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This Olympic champion turns 41 years today (Friday). He made three U.S. Olympic teams and won the gold medal in his second Olympics. Born in Texas, this man won the 1991 world championship in Tokyo. Who is our birthday athlete today?
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Charles Austin. -
Tilastopaja also lists a Lithuanian 8.06 long jumper called Arvidas Sabonis as 54 today. This is almost the same name as the basketball player (whose first name is ArvYdas), I looked up the latter on Google/Wikipedia and he indeed also shares Austin's birthday, but is 10 years younger (than the athlete with almost the same name, not Austin).
What a turn-up - the LJ NR holder at the time (treating Lithuania as a nation, though it was part of the USSR then) and their best-ever basketball player have the same birthday 10 years apart!Comment
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Cooter Brown you have the right location and the right answer. Happy birthday today to the 1996 Olympic high jump champion Charles Austin.Comment
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The pride of Van Vleck. Happy birthday, Snake!Comment
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The man with THE best attempts at 8' other than Soto (Zurich-91).If you're ever walking down the beach and you see a girl dressed in a bikini made out of seashells, and you pick her up and hold her to your ear, you can hear her scream.Comment
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Yeah, and what if he had brought the right sized shoes to Atlanta? He was decent at 2.46, No?Originally posted by Dietmar239Comment
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Does anyone have video/pictures of those attempts? I don't remember them at all.Comment
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I've got an old VHS at home somewhere with his Zurich attempts. His 2.45m jumps were 'other-worldly'. On two of his attempts, he had the bar cleared cleanly (by a couple inches on one) until his calves hit the bar.Originally posted by marknhjIf you're ever walking down the beach and you see a girl dressed in a bikini made out of seashells, and you pick her up and hold her to your ear, you can hear her scream.Comment
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For sure! Especially with that crowd down there.Originally posted by Per AndersenIf you're ever walking down the beach and you see a girl dressed in a bikini made out of seashells, and you pick her up and hold her to your ear, you can hear her scream.Comment
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bear in mind that the run-up area was likely same material as the rock-hard atlanta track, so maybe good for a coupla cm of extra height compared to any other venueComment
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It is interesting to note that Sotomayor, Sjoberg and others never cleared 2.40m in Zurich. Austin was simply on fire at that stage of his career.If you're ever walking down the beach and you see a girl dressed in a bikini made out of seashells, and you pick her up and hold her to your ear, you can hear her scream.Comment
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Yes, he was that good. Did unusual and gutsy things. Two misses at 2.37 in Atlanta, then passing his third and clearing 2.39. After that, passing at 2.41 and attempting the WR at 2.46.Originally posted by Dietmar239
But I have to say that Partyka's terrific clearance at 2.37 was the jump I mostly remember from that competition. I sure thought he had it won after that height.Comment
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Per, I remember that jump very well. Ridiculous clearance by Partyka. I also remember his 3rd attempt at 2.41m. If he had begun his run-up three to four inches closer he would have cleared it cleanly and been the Olympic champ.Originally posted by Per AndersenIf you're ever walking down the beach and you see a girl dressed in a bikini made out of seashells, and you pick her up and hold her to your ear, you can hear her scream.Comment
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Dietmar, did they show Austin's 2.46 attempts on TV (NBC?). I can't remember .
I just dug out my T&FN issue from the Olympics (Oct. issue). Sure, Austin took three tries at 2.46 but "Only the first was even reasonably close"
Austin probably lost his best years between '91 and 96 with his knee problems. He was already 28 in '96.
Just so we have our ducks in order: Partyka had one miss at 2.39 and then passed to 2.41.Comment
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