A. Ramachandran, the first Indian to cross the four metre mark in pole-vault, died at the age of 75 in Thanjavur on Sunday.
This effort by the champion pole-vaulter came during the Indo-Pakistan meet at Lahore in 1960.
Ramachandran, who worked for Southern Railway as the chief guard in the Tiruchi Division, dominated the pole-vaulting scene in the sixties and was unbeaten for more than a decade.
At a time when the sophisticated fibre-glass pole was not heard off, Ramachandran performed with distinction with the bamboo and then with aluminum poles.
He was an outstanding performer at the State, National and inter-Railway competitions. His best was 4.02m in the inter-Railway meet.
Ramachandran is survived by his wife and two daughters.