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.; he recorded his best throw (212.5 ft [64.78 m]) at the 1968 Olympics.