The Hindu : Sport / Athletics : Parry O'Brien is no more

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Wednesday, Apr 25, 2007
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Parry O'Brien is no more

SANTA CLARITA: Parry O'Brien, who revolutionised shot-putting with his spinning technique and went on to break 17 world records and win three Olympic medals, died while competing at a swimming event. He was 75.

O'Brien won gold medals at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics and a silver medal in 1960. He won 17 American titles in the shot-put and one in the discus throw. His longest winning streak was 116 meets. O'Brien appeared on the front of Time magazine in 1956.

Hall of Famer

He was elected to the U.S. Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1974 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1984.

He began experimenting with new shot-put techniques in 1951 while at the University of Southern California.

At the time, shot-putters would stand at the rear of the two-metre ring, hop, turn 90 degrees and propel the 7.3kg iron ball.

In the middle of the night after a loss in the Fresno Relays, O'Brien tried a 180-degree turn.

The idea, he later said, was that ``the longer you are pushing, the farther the shot will go.'' The move became known as the `O'Brien Glide'

The experiment immediately paid off. Before 1951 O'Brien could not put the shot more than 16 3/4 metres (55 feet).

From 1953 to 1966, he broke the world record 17 times, starting with 18 metres and reaching 19.28. — AP

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