Joe Faust

Joe Faust attended Occidental College at the time of the 1960 Olympics, but never placed in the top eight at the NCAAs. He made the 1960 US Olympic team by placing second to John Thomas. At the AAU Championships, Joe Faust finished second in the 1960 high jump and was third in 1963. Faust was world-ranked in the top 10 from 1960-63, with a high ranking of #2 in 1962. He was in the American top 10 the same years, ranking #1 in 1962, #3 in 1960, #4 in 1961, and #5 in 1963.

Faust later had an interesting life. He became very involved in hang gliding, founding the Kite Information and Technology Exchange Society of America (K.I.T.E.S.A.), Self-Soar Association (S-SA), the United States Hang Glider Association (with Bob Luthardt), EnergyKiteSystems, and co-founding the Airborne Wind Energy Industry Association (AWEIA). He became publisher of Low & Slow magazine, Hang Glider Weekly, Hang Glider Business Weekly, Hang Glider Magazine, and Lift e-zine. In May 2015 Faust co-founded Friends of Dockweiler Gliding Society. In 1975 he was featured in a “60 Minutes” episode about hang gliding, in which he was interviewed by Mike Wallace. He supported himself during the 1960s and 1970s by working intermittently at McDonnell-Douglas in Santa Monica.

Faust eventually returned to college – he did not graduate from Occidental – and earned a degree in pure mathematics from Cal State LA in 1988. He then became an instructor in mathematics as Cal State LA, and then taught math in middle school in the Los Angeles School District.

Personal Bests: HJ – 2.16 (7-1¼) (1962).