Robert Garrett

Garrett in the discus throw

Robert S. Garrett ( born May 24, 1875 Baltimore County, Maryland, † April 25, 1961 ) was an American athlete and Tauzieher.

Career

I. The Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, he won the shot put and discus throw. In addition, he finished second in the high jump and the long jump. In the II Summer Olympics in Paris in 1900, he finished in third place three times, in the state triple jump, triple jump and the shot put. He also participated in 1900 with his team in an exhibition bout in the tug of war part. In the discus throw, he joined not in spite of registration, as the competition was held on a Sunday and he said, not being able to agree with his Christian faith a start on Sunday. With his success in Athens Robert Garrett was the best American and the sixth- best total Olympian in Athens.

Garrett came from a wealthy banking family, and educated at Princeton University. He was outstanding in athletics and therefore was captain of Princeton Athletics teams during his years at the bottom and at the advanced level. Garrett was a shot putter in the first place, but he also took part in the jumping events. At the first Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 Professor William Milligan Sloane suggested to him that it once to try with the then unknown in America discus throw.

They consulted scientists to obtain a drawing of a Diskusses. Then Garrett went to a blacksmith to make customize the launcher. It weighed about 5 pounds and it was almost impossible to throw the discus. So Robert had the idea to take part in the discus competition. Since he came from a wealthy family, he paid his passage to Athens and three of his fellow students ( Francis Lane third over 100m, Herbert Jamison second in the 400m, Albert Tyler second in the pole vault ). When he discovered in Athens that the discus used in the games only weighed 2 kilos, he decided to participate for the fun of competition.

The Greek pitcher threw all according to the traditional classical technique. Garrett then used against the rotation technique to increase the speed of Diskusses when shedding. Garrett's first two litters looked very awkward. The discus wobbled through the air and just missed the audience. His last throw sailed However, 19 cm more than that of the best Greek Panagiotis Paraskevopoulos participant. Paraskevopoulos could improve again with his last throw, but he managed not to exceed Garrett it. 1897 Garrett was the IC4A shot put champion.

After his studies, he was a banker and financially supported various sciences ( History and Archaeology ). He funded and helped organize an archaeological expedition to Syria, which was directed by Howard Crosby Butler 1899-1900. As a hobby he collected manuscripts from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In 1942, he bequeathed to the Princeton University his collection of more than 10,000 manuscripts.