Fred Tootell

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fred Tootell

Fred Tootell (actually Frederic Delmond Tootell ; born September 9, 1902 in Lawrence , Massachusetts , † September 29, 1964 in Kingston , Rhode Island ) was an American hammer thrower and Olympic champion .

Tootell began throwing the hammer in 1919 as a student at Bowdoin College , where he was noticed as an outstanding athlete , thanks in part to the long way to school he had to walk to his home farm. In 1923 and 1924 he won the US championships, in the same year he was able to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris despite a leg injury . There he won the gold medal with a distance of 53.295 m as the first athlete born in the USA. He was considered a good technician because he had to compensate for the physical disadvantage compared to his larger competitors.

A year after his Olympic victory, Tootell was athletics and cross-country trainer at Rhode Island State College (now the University of Rhode Island ). Due to his coaching activity, he could not take part in any other Olympic Games as an athlete, as he was no longer considered an amateur . In 1936 he took part in the Olympic Games in Berlin as an athletic trainer. From 1953 to 1962 he was director of athletics at the university, at the same time he taught as a professor of physical education.

Tootell died on the day of his retirement in 1964, leaving five children behind.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Tootell, Fred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Tootell, Frederic Delmond
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American hammer thrower and Olympic champion
DATE OF BIRTH September 9, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Lawrence (Massachusetts)
DATE OF DEATH September 29, 1964
Place of death Kingston (Rhode Island)