SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Adhemar Ferreira da Silva, who held the world record for the triple-jump and became Brazil's most successful Olympian, died Friday. Doctors said the 73-year-old da Silva had a heart attack. Da Silva broke seven world records, many of them his own. He was the only Brazilian to win two Olympic gold medals. He won his first gold at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, with a record setting 53.52-foot jump. In 1956, in Melbourne, Australia, he took the gold again with a then-Olympic record jump of 53.95. Da Silva's success was not limited to the athletic field. He also earned degrees in fine arts, physical education and law, and spoke six languages. He served as Brazil's cultural attache to Nigeria from 1964-66. A smoker who only kicked the habit two years ago, da Silva suffered from diabetes and had been hospitalized with pneumonia since Sunday. Da Silva is survived by his daughter, Adyel. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
