Cliff Cushman

Olympic medal record
Men’s athletics
	1960 Rome	400 metre hurdles

Clifton Cushman (Clifton Emmett "Cliff" Cushman; 2 June 1938 – 25 September 1966) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metre hurdles.

He competed for the United States in the 1960 Summer Olympics held in Rome, Italy in the 400 metre hurdles where he won the silver medal.

Cliff Cushman was a graduate of Grand Forks Central High School in Grand Forks, North Dakota in 1956. Cushman was an outstanding athlete while running track for the Redskins, breaking and setting many records. In 1990 Cushman was inducted into the Grand Forks Central Athletic Hall of Fame. Randy Heuther of Lisbon High School, ND broke Cushman's record in the hurdles, but then was stripped of the title after a wind-aided controversy.

After high school Cliff attended the University of Kansas where he again broke and set many track records. In 1959 Cliff took second place in the 400-meter hurdles providing Kansas with their back bone to reach their first NCAA Championship. In the next year he was named captain of the Jayhawks, in this same season he also earned most outstanding performer honors at the Kansas Relays, as well as winning the national title in the 400 meter hurdles. Again helping to provide the Jayhawks with that back bone needed to defend the NCAA Championship.

His biggest achievement during his college career was during the 1960 season where Cliff Cushman became an Olympian, competing in the 1960 games in Rome. Cushman finished second overall with a time of 49.6 seconds in the 400 meter hurdles.

In 1964 Cliff Cushman hoped to compete again in the Olympics. But his hopes of winning a medal were lost when he stumbled over a hurdle at the final U.S. Olympic trial meet in Los Angeles.

Just hours after the meet, Cushman wrote a letter to the youth of his hometown of Grand Forks asking them to not feel sorry for him but instead to set goals for themselves.

After Cushman's successful career at the University of Kansas, he joined the United States Air Force. His last posting before being sent to Vietnam was at Payne Field just south of Everett, Washington.

On September 25, 1966 Captain Clifton E. Cushman was the pilot of the #2 F-105D in a flight of three that was conducting an afternoon combat mission to bomb a railroad bridge located on the northeast railroad line approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north-northeast of Kép Air Base and 29 miles (47 km) northeast of Bac Giang, Lang Son Province, North Vietnam. Capt. Cushman's call sign was "Devil 2." The flight arrived in the target area on schedule and immediately checked in with the airborne battlefield command and control center (ABCCC). Devil flight was directed to begin their bomb runs on the bridge.

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