Edward Andrew Burke (born March 4, 1940) is an American

hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...

er best known for carrying the flag of the United States at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

Los Angeles 1984 The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

. He competed at the 1964, 1968 and 1984 Olympics and placed 7th, 12th and 18th, respectively. He set his personal best in 1984, aged 44. Burke won the British

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title at the

1967 AAA Championships The 1967 AAA Championships was the 1967 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 14 to 15 July 1967 at White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, ...

. Burke came to the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

as a favorite, after setting the U.S. record of 235' 11" at the 1967 AAU Championships in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

(the same meet

Jim Ryun James Ronald Ryun (born April 29, 1947) is an American former Republican Party (United States), Republican politician and Olympic track and field athlete, who at his peak was widely considered the world's top middle-distance runner. He won a si ...

ran his long standing 3:51.1 mile record), then the number two performance in history. After being (unjustly) called for a foul on his first two throws, he was so disappointed in his results that he retired from the sport following the Olympics. In 1979, he watched the World Cup on television with his daughters who had never seen their father throw. He marveled at the relatively small size of champion Sergei Litvinov (URS). Just shy of his 40th birthday, he decided to give the hammer one more whirl. After training, he made the United States team at the first

IAAF World Championships The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic ...

, and achieved his lifetime best of 243' 11" in the process of qualifying for his third Olympics at age 44 (a feat his contemporary

Al Oerter Alfred Oerter Jr. (; September 19, 1936 – October 1, 2007) was an American athlete and a four-time Olympic Champion in the discus throw. He was the first athlete to win a gold medal in the same individual event in four consecutive Olympic ...

also attempted and failed that year). He was the first American to achieve qualifying for Olympic teams 20 years apart (since equaled by Francie Larrieu-Smith, also from the San Jose area, in 1992). Being the oldest member of the team and a remarkable story, he was selected to carry the flag, which he did with one hand, in the hometown Olympic Opening Ceremonies by the team captains. Ed Burke attended college at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

Promoting throwing

Following the Olympics, he again retired to tend the Los Gatos Athletic Club. He joined fellow Olympian, Discus Thrower

Mac Wilkins Mac Maurice Wilkins (born November 15, 1950) is an American athlete, who competed mainly in the discus throw. He was born in Eugene, Oregon and graduated in 1969 from Beaverton High School in Beaverton, Oregon. College Distance running coach Bi ...

in forming Explorer Post 813 in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, dedicated to introducing boys and girls to the art of throwing. They constructed throwing cages next to Highway 85, enlisting the help of other world-class athletes training in the San Jose area. 30 graduates of their program have gone on to throw for

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division I schools, two of them Dave Popejoy and Kevin McMahon made U.S. Olympic teams.

Masters

21 years after his second retirement, Burke returned to competition in the 65-year-old division. and promptly set the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

for his age division. After turning 70 in 2010, he did it again in his new age division.Love them Lisas! Valle and Daley lead record assault in California
Masterstrack (July 2010)

Achievements

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Ed 1940 births American male hammer throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Living people World record holders in masters athletics American masters athletes People from Ukiah, California Sportspeople from Mendocino County, California Track and field athletes from San Jose, California San Jose State Spartans men's track and field athletes 20th-century American sportsmen