Tom Petranoff

Tom Petranoff ( born April 8, 1958 in Aurora) is an American track and field athlete, who in the 1980s and 1990s, active as a javelin thrower with interruptions and very varying success. He threw a world record and was runner-up. In 1991 he acquired the South African citizenship.

Petranoff was a vocal critic of the politicization of sport in the form of boycotts and refusing to authorize certain States to international competitions. His call for separation of sports and politics that the political line of a state says nothing about the personal political views of the respective athletes, earned him a perennial lock.

He is 1.83 meters tall and had a competition weight of 98 kg.

Career

Petranoff began his sports career as a baseball and football player at the Palomar Jr. College in San Marcos ( California). His first attempt with the spear in 1977 he succeeded so well that he was asked to join the school team. Within weeks, he rose from 66.90 m to 77.50 m junior record of which he was named Junior Länderkampf USA - unscrewed 79.74 m USSR. In the spring of 1979 he moved to the California State University Northridge. On April 12, he excelled under his new coach Bill Webb for the first time the 80 - m mark. In the Olympic year 1980 finally he came in the knockouts in Eugene with 82.74 m only at number four, where he defeated the third-ranked thrower, Duncan Atwood only because of the poorer second- best effort. About this unlucky but Petranoff did not have to fret long as the U.S. shortly thereafter declared a boycott of the Moscow Olympics. In addition, he was accepted into the program operated by the U.S. Olympic Committee Elite Athletics, where he found excellent training opportunities. In 1982 he was able to place first in the world rankings with a throw of 88.40 m.

The following year, 1983 should be the year of his greatest triumphs. Already in January, he threw in a competition in Australia 294ft (90 m), the second largest after the 315ft by Robert Roggy by a U.S. Americans ever achieved width. On May 15, 1983 Petranoff succeeded then in the truest sense of the word the big hit: In a Pepsi Invitational at the University of Los Angeles, he hurled the spear to a stunning 99.72 m and improved the three -year-old world record of Hungary Ferenc Paragi by exactly three meters. Two months later he died in an international match USA - East to 310ft 4 ( 94.69 m) and defeated Detlef Michel, who scored the hitherto biggest loser width with 302ft ( 92.05 m). After several more 90 -meter throws the first World Athletics Championships 1983 in Helsinki, however, did not end with the expected victory: In the pouring rain Petranoff was able to repeat his performance qualification with 85.60 m, but was defeated, against the victorious with 89.48 m Detlef Michel ( GDR ), whose four valid final litters were all more than the best throw of Petranoff. Despite the profit of the silver medal disappointment ran deep in the American. You should take his sporting decline.

In 1984, he lost unexpectedly his world record to Uwe Hohn from East Germany, who corrected him by more than 5 meters and was the first bowler in the world over 100 meters was ( 104.80 m). Since the GDR, however, as well as most other Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Petranoff was considered a favorite. At first everything went well for him: In qualifying, he scored with 85.96 m length the best of all participants. But then he broke out in a final formal. His only valid attempt ended up with pitiful 78.40 m, which meant 10th place. With his qualification length he would have won re- silver.

With the new spear introduced in 1986 Petranoff seemed to function well: He threw it at 85.38 m, which in his own words world record meant ( The official list outlines the German Klaus Meier panel with 85.74 m in the first place ). Two years later, at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, but his Olympic losing streak continued, as he did not even survive the qualification with 77.48 m.

In 1989 Petranoff emigrated due to differences with the U.S. track and field guide with his family to South Africa. Since South Africa was excluded because of its apartheid policy from participating in international sporting competitions, Petranoff broke with his declaration of wanting to continue his career in this country, a scandal and was blocked by the Athletics Congress for six years. Several record throws, which come Petranoff in the years 1990 and 1991 were, for this reason, no official recognition. Finally, in 1992, when South Africa was allowed to return to the international sports scene, succeeded Petranoff, who now owned the South African citizenship, a throw over 87.26 m ( in the previous year he had already come to 89.16 m), which was recorded as a South African record. However, participation in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona remained Petranoff denied because the new South African athletics leadership had not yet been established. He then declared his retirement from active sports.

At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta Petranoff participated as supervisor of the Paralympic thrower teams from South Africa. All twelve athletes won a medal ( gold 6x, 4x silver and 2 bronze ), the gold medalist in the javelin, Stephen Lombaard, a new world record.

With so many successes of his proteges Petranoff itself not to be outdone apparently. He launched a second career as a Senior athlete and won at the World Masters Games 1998 in Eugene, as well as at the World Masters Athletics Championships 1999 in Gateshead two gold medals in the age group M40. With 76.91 meters, thrown on 12 June 1999 in Kitchener, Ontario, he holds the U.S. record seniors.

In December 1997 Petranoff returned to the United States. He had already built up in South Africa, his economic existence - as a sporting goods retailer. His plan to develop a spear with which the young people could train under the poor spatial conditions of the townships, brought forth the so-called Turbo Jav, which has the same aerodynamic properties as an ordinary spear, but is made of plastic and has small dimensions. A portion of sales benefits the disabled sports.

Tom Petranoff now lives in Rhode Iceland. He has four daughters (Shannon, Whitney, Leigh and Kelly).

Successes and placements

• U.S. Championships: 1982 3 273-10
• 1983 2 280-3
• 1985 Master 286-1
• 1986 Master 250-5 ( 76.32 m)
• 1998: Master Veterans Championship 76.20 m
• 1999: 2 Open Nationals 75.21 m

• International rankings World Championships 1983 in Helsinki: SILVER with 85,60 m behind Detlef Michel ( gold with 89.48 meters ) and before Dainis Kula ( bronze with 85.58 m). Unlike Kula Petranoff had another 85 -meter throw with 85,30 m.
• Olympic Games 1984 Los Angeles: tenth with 78.40 m. (Qualifying width 85,96 m, would have been enough for Silver)
• Grand Prix Final in Rome in 1985: Winner with 90.80 m in front of Duncan Atwood with 90,30 m,
• Goodwill Games in Moscow 1986: Winner with 83.46 m
• 1987 World Championships in Rome: fourth with 81,28 m ( three feet behind the third January Zelezny )
• Grand Prix Final 1987 in Brussels: Second with 83.24 m behind Viktor Jewsjukow with 84,02 m
• Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988: 18 with 77.48 m (Qualifying width of 79 m is reached)
• World Cup 1992 in Havana ( starting for Africa): Second with 79.90 meters after January Zelezny with 88.26 m
• World Championships 1893 in Stuttgart: 22 with 75.26 m
• Pan American Games in Winnipeg in 1999: Third with 75.95 m
• Senior World Championship 1999 in Gateshead: with big lead gold with 73.72 m