Jamaican Olympian Neville Myton died today after a prolonged battle was cancer. He was 74.

Myton, a middle-distance runner, competed at the 1964 and 1968 Olympic Games for Jamaica. He was also a mentor for a number of Jamaica’s elite athletes most notably two-time Olympic Veronica Campbell-Brown, Simone Facey, Colin Bradford and Shereefa Lloyd.

Myton was a double gold medalist at the 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games, taking the individual 800 metres title and also sharing in the team gold medals with the Jamaican 4×400 metres relay team.

He won a bronze medal in the 4×400 metre relay at the 1967 Pan American Games. He also won a gold medal in the 1500 metres at the British West Indies Championships in 1965, a year after winning the silver medal at the 1964 British West Indies Championships.

Reaction to the news of Myton’s death was immediate.

“The Olympians Association of Jamaica expresses our condolences to the family and friends of Neville Myton,” the OAJ posted on its Instagram page.

Facey posted on Instagram, “RIP Dad. I can’t believe you are gone.”

Myton was born in Old Harbour Bay in St Catherine on May 28, 1946, and attended Old Harbour Bay Primary before moving to Excelsior High School in 1963.

From Excelsior, Myton matriculated to Mesa Junior College where he helped his college win the National Junior College Athletic Association Championships but twice. He would later transfer to San Jose State University where he became teammates with the legendary Tommy Smith and John Carlos.

Myton graduated from San Jose State University in 1971 with two degrees — a BA in Social Science and a BA in Physical Education and returned to Jamaica where he became a coach at Vere Technical, Tivoli Comprehensive and Old Harbour High School.

Myton’s death followed that of iconic American sprinter Lee Evans, also a student of San Jose State, who also died today at the age of 74. Jamaican Olympian Dennis Johnson, who died on April 22, was also a San Jose State alumni. He was 81 years old.