Simeon "Sim" Garland Iness (July 9, 1930 – May 23, 1996) was an American discus thrower who won a gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics, breaking the Olympic record several times in the process.[1] Next year he set a new world record at 57.93 m.[2]
As a child of sharecroppers, in 1934 his family left Oklahoma due to the onset of the dust bowl and moved to the small San Joaquin Valley town of Tulare, California. There he became lifelong friends with classmate and teammate at Tulare Union High School and Olympic teammate, decathlon champion Bob Mathias. Weeks after his high school graduation, and on his 18th birthday, Iness placed sixth in the discus in the 1948 Olympic Trials.[1]
Iness first attended college at Compton Junior College, where he won the National Junior College discus championship in 1949. He was also a member of the winning Compton football squad along with future NFL Hall of Famer "Hurricane" Hugh McElhenny, which won the 1948 Junior Rose Bowl game, becoming National Junior College champions. He then transferred to the University of Southern California where he won the NCAA discus championship in 1952 and 1953.[1] While at the University of Southern California, Iness was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon.[3]
Careeredit
Iness competed for the United States in the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland, here he won the gold medal with a throw of 55.03 m. His gold medal triumph started the longest USA winning streak in the discus event in modern Olympic history. He set the discus world's record on June 28, 1953 in Lincoln, Nebraska at 57.93 m, being the first man to throw over 190 feet.[1] He went on to appear in two Hollywood films, Sign of the Pagan (1954) with Jack Palance and Jeff Chandler and Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955) with Maureen O'Hara.[4] He was an Olympic torch bearer for the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics.
After his Olympic and world record triumph, Iness worked the rest of his life as a high school and college physical education teacher, track and football coach,[1] and education counselor. "Sim Iness Gymnasium" can be found on the campus of Sim's alma-mater, Tulare Union High School. The Sim Iness Collection is housed at the Tulare City Historical Museum.
iness, simeon, garland, iness, july, 1930, 1996, american, discus, thrower, gold, medal, 1952, summer, olympics, breaking, olympic, record, several, times, process, next, year, world, record, iness, circa, 1950personal, informationbornjuly, 1930keota, oklahoma. Simeon Sim Garland Iness July 9 1930 May 23 1996 was an American discus thrower who won a gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics breaking the Olympic record several times in the process 1 Next year he set a new world record at 57 93 m 2 Sim InessIness circa 1950Personal informationBornJuly 9 1930Keota Oklahoma U S DiedMay 23 1996 aged 65 Porterville California U S Height198 cm 6 ft 6 in Weight108 kg 238 lb SportSportAthleticsEventDiscus throwClubLAAC Los AngelesAchievements and titlesPersonal best57 93 m 1953 1 2 Medal record Representing the United States Olympic Games 1952 Helsinki Discus throw Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 References 4 External linksEarly life and education editAs a child of sharecroppers in 1934 his family left Oklahoma due to the onset of the dust bowl and moved to the small San Joaquin Valley town of Tulare California There he became lifelong friends with classmate and teammate at Tulare Union High School and Olympic teammate decathlon champion Bob Mathias Weeks after his high school graduation and on his 18th birthday Iness placed sixth in the discus in the 1948 Olympic Trials 1 Iness first attended college at Compton Junior College where he won the National Junior College discus championship in 1949 He was also a member of the winning Compton football squad along with future NFL Hall of Famer Hurricane Hugh McElhenny which won the 1948 Junior Rose Bowl game becoming National Junior College champions He then transferred to the University of Southern California where he won the NCAA discus championship in 1952 and 1953 1 While at the University of Southern California Iness was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon 3 Career editIness competed for the United States in the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki Finland here he won the gold medal with a throw of 55 03 m His gold medal triumph started the longest USA winning streak in the discus event in modern Olympic history He set the discus world s record on June 28 1953 in Lincoln Nebraska at 57 93 m being the first man to throw over 190 feet 1 He went on to appear in two Hollywood films Sign of the Pagan 1954 with Jack Palance and Jeff Chandler and Lady Godiva of Coventry 1955 with Maureen O Hara 4 He was an Olympic torch bearer for the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics After his Olympic and world record triumph Iness worked the rest of his life as a high school and college physical education teacher track and football coach 1 and education counselor Sim Iness Gymnasium can be found on the campus of Sim s alma mater Tulare Union High School The Sim Iness Collection is housed at the Tulare City Historical Museum References edit a b c d e f Sim Iness sports reference com a b Simeon Iness trackfield brinkster net Distinguished Alumni Beta Sigma Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon Retrieved October 15 2022 Sim Iness IMDbExternal links editOfficial website nbsp nbsp nbsp This article about a track and field Olympic medalist of the United States is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sim Iness amp oldid 1189969722, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
