Battle of Honey Springs

Jürgen Schult (German pronunciation: [ˈjʏʁɡn̩ ˈʃʊlt], audioⓘ; born 11 May 1960) is a German former track and field athlete and, from 1986 until 2024, the world record holder in the discus throw. Schult represented East Germany in the 1988 Olympic discus competition, where he won the gold medal.

Biography

Born in Amt Neuhaus, now in Lower Saxony, Schult was unable to compete in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles due to his country's boycott of the games.

He set a world record in the discus in 1986. As an athlete under the East German program, his throw of 74.08 meters (243.0 ft) bested the previous record of Soviet athlete, Yuriy Dumchev, of 71.86 meters (235.8 ft). This discus world record was one of the longest-standing men's world record ever (having surpassed the length of Jesse Owens' long jump record, which stood for 25 years and 79 days) [2] but eventually fell 37 years and 9 months later to Mykolas Alekna throwing 74.35 meters (243.9 ft).

In 1988, at the first ever track and field competition between East and West Germany, Schult refused to shake hands with his former teammate, Wolfgang Schmidt, after beating him; Schmidt had very shortly before moved from East to West Germany.

Later in his long sports career, Schult joined the reunified German team. He competed in a second Olympic Games in 1992, getting a silver medal, and the 1999 World Championships, again getting second place. He competed in his final Olympics in 2000 at the age of 40, finishing in eighth place.

Schult has a degree in sport, and in 2002 became the trainer of the German track and field association's men's discus team.

Schult represented the Traktor Schwerin sports club and trained with Dr. Hermann Brandt, later he represented the Schwerin and Riesa sports clubs and trained with Thomas Schult. While he was actively competing, he was 1.93 meters tall and weighed 110 kilograms.

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing  East Germany
1979 European Junior Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 1st 56.18 m[a]
1983 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 5th 64.92 m
1986 European Championships Stuttgart, West Germany 7th 64.38 m
1987 World Championships Rome, Italy 1st 68.74 m
1988 Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea 1st 68.82 m
1990 European Championships Split, Yugoslavia 1st 64.58 m
Representing  Germany
1991 World Championships Tokyo, Japan 6th 63.12 m
1992 Olympic Games Barcelona, Spain 2nd 64.94 m
1993 World Championships Stuttgart, Germany 3rd 66.12 m
1994 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 3rd 64.18 m
1995 World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 5th 64.44 m
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 6th 64.62 m
1997 World Championships Athens, Greece 3rd 66.14 m
1998 European Championships Budapest, Hungary 2nd 66.69 m
1999 World Championships Seville, Spain 2nd 68.18 m
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 8th 64.41 m
  1. ^ 1.75 kg discus

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Jürgen Schult". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  2. ^ Post, Marty (25 August 2011). After 51 years, Owens' longevity record finally falls. IAAF. Retrieved on 21 September 2011.

External links

Records
Preceded by Men's Discus World Record Holder
6 June 1986 – 14 April 2024 		Succeeded by
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%BCrgen_Schult