Thomas Alan Petranoff (born April 8, 1958) is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He held the world record (old implement javelin) from May 1983 to July 1984; his 99.72 m (327 ft) throw was almost the length of an American football field (360 feet/110 meters). During his career, he was a silver medalist at the World Championships in 1983 and represented the United States at the Summer Olympics in 1984 and 1988. He transferred to South Africa in the 1990s and was twice a winner at the African Championships. His personal best with the new implement javelin is 89.16 m (292.5 ft). In the final years of his career, he returned to the United States and won a medal at the 1999 Pan American Games.
Petranoff's world record added precisely three meters to the previous global standard of 96.72 m, set in 1980 by Hungary's Ferenc Paragi. Petranoff's effort fueled further discussion and speculation regarding the likelihood of alterations to the javelin's design and flight characteristics. Propelled by the need to shorten distances and the then frequent flat or ambiguous landings (which resulted in many controversial official judgements), a change to a new design finally took effect in April 1986.[1] By then, East GermanUwe Hohn had greatly improved Petranoff's mark with a throw of 104.80 meters. This throw came after the changes had been officially proposed and (unlike Petranoff's record) was not a driving cause of the change.[1]
Petranoff's mark with the old javelin design was never exceeded by any throw other than Hohn's mark. He also did well with the new design; his personal best of 89.16, thrown at Potchefstroom, South Africa on March 1, 1991, was at the time the second best ever (excluding marks thrown with a soon-to-be-banned "rough-tailed javelin" that had been introduced by Miklós Németh), behind only Steve Backley's world record of 89.58 m.
In 1984, Petranoff won the Superstars championship with a record score of 61 points. He qualified for the United States Olympic Team, but finished a disappointing 10th in the final in Los Angeles.
A native of Illinois, Petranoff later became a citizen of South Africa and competed for that country in various international competitions.
Personal life
Petranoff is also the inventor of the "Turbo Javelin." This implement is used for javelin practice, especially of the indoor kind. Made of heavy-duty plastic and a rubber tip, the turbo javelin is very safe and ideal for indoor practice, and makes a good substitute for younger throwers as the official javelin can be dangerous. It is now used in its own competitions for people of all ages and is great for recreation departments and much more. The world record holder with the turbo javelin is Breaux Greer of the U.S.A.
^ abErich Bremicker. "Why did the senior javelin specification have to be changed?".
External links
Interview
January 03, 2023
petranoff, thomas, alan, petranoff, born, april, 1958, retired, american, track, field, athlete, competed, javelin, throw, held, world, record, implement, javelin, from, 1983, july, 1984, throw, almost, length, american, football, field, feet, meters, during, . Thomas Alan Petranoff born April 8 1958 is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw He held the world record old implement javelin from May 1983 to July 1984 his 99 72 m 327 ft throw was almost the length of an American football field 360 feet 110 meters During his career he was a silver medalist at the World Championships in 1983 and represented the United States at the Summer Olympics in 1984 and 1988 He transferred to South Africa in the 1990s and was twice a winner at the African Championships His personal best with the new implement javelin is 89 16 m 292 5 ft In the final years of his career he returned to the United States and won a medal at the 1999 Pan American Games Tom PetranoffPersonal informationFull nameThomas Alan PetranoffBorn 1958 04 08 April 8 1958 age 64 Aurora Illinois U S Height1 88 m 6 ft 2 in Weight109 kg 240 lb Achievements and titlesPersonal best s 99 72 m old implement NR 89 16 m 1991 Medal record Men s AthleticsRepresenting United StatesWorld Championships1983 Helsinki JavelinOlympic Boycott Games1980 Philadelphia JavelinRepresenting South AfricaAfrican Championships in Athletics1992 Mauritius Javelin1993 Durban Javelin Contents 1 Career 2 Personal life 3 International competitions 4 References 5 External linksCareer EditPetranoff s world record added precisely three meters to the previous global standard of 96 72 m set in 1980 by Hungary s Ferenc Paragi Petranoff s effort fueled further discussion and speculation regarding the likelihood of alterations to the javelin s design and flight characteristics Propelled by the need to shorten distances and the then frequent flat or ambiguous landings which resulted in many controversial official judgements a change to a new design finally took effect in April 1986 1 By then East German Uwe Hohn had greatly improved Petranoff s mark with a throw of 104 80 meters This throw came after the changes had been officially proposed and unlike Petranoff s record was not a driving cause of the change 1 Petranoff s mark with the old javelin design was never exceeded by any throw other than Hohn s mark He also did well with the new design his personal best of 89 16 thrown at Potchefstroom South Africa on March 1 1991 was at the time the second best ever excluding marks thrown with a soon to be banned rough tailed javelin that had been introduced by Miklos Nemeth behind only Steve Backley s world record of 89 58 m In 1984 Petranoff won the Superstars championship with a record score of 61 points He qualified for the United States Olympic Team but finished a disappointing 10th in the final in Los Angeles A native of Illinois Petranoff later became a citizen of South Africa and competed for that country in various international competitions Personal life EditPetranoff is also the inventor of the Turbo Javelin This implement is used for javelin practice especially of the indoor kind Made of heavy duty plastic and a rubber tip the turbo javelin is very safe and ideal for indoor practice and makes a good substitute for younger throwers as the official javelin can be dangerous It is now used in its own competitions for people of all ages and is great for recreation departments and much more The world record holder with the turbo javelin is Breaux Greer of the U S A Petranoff now lives in California he has coached for institutions such as Boston University International competitions EditYear Competition Venue Position NotesRepresenting the 1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles United States 10th 78 40 m1986 Goodwill Games Moscow Soviet Union 1st 83 46 m1987 World Championships Rome Italy 4th 81 28 m1988 Olympic Games Seoul South Korea 18th q 77 48 mRepresenting South Africa1992 African Championships Mauritius 1st 87 26 m1993 World Championships Stuttgart Germany 22nd q 75 26 mAfrican Championships Durban South Africa 1st 82 40 mRepresenting the 1999 Pan American Games Winnipeg Canada 3rd 75 95 mReferences Edit a b Erich Bremicker Why did the senior javelin specification have to be changed External links EditInterview Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tom Petranoff amp oldid 1044960799, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
