Kenneth Flax (born April 20, 1963) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Olympic

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, whose personal best throw is 80.02 metres, achieved in May 1988 in

Modesto Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the 19th-most populous city in California. Modesto is locate ...

. Flax was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, and is Jewish. Flax is a two-time Olympic hammer thrower, who competed in the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games. He competed in Track & Field as a student at Redwood High School, and began throwing the hammer for the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in January 1982, and by June 1982 he won the USA Junior National Championships and competed in the Junior

Pan Am Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

in Caracas, Venezuela. Flax later went on to win two Pac-10 championships and the 1986 NCAA Championships, throwing seven personal records in nine throws and broke the NCAA record three times in the process which still stands today as the American Collegiate Record. After college, Flax went on to compete in three

World University Games The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

winning a bronze and in 1991 he won the gold medal, beating the former number one ranked hammer thrower in the world,

Heinz Weis Heinz Weis (born 14 July 1963) is a male former hammer thrower from Germany. He competed for West Germany until 1990. Weis was born in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, and at club level represented TV 1863 Germania Trier. He was coached initially b ...

. One of the highlights of Flax's throwing career was competing in the 1987 and 1991 World Championships, where he finished 7th in 1991 marking the first time in 21 years that an American has made the finals in the hammer throw in a non-boycotted major world event. Flax won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the hammer throw at both the

1985 Maccabiah Games The 12th Maccabiah Games brought over 4,000 athletes to Israel from 38 nations to compete in 28 sports. History The Maccabiah Games were first held in 1932. In 1961, they were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and super ...

, and then at the

1989 Maccabiah Games The 13th Maccabiah Games brought 4,500 athletes to Israel from 45 nations. Jewish athletes from Hungary participated for the first time since World War II, Jewish athletes from Russia had been permitted, by their country, to play for the first tim ...

with a 78.86 meter toss.Flax sets Maccabiah record – UPI Archives
/ref> In 2009, Ken was inducted into the Redwood High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Flax was the best field man in Redwood's track history, a powerful young teen who hurled the shot 57 feet—second all-time best in the MCAL. He has also been inducted into the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flax, Ken 1963 births Living people American male hammer throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Maccabiah Games medalists in athletics Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Competitors at the 1985 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 1989 Maccabiah Games Track and field athletes from San Francisco Male weight throwers World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes Jewish American track and field athletes FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States FISU World University Games bronze medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1989 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games 21st-century American Jews Redwood High School (Larkspur, California) alumni Jews from California United States collegiate record holders in athletics (track and field) NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen

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