Al Oerter biography

 Al Oerter biography

 Al Oerter, in full Alfred Oerter, Jr., (born Sept. 19, 1936, Astoria, Queens, N.Y., U.S.—died Oct. 1, 2007, Fort Myers, Fla.), American discus thrower, who gained 4 consecutive Olympic gold medals (1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968), setting an Olympic file every time. During his profession he set new world information 4 occasions (1962–64). He was the primary to throw the discus greater than 200 ft along with his first world file of 61.10 metres (200 ft 5 inches). His finest throw in setting a world file was 62.94 metres (206 ft 6 inches) in 1964; his finest Olympic throw was 64.78 metres (212 ft 6 inches) in 1968.

After taking on weight lifting in his teenagers to fill out his slender construct, Oerter was a soccer participant and sprinter in highschool. He found his discus skill when he idly picked up the discus and threw it farther than anybody else on the observe group may. He attended the University of Kansas on a observe scholarship (1954–58) and gained six nationwide Amateur Athletic Union titles.

Although his authentic objective was to win 5 gold medals, Oerter retired from Olympic competitors after the 1968 Games with 4 due to the sacrifices and pressures of being an Olympic champion. He resumed coaching in 1976, nonetheless. While he narrowly did not qualify for the U.S. Olympic group in 1980, which in the end didn't compete (there being a U.S. boycott), he made the longest throw of his profession and the world’s longest that yr, 69.46 metres (227 ft 11 inches). Though energetic at a world-class stage into his 40s, he fell brief once more in bids for the U.S. Olympic group in 1984 and 1988. He was a world file holder in Masters track-and-field competitors within the Nineteen Eighties. Oerter was within the first-class to be inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1983.