Cy Young (athlete)

Cy Young (actually Cyrus J. Young Jr., born July 23, 1928 in Modesto ) is an American former javelin thrower, the 1952 Olympic champion

He is the only American to have won Olympic gold medals in this discipline. At the Summer Olympics in Helsinki in 1952, he and his compatriot Bill Miller ended the Finnish dominance, as they let Toivo Hyytiäinen only the bronze medal. Although the Finn was the most consistent pitcher - five of his six attempts were more than 70 meters - but only the two Americans surpassed the 72 - and 73 - m mark:

• Young: 73,78 - 72.80 to 71.93
• Miller: 72,46 - 71.65 to 70.45

Four years later, Young won his only U.S. Championship with good 75,57 m and threw at the Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956 in the qualification with 74.76 m Olympic record. In the final, however, he failed: His best jump of 68.45 meters brought him only in 11th place, but even his scoring in the same year personal best of 79.16 m would have earned him a medal in Melbourne, as the third place winner, Viktor Zybulenko from the USSR, 79.50 m threw.