Let Ura

[DoubleRBar]

Happy birthday today (Wednesday) to an Olympic champion who was born 91 years ago today.

This champion won Olympic gold in Europe and not in any other continent.

Unfortunately our birthday athlete died of cancer at the age of 75.

Competing in two Olympic Games, this individual won Olympic medals at both Games.

Some say that what this athlete did at the first of those two Games will never be repeated at the Olympics.

Our birthday athlete graduated from a school which has produced more than one track & field Olympic champion. and more than one Nobel Prize winner.

Can you name our birthday Olympian on this penultimate Thursday of November?

Unscramble the six letters in the title and you might get a big clue.

Please think about it and give it a try.

[LopenUupunut]

Bob Mathias?

[J Rorick]

Must be correct. Tulare is the scrambled word. Sim Iness is the other Olympic champion. Don't know who the Nobel prizewinners are, though.

[DoubleRBar]

Bob Mathias was born in Tulare, California 91 years ago today. Again, good work, LopenUupunut.

Mathias was only 17 years old when he won the 1948 London Olympic decathlon (something that would be pretty difficult to do nowadays) .

He won the 1952 Helsinki Olympic decathlon and later went into politics.

Mathias, a graduate of Stanford University, died at the age of 75 in Fresno, California from cancer.

Thank you, LopenUupunut.

[Tuariki]

He went to Stanford which has many Nobel Laureates

[J Rorick]

Was mentally locked onto Tulare HS.

[Tuariki]

I just looked up the notable graduates for Tulare Union High School.

Pretty impressive to have two 4-star flag officers - Admiral Elmo Zumwalt and USAF General Maurice Preston.

[noone]

I’ve often wondered how to pronounce Tulare. I say it like “to Larry”, but I’ve heard “too lair” (rhymes with hair) and too-LAH-ray. Which is correct, or is there another variant?

[cigar95]

I’ve often wondered how to pronounce Tulare. I say it like “to Larry”, but I’ve heard “too lair” (rhymes with hair) and too-LAH-ray. Which is correct, or is there another variant?

I have announced it as "to Larry" and no one has ever come to the booth to correct me.

[gh]

Tulare also rare city to have a disease named after it: Tularemia, aka "rabbit fever" (ah, the bizarre things one learns as a bacteriology major)

[bambam1729]

Tulare also rare city to have a disease named after it: Tularemia, aka "rabbit fever" (ah, the bizarre things one learns as a bacteriology major)

Never knew that, although Wikipedia says its actually named after the county - Tulare County

[J Rorick]

I have announced it as "to Larry" and no one has ever come to the booth to correct me.

Grew up in the county next to Tulare, and we always pronounced it "to Larry" or "tuh Larry" if we were lazy.

[cigar95]

Grew up in the county next to Tulare, and we always pronounced it "to Larry" or "tuh Larry" if we were lazy.

Your latter one is probably a better description of how we said it.
Back in elementary school they taught us the "schwa", which we just called "upside down e", and which was more or less a really short "uh". If I were using a dictionary description of the pronunciation I'd probably use a schwa.

[Tuariki]

I guess Mathias and Iness would have been known as the 2 larrikins.

[tandfman]

FWIW, Wiki sez:

Tulare (/tʊˈlɛəri/ tuu-LAIR-ee)