Olympic discus great Oerter dies at 71

Associated Press ^ | 10/2/2007 | Yahoo News

[Young Werther]

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Al Oerter was destined to become an athlete, although he often wondered what he might have been if not for a chance meeting with a discus.

"I could throw a baseball, a football or a golf ball a country mile," Oerter told the Associated Press in an interview last year. "It was just easy to throw anything."

The discus great who won gold medals in four straight Olympics to become one of track and field's biggest stars in the 1950s and '60s, died Monday of heart failure, less than two weeks after his 71st birthday.

[Young Werther]

For the last 25 years of his life he was outspoken against drug use in atheletes. Quote," What sense do you have of yourself when you're cheating!"

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[Cpl.Nym]

R.I.P. Rock Chalk Jayhawk.

[A_Former_Democrat]

I’m a Mizzou grad and I never say anything good about KU, but I’ll make an exception this time. I have thought that Al Oerter’s accomplishment was one of the greatest athletic achievements ever.

RIP to a true Olympic champion.

[Revolting cat!]

A truly great one! (And by the way, those birthdays will getcha!)

[I still care]

I remember I used to watch him on “Wide World of Sports”. That was such a great show. It exposed America to so many different sports from around the world.

[BlabItGrabIt]

RIP Mr. Oerter, you were a true inspiration to me. Wish I was a tenth of the man you were, Sir.

[ConservativeDude]

I believe Carl Lewis won four straight long jump golds. But were it not for Lewis, Oerter would have I think the record in track and field for consecutive Olympic golds. Amazing achievement. RIP.

[Free Vulcan]

Oerter was the man, I remember reading about him when I was a kid. At the time he seemed like a Greek god come to life.

[Free Vulcan]

Pic from the glory days.

[LS]

Did you ever think you’d see the day when we thought that someone who died at 71 “died young?”

[Revelation 911]

was just thinking the same - what a shame

[Young Werther]

I lettered in the shot put and discus in 1960. I attended Belleville High in Belleville NJ. In my senior year 1961, I followed a weight lifting and stretching regime that Oerter suggested.

That year, our school district had changed the field of play from 90% as measured from the discus circle to 60%. I had an early release and had more out of bounds throws during my senior year. The school record was 128' and I had come close. I still scored enough wins to letter again but the sad fact was my last throw, in my last meet, was along the old 90 degree boundary but out of bounds. The measurement was 142" but.....no throw! Al was a true inspiration otherwise!

[tickmeister]

I believe that Oerter also set a new olympic record with each of his 4 golds.

[aculeus]

Oerter was a native New Yorker and a long-time member of the NYAC.

(Just like me!)

[BallyBill]

Even though I was a Pole Vaulter, Al and Jim Ryan were track heroes of mine. Of course Bob Seagren was my top favorite. I met Seagren and Ryan at an Indoor event in Philly in the early 70’s.

[Uncle Hal]

About 6 months ago another Olympian legend died that was a hero of mind that I had a pleasure of knowing: Perry O’Brien. http://functionalpathtraining.blogspot.com/2007/04/perry-obrien.html

[kabar]

Jim Ryun was pretty good too. Who was Jim Ryan?

[Drawsing]

Jim Ryun was also a hero of mine. I read his biography and thought that one day maybe I would beat his world mile record. (hah!) I remember the day he called us on the phone. He was responding to my younger brother’s application to his running camp. What a thrill!

[kenavi]

This reminder of Oerter's legacy evokes a time when Olympic athletes, at least on our side of the Cold War divide, were amateurs.

That was the Olympic ideal: "for the love of sport".

Oerter I recall had a successful career unrelated to his athletic accomplishments, an engineer, IIRC.