KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jumps specialist Kent Floerke was a Big 8 champion and All-American at the University of Kansas in the 1950s.
He went on to be an Olympian as well, finishing 21st in the triple jump at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Floerke was the 1963 AAU triple-jump champion and finished in the top three at the AAU national meet eight times from 1954 to 1963.
He finished third in the long jump and second in the triple jump at the 1956 NCAA Track and Field Championships, earning All-American honors.
He finished sixth in the long jump during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials in 1956, missing the triple jump competition with an injury.
Floerke, who never finished worse than second in the long jump and any indoor or outdoor Big 8 meet, also won both the long and triple jumps at the 1956 Drake Relays, a rarity.
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