GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Former U.S. Olympic track and field coach Jimmy Carnes has died.
Carnes died Saturday after a 3½-year battle with prostate cancer, said his wife, Nanette. He was 76.
Carnes, a member of the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame, served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic team at the Montreal Games in 1976. He was selected head coach for the Moscow Games four years later, but the United States protested because of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan.
Carnes spent 12 years as Florida's track and field coach (1965-76), where his teams went 93-3 in dual meets.
He was elected as the National Chairman of AAU Men's Track and Field in 1977 and served as the first president of The Athletics Congress/USA from 1980 to 1984.
Carnes also co-founded sporting goods chain Athletic Attic.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
