competition, we also take a moment to remember great Olympians who’ve passed away. Yesterday we featured legendary boxer Smokin’ Joe Frazier. Today, we salute a few of the other Olympic greats who have died in the past year.

Ann Curtis swam for the U.S. team in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, winning gold in the 400-meter freestyle, gold in the 4x100-meter relay and silver in the 100-meter freestyle. She was one of many athletes whose Olympic careers were delayed by World War II: the 1940 and 1944 Olympics were cancelled — for 12 long years, there were no Olympic games. But Curtis made the best of the long hiatus. While she waited, she won eight national titles and broke 18 U.S. records.

Bob Anderson represented the U.S. in fencing at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. Though he finished in fifth place, he went on to a brilliant fencing career… Not something you hear everyday but Anderson made it happen by becoming a cinematic sword fighter in Hollywood. As a sword master and fencing coach, he was responsible for the awesome swordsmanship in movies like "The Princess Bride," "The Three Musketeers," and the "Star Wars" series — and he even served as Darth Vader’s light saber stunt double, performing much of Vader’s light saber work.

Jack Davis also competed in Helsinki in 1952, taking home the silver in the 110-meter hurdles in a photo finish. He took silver again in 1956 in Melbourne, in yet another photo finish. That same year Davis set a world record at the national Amateur Athletic Union championships, and for many years he was ranked as the world's best hurdler. Davis was a member of the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame, and he helped found the United States Olympic Training Center.

Murray Rose was an Australian swimmer who gained Olympic glory in his home country, winning three gold medals at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Just 17 years old, he became the youngest person to win three gold medals at one Olympics — and he became an Australian hero, receiving adulation and movie offers. Though he appeared in a few films and TV shows, his greatest legacy remains his contributions to swimming. During his career he broke 15 world records, won three more medals at the 1960 Rome Olympics, and worked with The Rainbow Club teaching disabled children how to swim.