Al Oerter

Al Oerter

Oerter at the Rome 1960 Olympics
Personal information
Full name	Alfred Adolph Oerter, Jr.
Citizenship	United States
Born	(1936-09-19)September 19, 1936 Astoria, New York, U.S.
Died	October 1, 2007(2007-10-01) (aged 71) Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.
Height	6 ft 3 1⁄2 in (192 cm)
Weight	276 lb (125 kg)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Discus
Medal record Men's athletics Representing the United States Olympic Games 1956 Melbourne Discus throw 1960 Rome Discus throw 1964 Tokyo Discus throw 1968 Mexico City Discus throw Pan American Games 1959 Chicago Discus throw Olympic Boycott Games 1980 Philadelphia Discus throw
Updated on 12 June 2015.

Alfred Oerter, Jr. (September 19, 1936 – October 1, 2007) was an American athlete and a four-time Olympic Champion in the discus throw. He was the first athlete to win a gold medal in the same event in four consecutive Olympic Games. Oerter is an inductee of the IAAF Hall of Fame.

Oerter was born in 1936 in Astoria, Queens, New York City and grew up in New Hyde Park; he attended Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park. He began his track and field career at the age of 15 when a discus landed at his feet and he threw it back past the crowd of throwers. Oerter continued throwing and eventually earned a scholarship to the University of Kansas in 1954 where he became a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. A large man at 6' 4" (193 cm) and 280 pounds (127 kg), Oerter was a natural thrower. Competing for Kansas, he became the NCAA discus champion in 1957; he successfully defended his title the following year.

Oerter began his Olympic career at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. He was not considered the favorite but he felt a rush during the competition and he unleashed a throw of 184 feet 22 inches (56.64 m)—which, at the time, was a career best. The throw was good enough to win the competition by more than 5 inches (130 mm).

In 1957, it seemed that Oerter's career would be over at the age of 20 when he was nearly killed in an automobile accident. He recovered in time to compete at the 1960 Summer Olympics at Rome, where he was the slight favorite over teammate Rink Babka, who was the world record holder .

Babka was in the lead for the first four of the six rounds. He gave Oerter advice before his fifth throw; Oerter threw his discus 194 feet 2 inches (59.18 m), setting an Olympic record. Babka settled for the silver medal when he was not able to beat Oerter's throw.

...
Wikipedia