Ferenc Paragi (21 August 1953 – 21 April 2016) was a Hungarian athlete who, on 23 April 1980 established a

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 ...

of 96.72 meters in the

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

, eclipsing the global standard set by fellow countryman

Miklós Németh Miklós Németh (, born 24 January 1948) is a retired Hungarian economist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 24 November 1988 to 23 May 1990. He was one of the leaders of the Socialist Workers' Party, Hungary's Communi ...

at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. This effort added more than two meters to the previous world record, fueling discussion and speculation regarding the likelihood of alterations to the javelin's design and flight characteristics. Proposed changes would finally take effect in 1986, following another two sizable improvements to the javelin world record; the first coming in 1983, when

Tom Petranoff Thomas Alan Petranoff (born April 8, 1958) is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He held the world record (old implement javelin) from May 1983 to July 1984; his 99.72 m (327 ft) throw was almost the ...

, then of the United States, added precisely three meters to Paragi's mark, and the other in 1984, when East German Uwe Hohn launched the 800 gram implement to 104.80 meters. Hohn's mark only came after the new design had already been officially proposed, and contrary to a popular myth had nothing to do with the change. Indeed, the primary reason for the change was to get rid of the then frequent flat or ambiguous landings, which often made it hard to assess if a throw should be declared legal, most famously in the high-profile case at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

where the eventual winner

Dainis Kūla Dainis Kūla (born 28 April 1959 in Tukums, Latvian SSR) is a Latvian former javelin thrower who represented the Soviet Union at the international level for most of his career. He is most famous for controversially winning the gold medal in men' ...

only progressed to the last three rounds with an apparently flat throw. Ambiguous landings were also much more difficult to measure accurately, compared to clearly legal ones where the javelin would stick in the ground at the landing spot. Paragi also competed at the Moscow Olympics. Even though his form had dipped a bit after another monster mark of 96.20 on 18 May 1980, there could be no question he was among the leading favorites. However, he had problems in the qualifying round, languishing more than five meters from a spot in the finals after two rounds with a sub-standard mark of 72.60, but saved himself by throwing 88.76 with his third and final attempt – the best mark in the whole qualifying competition by almost three meters. Next day in the final however, he could do no better than 79.52 and finished in tenth place. His qualification performance would have been enough for a bronze. Paragi was the Hungarian champion for 5 years.Former Javelin World Record-holder Paragi Dies
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paragi, Ferenc 1953 births 2016 deaths Athletes from Budapest Hungarian male javelin throwers Olympic athletes for Hungary Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Hungarian Athletics Championships winners 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen