By AP/KWMU
Columbia, MO – Dick Ault, a former Olympian and Missouri track star, died Monday in Jefferson City of complications from diabetes. He was 81.
Ault placed fourth in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1948 Olympics in London and tied the world record in the 440-yard hurdles at a 1949 meet in Oslo, Norway.
He then spent nearly 30 years at Westminster College, coaching track, cross country, golf and swimming. He also was a high school football and track official.
A St. Louis native, Ault won consecutive Big Six Conference titles in the 220-yard hurdles in 1946 and 1947, and Big Seven Conference titles in the event the next two years.
He was inducted into the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
Ault is survived by his wife, Barbara; two sons and two daughters.