Backus, Robert

▪ 2000

(“Bob”), 

      American weight thrower who dominated his sport during the 1950s; he won seven consecutive Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) titles in the 25.4-kg (56-lb) weight throw (1953–59) and captured an eighth title in the event in 1965; he won six consecutive AAU titles in the 15.9-kg (35-lb) weight throw (1954–59) and a seventh in 1961; he also won a gold medal in the hammer throw at the 1955 Pan American Games (b. 1927, Pembroke, Mass.—d. June 30, 1999, Boston, Mass.).

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