Olympian Mel Spence dies in Florida
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Melville ‘Mel’ Spence, one of the pioneers of Jamaica’s track and field tradition, died in Florida on Sunday at age 76.
Spence, a three-time Olympian was part of the Jamaican silver medal team in the 4X400m relay in 1955, and represented Jamaica in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, the West Indies Federation team at the 1960 Rome Olympics and newly independent nation of Jamaica at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
His brother Malcolm wrote a book detailing he and his brother’s history titled “The Lives and Times of Mal and Mel”, which was released in 2011.
“Today’s generation of athletes and sporting professionals can take inspiration from Melville’s success and humility,” Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller said.
“On behalf of the government and people of Jamaica, I express our deep sympathies to his family and ask the God’s comforting hand on them during this period of bereavement.”
