Milton Green, world-record hurdler who boycotted 1936 Olympics, dies at 92

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) _ Milton Green, a former world-record hurdler who boycotted the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, has died. He was 92. <br/><br/>Green, of Boca Raton, died on Wednesday, according

Friday, August 6th 2004, 7:30 pm

By: News On 6

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) _ Milton Green, a former world-record hurdler who boycotted the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, has died. He was 92.

Green, of Boca Raton, died on Wednesday, according to the Levitt Weinstein Memorial Chapel in Coconut Creek, which was handling funeral arrangements.

While at Harvard University in 1935 and 1936, Green tied the world record of 5.8 seconds in the 45-yard hurdles four times, according to the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. He also tied the world record of 7.5 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles in 1936.

Green was considered a lock for the U.S. Olympic team, but boycotted the Berlin Games because of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime.

``It was a very difficult decision at the time,'' Green told The Palm Beach Post in a 1997 interview. ``My roommate and I both qualified for final tryouts. We had the certificates. Then we got a call from the rabbi at our temple. He suggested the boycott, and we talked it over with our families and decided. I never regretted it.''

Green was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in Netanya, Israel, in 1997.

At the age of 71, Green, then a retired shopping center developer, won six gold medals and four silvers at the Florida Senior Olympics in 1984.