6/19/08

The guy who beat Al Oerter: In 1980, the cover story for The Register-Guard’s special section previewing the Olympic Trials was a profile of Al Oerter. The discus thrower was an icon; he was 43, and the winner of Olympic gold medals in 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968. In every case, he defeated a world record-holder, broke the Olympic record, overcame injury and wasn’t expected to win.

Then he retired, through the 1976 Olympics, when he decided to take another shot at making the team. He PR’d in 1980, at 227-11, and came to the Trials a serious contender.