Lillian Copeland

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Lillian Copeland, 1928.

Lillian Copeland (born November 25, 1904 in New York , † July 7, 1964 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American athlete in the disciplines of discus , javelin and shot put and Olympic champion .

Copeland was born in New York to Polish immigrants. Her father died when she was a little girl. When her mother remarried, the family moved to Los Angeles . Even as a teenager she showed remarkable achievements in the throwing disciplines of the shot put and discus throw. From 1931 she studied law at the University of Southern California .

At the beginning of her career, she won the shot put in the championships of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) five times in 1924–1928 and 1931. In addition, she won the AAU championships in 1926 and 1927 in discus and the javelin title in 1926 and 1931. In in 1926 and 1927 it set a new world record three times.

In the discus throw she won the silver medal at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1928 behind Halina Konopacka from Poland (gold) and ahead of Ruth Svedberg (bronze) from Sweden . In 1932 she won the gold medal in the same discipline at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, ahead of the American Ruth Osburn (silver) and the Polish Jadwiga Wajs (bronze).

After the last Olympic victory, she withdrew from the sporting scene. As a Jew , however, she still competed in the Maccabiad in 1935 , where she won all titles in her three disciplines. She then retired from sports for good and worked in the Los Angeles County Police Department .

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personal data
SURNAME Copeland, Lillian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American athlete
DATE OF BIRTH November 25, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH new York
DATE OF DEATH July 7, 1964
Place of death los Angeles