Ed Burke (Edward Andrew Burke; born March 4, 1940) is an American hammer thrower best known for carrying the flag of the United States at the Olympics in Los Angeles 1984. He competed at the 1964, 1968 and 1984 Olympics and placed 7th, 12th and 18th, respectively. He set his personal best in 1984, aged 44.[2]
Burke came to the 1968 Summer Olympics as a favorite, after setting the U.S. record of 235' 11" at the 1967 AAU Championships in Bakersfield, California (the same meet Jim Ryun ran his long standing 3:51.1 mile record), then the number two performance in history. After being (unjustly) called for a foul on his first two throws, he was so disappointed in his results that he retired from the sport following the Olympics. In 1979, he watched the World Cup on television with his daughters who had never seen dad throw. He marveled at the relative small size of champion Sergei Litvinov (URS). Just shy of his 40th birthday, he decided to give the Hammer one more whirl. After training he made the United States team at the first IAAF World Championships, and achieved his lifetime best of 243' 11" in the process of qualifying for his third Olympics at age 44 (a feat his contemporary Al Oerter also attempted and failed that year). He was the first American to achieve qualifying for Olympic teams 20 years apart (since equaled by Francie Larrieu-Smith, also from the San Jose area, in 1992). Being the oldest member of the team and a remarkable story, he was selected to carry the flag, which he did with one hand,[3] in the hometown Olympic Opening Ceremonies by the team captains.
That’s what I’m known for. It’s one of those quirks of fate. People can’t remember who won the gold medal, but they remember the guy who carried the flag into the stadium.”[4]
Following the Olympics, he again retired to tend the Los Gatos Athletic Club. He joined fellow Olympian, Discus Thrower Mac Wilkins in forming Explorer Post 813 in San Jose, California, dedicated to introducing boys and girls to the art of throwing. They constructed throwing cages next to Highway 85, enlisting the help of other world-class athletes training in the San Jose area. 30 graduates of their program have gone on to throw for NCAA Division I schools, two of them Dave Popejoy and Kevin McMahon made U.S. Olympic teams.[4]
MastersEdit
21 years after his second retirement, Burke returned to competition in the 65-year-old division.[4] and promptly set the world record for his age division.[5] After turning 70 in 2010, he did it again in his new age division.[6]
I like training, but I like training for a purpose. I don't really care how far I throw, I like the movement. It's a puzzle. It's been a puzzle my whole life.[4]
^Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020.
burke, hammer, thrower, other, people, named, edward, burke, edward, burke, disambiguation, burke, edward, andrew, burke, born, march, 1940, american, hammer, thrower, best, known, carrying, flag, united, states, olympics, angeles, 1984, competed, 1964, 1968, . For other people named Edward Burke see Edward Burke disambiguation Ed Burke Edward Andrew Burke born March 4 1940 is an American hammer thrower best known for carrying the flag of the United States at the Olympics in Los Angeles 1984 He competed at the 1964 1968 and 1984 Olympics and placed 7th 12th and 18th respectively He set his personal best in 1984 aged 44 2 Ed BurkeBurke in 1968Personal informationBorn 1940 03 04 March 4 1940 age 83 Ukiah California U S Height185 cm 6 ft 1 in Weight112 kg 247 lb SportSportAthleticsEvent s Hammer throwClubAccusplit Track ClubAchievements and titlesPersonal best s 74 34 m 1984 1 2 Burke came to the 1968 Summer Olympics as a favorite after setting the U S record of 235 11 at the 1967 AAU Championships in Bakersfield California the same meet Jim Ryun ran his long standing 3 51 1 mile record then the number two performance in history After being unjustly called for a foul on his first two throws he was so disappointed in his results that he retired from the sport following the Olympics In 1979 he watched the World Cup on television with his daughters who had never seen dad throw He marveled at the relative small size of champion Sergei Litvinov URS Just shy of his 40th birthday he decided to give the Hammer one more whirl After training he made the United States team at the first IAAF World Championships and achieved his lifetime best of 243 11 in the process of qualifying for his third Olympics at age 44 a feat his contemporary Al Oerter also attempted and failed that year He was the first American to achieve qualifying for Olympic teams 20 years apart since equaled by Francie Larrieu Smith also from the San Jose area in 1992 Being the oldest member of the team and a remarkable story he was selected to carry the flag which he did with one hand 3 in the hometown Olympic Opening Ceremonies by the team captains That s what I m known for It s one of those quirks of fate People can t remember who won the gold medal but they remember the guy who carried the flag into the stadium 4 Ed Burke attended college at San Jose State University Contents 1 Promoting throwing 2 Masters 3 Achievements 4 ReferencesPromoting throwing EditFollowing the Olympics he again retired to tend the Los Gatos Athletic Club He joined fellow Olympian Discus Thrower Mac Wilkins in forming Explorer Post 813 in San Jose California dedicated to introducing boys and girls to the art of throwing They constructed throwing cages next to Highway 85 enlisting the help of other world class athletes training in the San Jose area 30 graduates of their program have gone on to throw for NCAA Division I schools two of them Dave Popejoy and Kevin McMahon made U S Olympic teams 4 Masters Edit21 years after his second retirement Burke returned to competition in the 65 year old division 4 and promptly set the world record for his age division 5 After turning 70 in 2010 he did it again in his new age division 6 I like training but I like training for a purpose I don t really care how far I throw I like the movement It s a puzzle It s been a puzzle my whole life 4 Achievements EditYear Competition Venue Position NotesRepresenting the nbsp United States1983 World Championships Helsinki Finland 20th 69 12 mReferences Edit Evans Hilary Gjerde Arild Heijmans Jeroen Mallon Bill et al Ed Burke Olympics at Sports Reference com Sports Reference LLC Archived from the original on April 17 2020 a b Ed Burke trackfield brinkster net SPORTS OF THE TIMES Only One Political Statement The New York Times 1984 07 29 Retrieved on 2021 06 04 a b c d Ed Burke pausatf org Records Outdoor Men World Masters Athletics Archived from the original on August 3 2012 Retrieved August 3 2012 World Masters Records Love them Lisas Valle and Daley lead record assault in California Masterstrack July 2010 Olympic GamesPreceded byFrank Masley Flagbearer for nbsp United StatesLos Angeles 1984 Succeeded byLyle Nelson Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ed Burke hammer thrower amp oldid 1180757758, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
