Oerter, Al

Oerter, Al
▪ 2008
Alfred Oerter, Jr. 
      American discus thrower

born Sept. 19, 1936, Queens, N.Y.

died Oct. 1, 2007, Fort Myers, Fla.
won four consecutive Olympic gold medals (1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968), setting an Olympic record each time; he also set world records four times (1962–64) during his career. He was the first to throw the discus more than 200 ft with his first world record of 61.10 m (200 ft 5 in). His best throw in setting a world record was 62.94 m (206 ft 6 in) in 1964; his best Olympic throw was 64.78 m (212 ft 6 in) in 1968. After taking up weight lifting as a youth to fill out his slender build, Oerter was a football player and sprinter in high school. He discovered his discus-throwing ability when he idly picked up the discus and threw it farther than anyone else on the track team could. He attended the University of Kansas on a scholarship (1954–58) and won six national Amateur Athletic Union titles. Oerter retired from Olympic competition after the 1968 Games, but he resumed training in 1976 in an effort to fulfill his dream of winning five Olympic medals. While he narrowly failed to qualify for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, which ultimately did not compete because of a U.S. boycott, he made the longest throw of his career and the world's longest that year, 69.46 m (227 ft 11 in). Though active at a world-class level into his 40s, he fell short again in bids for the U.S. Olympic team in 1984 and 1988. He was a world record holder in Masters track-and-field competition in the 1980s. Oerter was in the first class to be inducted (1983) into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

* * *

▪ American athlete
in full  Alfred Oerter, Jr. 
born Sept. 19, 1936, Astoria, Queens, N.Y., U.S.
died Oct. 1, 2007, Fort Myers, Fla.
 American discus (discus throw) thrower, who won four consecutive Olympic gold medals (1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968), setting an Olympic record each time. During his career he set new world records four times (1962–64). He was the first to throw the discus more than 200 feet with his first world record of 61.10 metres (200 feet 5 inches). His best throw in setting a world record was 62.94 metres (206 feet 6 inches) in 1964; his best Olympic throw was 64.78 metres (212 feet 6 inches) in 1968.

      After taking up weight lifting in his teens to fill out his slender build, Oerter was a football player and sprinter in high school. He discovered his discus ability when he idly picked up the discus and threw it farther than anyone else on the track team could. He attended the University of Kansas on a track scholarship (1954–58) and won six national Amateur Athletic Union titles.

      Although his original goal was to win five gold medals, Oerter retired from Olympic competition after the 1968 Games with four because of the sacrifices and pressures of being an Olympic champion. He resumed training in 1976, however. While he narrowly failed to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team in 1980, which ultimately did not compete (there being a U.S. boycott), he made the longest throw of his career and the world's longest that year, 69.46 metres (227 feet 11 inches). Though active at a world-class level into his 40s, he fell short again in bids for the U.S. Olympic team in 1984 and 1988. He was a world record holder in Masters track-and-field competition in the 1980s. Oerter was in the first class to be inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1983.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Oerter — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Al Oerter (1936–2007), US amerikanischer Leichtathlet Rolf Oerter (* 1931), deutscher Entwicklungspsychologe und Publizist Sepp Oerter (1870–1928), deutscher Anarchist und Ministerpräsident des Landes… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Oerter — Oerter,   Alfred (»Al«), amerikanischer Leichtathlet (Diskuswerfer), * Astoria (N. Y.) 19. 9. 1936; gewann in der gleichen Disziplin zwischen 1956 und 1968 viermal hintereinander die olympische Goldmedaille; warf als 49 Jähriger noch 64,38 m weit …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Oerter — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Oerter,Alfred A. — Oer·ter (ôrʹtər, ōrʹ ), Alfred A. Known as “Al.” Born 1936. American athlete who won a gold medal in the discus at four consecutive Olympics (1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968), setting an Olympic record. * * * …   Universalium

  • Oerter, Al(fred) — born Sept. 19, 1936, Astoria, N.Y., U.S. U.S. discus thrower. He won gold medals at four consecutive Olympic Games (1956, 1960, 1964, 1968) and set world records four times between 1962 and 1964. He was the first to throw the discus over 200 ft.; …   Universalium

  • Oerter, Al(fred) — (n. 19 sep. 1936, Astoria, N.Y., EE.UU.). Lanzador de disco estadounidense. Ganó medallas de oro en cuatro Juegos Olímpicos consecutivos (1956, 1960, 1964 y 1968), y entre 1962 y 1964 estableció cuatro récords mundiales de su especialidad. Fue el …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Al Oerter — Alfred Adolf Oerter, Jr. (September 19 1936 ndash; October 1 2007) was an American athlete, four times Olympic Champion in the discus throw. He is, along with Carl Lewis (long jump) and Paul Elvstrøm (sailing), the only athlete to win a gold… …   Wikipedia

  • Josef Oerter — Josef „Sepp“ Oerter (* 24. September 1870 in Straubing; † 14. Dezember 1928 in Braunschweig) war zunächst Mitglied verschiedener anarchistischer und später sozialistischer Gruppierungen und Parteien, so der USPD und der SPD und nach seiner… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Sepp Oerter — Josef „Sepp“ Oerter (* 24. September 1870 in Straubing; † 14. Dezember 1928 in Braunschweig) war ein deutscher Politiker. Oerter war zunächst Mitglied verschiedener anarchistischer und später sozialistischer Gruppierungen und Parteien, so der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alfred Oerter — Alfred Adolf „Al“ Oerter, Jr (* 19. September 1936 in Astoria, Queens, New York City; † 1. Oktober 2007 in Fort Myers, Florida) war ein US amerikanischer Leichtathlet. Als einziger Sportler in der Geschichte der Olympischen Spiele gewann er… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”