Bruce Kennedy (athlete)

Last updated

Bruce Kennedy (born March 25, 1951) is a Rhodesian, then American track and field athlete known for the javelin throw. He has been dubbed "one of the unluckiest athletes in Olympic history" not because of his failures at the Olympics but due to the political nature of his inability to appear at the Olympics. [1] Born in Southern Rhodesia, he first came to the United States to study at the University of California, Berkeley. He qualified for the Rhodesian team for the 1972 Olympics, but when he arrived in Munich, he was not allowed to take the field. The government of Rhodesia, created when Kennedy was 14 years old, had never been recognized as a legitimate government and its athletes, including Kennedy, were excluded from the Olympics. He made the Rhodesian Olympic team again in 1976, but was not welcome at the Olympics. After eight years in the United States, he was able to obtain American citizenship in 1977 and compete for his new country. He finished second at the 1980 Olympic Trials but by that point in time, President Jimmy Carter had already declared the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott. He was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal instead. [2] He was able to attend the 1984 Olympics near his home in Santa Barbara, California, working as an usher. [3]

Kennedy won the American national championships twice, once before he had changed citizenship. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edwin Moses</span> American track and field athlete

Edwin Corley Moses is an American former hurdler who won gold medals in the 400 m hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. Between 1977 and 1987, Moses won 107 consecutive finals and set the world record in the event four times. In addition to his running achievements, Moses was also an innovative reformer in the areas of Olympic eligibility and drug testing. In 2000, he was elected the first Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, an international service organization of world-class athletes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Scott (runner)</span> American track athlete

Steve Scott is an American former track athlete and one of the greatest mile runners in American history. The silver medalist in the 1500 meters at the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki in 1983, Scott owns the U.S. indoor record in the 2000 meters (4:58.6-1981). He held the American outdoor mile record for more than 26 years and also is the former American indoor record holder in the same event. Track & Field News ranked Scott #1 in the U.S. on 10 occasions, and 11 times during his career he was ranked in the top ten in the world by T&FN. Additionally, he participated for the US team at the 1984 Olympics. He finished 5th in the 1500 meter run at the 1988 Olympics held in Korea. Scott was also an Olympian on the 1980 Olympics team which was not allowed to go to Moscow. He ran the sub four-minute mile on 136 occasions in his career, more than any other runner in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willie Banks</span> American triple jumper

William Augustus Banks III is an American athlete. Born at Travis Air Force Base, California, he grew up in San Diego County and went to Oceanside High School. Banks is an Eagle Scout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Powell (discus thrower)</span> American athlete (1947–2022)

John Gates Powell was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the discus throw. He set a world record at 69.08 meters in 1975, and his personal best of 71.26 meters ties him for ninth place in the all-time performers list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Williams</span> American athletics competitor, long jumper

Randy Lavelle Williams is an American former track and field athlete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mac Wilkins</span> American athletics competitor

Maurice Malcolm "Mac" Wilkins is an American athlete, who competed mainly in the discus throw. He was born in Eugene, Oregon and graduated in 1969 from Beaverton High School in Beaverton, Oregon.

Duncan Fuller Atwood is a former American athlete who twice won a gold medal in the javelin throw at the Pan American Games: in 1979 and 1987. Atwood set his personal best on August 29, 1987, in Rome, Italy, during the qualification round at the World Championships.

Matthew Centrowitz Sr. is a two-time Olympic distance runner, a four-time United States champion, a collegiate All-American, a nationally renowned high school athlete, and a collegiate cross country and track coach.

James J. Robinson Jr. is a former American middle distance runner. He was the dominant American 800 meters runner from the mid-1970s through the mid 1980s. He ran in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, finishing fifth in his semi-final and not making the final. He was on the ill-fated 1980 U.S. Olympic team that did not get to compete due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott. He did however receive one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes.

Barton Williams is an American former hurdler. He attended California Polytechnic State University from 1975 to 1979. Williams is one of Cal Poly's all-time greatest track and field athletes.

Donald J. Paige is an American retired middle-distance runner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol Lewis</span> American former track and field athlete (born 1963)

Carol LeGrant Lewis is an American former track and field athlete who specialized in the long jump. She is the 1983 World Championship bronze medalist, and a 4-time US Champion. Her best long jump of 7.04 meters in 1985 is the former American record. She is the sister of 9-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis, and former professional soccer player Cleveland Lewis. She is also the daughter of retired American hurdler Evelyn Lawler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhodesia at the Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Southern Rhodesia first participated as Rhodesia in the Olympic Games in 1928, when it sent two boxers to Amsterdam, both of whom were eliminated in their second bout. The colony did not appear at the Games under a Rhodesian banner until 1960, when it sent a fourteen-athlete delegation as part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In Rome, two sailors, Alan David Butler and Christopher Bevan, finished fourth, which was Rhodesia's best result until it became Zimbabwe in 1980. Southern Rhodesia sent 29 competitors, including a field hockey team, to the 1964 Summer Games, which was its last Olympic appearance under the Rhodesian banner.

Dedy Cooper is a retired American track and field athlete, known for specializing in the hurdles.

Boris (Dov) Djerassi is a former athlete and strongman, based in the United States but originally from Haifa, Israel. Between 1973 and 1981 Djerassi was ranked in the United States' top-ten hammer throwers, being number one in three different years. He was selected for the Olympic team in 1980, but the United States boycotted the Moscow Games and Djerassi was unable to compete in the Olympics. He also competed at the World's Strongest Man finals.

Candy Young is a retired American track and field athlete who was a record-setting hurdler at Beaver Falls High School in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

Maren Elizabeth Seidler is a retired American track and field athlete. She dominated the shot put from the mid-1960s through 1980. She won the event at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships eleven times starting in 1967, including nine in a row from 1972 to 1980. She was the American champion indoors nine times, 1968–9, 1972, 1974-5 and 1977 to 1980. She won her event at the United States Olympic Trials four straight times 1968–1980, a feat only equalled by only one woman, Madeline Manning, Edwin Moses is the only man to achieve four. Jackie Joyner Kersee is the only woman who has won more events at the Olympic Trials, split between the long jump and heptathlon. She competed in the Olympics three times, making the final twice. Her 1980 selection was quashed by the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott. Seidler did however receive one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes.

Sharon Dabney is a retired American track and field athlete.

James Butler is an American former track and field sprinter who specialized in the 200-meter dash. He was an NCAA champion and winner at the Liberty Bell Classic Olympic boycott event. He represented the United States at the 1987 IAAF World Indoor Championships and placed fifth. He set a 200 m best of 20.23 seconds in 1982.

Rod Ewaliko is an American track and field athlete known for the Javelin throw. He was the 1983 National Champion and won the 1980 Olympic Trials to become a member of the team that did not participate in the Olympics due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott. He was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal instead. Ewaliko would finish in second place in the National Championships five times. He threw in two other Olympic Trials, finishing sixth in 1976 and was unable to land a legal throw in the finals of 1984.

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-20. Retrieved 2018-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ Caroccioli, Tom; Caroccioli, Jerry (2008). Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Highland Park, IL: New Chapter Press. pp. 243–253. ISBN   978-0942257403.
  3. ↑ Tony Kornheiser (1984-08-10). "An Olympian, 3 Times Removed". The Washington Post . Washington, D.C. ISSN   0190-8286. OCLC   1330888409.
  4. ↑ "USA Track & Field - USA Outdoor Track & Field Champions". Archived from the original on 2018-12-04. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.