Completed Event: Track & Field at NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 11, 2025 , , M: T-35th/72 (8.5) || W: T-34th/68 (8)
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Duke Hall of Fame Member Joel Shankle Passes Away
4/13/2015 3:36:00 PM | Track & Field
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke Athletics Hall of Fame member Joel Shankle passed away April 8, 2015 in Culpeper, Va. He was 82.
Born March 2, 1933 in Level Cross, N.C., Shankle was a 1955 graduate of Duke University and produced one of the great track & field careers in school history. Shankle earned the nickname “The One-Man Track Gang” while competing for the Blue Devils because of his versatility, often winning three or four events per meet while specializing in the long jump and high hurdles. During 1954 and 1955, Shankle captured a combined 14 individual ACC titles between the indoor and outdoor seasons, including gold medals in the long jump, high jump, pole vault, low hurdles and high hurdles, helping him become the inaugural winner of the ACC's Anthony J. McKelvin Award as the conference's athlete of the year. He also was one of four Duke male student-athletes to be named to both the indoor and outdoor track & field ACC 50th Anniversary Team.
As a junior in 1954, Shankle also won the IC4A high hurdles and placed third in the IC4A long jump. Shankle capped his senior season with the first NCAA individual track & field championship in school history, taking gold in the long jump. He then returned to finish third in the high hurdles the next day. Shankle's performances still rank among the top five in Duke history, with his converted time of 14.34 in the outdoor high hurdles second all-time and his outdoor long jump mark of 24-8 (7.51m) third.
After his time at Duke, Shankle went on to represent the United States at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, capturing the bronze medal in the high hurdles. Following his Olympic career, Shankle pursued his love of aviation and became a pilot for the Navy before later joining American Airlines as a commercial pilot. After his retirement from American Airlines, Shankle kept aviation as a hobby and even built his own plane.
Shankle was pre-deceased by his daughter, Deborah, and his wife, Carolyn. Shankle is survived by his two sons, Mike and Steve, who both followed in his father's footsteps and ran track at Duke.
As a tribute to Shankle, the men's 110m hurdles competition at the annual Duke Invitational will now be known as the Joel Shankle 110m Hurdles.
A memorial service will be held at Culpeper United Methodist Church, 1233 Oaklawn Drive in Culpeper, Va., at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 26. Condolences can be sent to the Shankle Family c/o Michael Shankle, 16181 Berryvale Lane, Culpeper, Va., 27701.
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