Mac Maurice Wilkins (born November 15, 1950) is an American

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-dev ...

, who competed mainly in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by t ...

. He was born in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census ...

and graduated in 1969 from Beaverton High School in Beaverton, Oregon.

College

Distance running coach

Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA champ ...

recruited Wilkins to the University of Oregon, where he threw the javelin 257' 8" (78.43m) as a 19-year-old freshman. As a senior, he was NCAA champion in the discus and won the first of eight U.S. national championships in the discus. He was inducted into the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

in 1994.

Olympics

Wilkins competed for the United States in the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, Canada in the discus throw, where he won the gold medal with a distance of 221' 5" to defeat

Wolfgang Schmidt Wolfgang Schmidt may refer to: * Wolfgang Schmidt (athlete) (born 1954), German track and field athlete * Wolfgang Schmidt (politician) Wolfgang Schmidt (; born ) is a German politician and jurist who has been serving as Federal Minister for ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

by four feet. Wilkins qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team but did not compete due to the

1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet–Afghan War, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, a ...

. He did however receive one of 461

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

s created especially for the spurned athletes. Wilkins won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, e ...

in the discus throw at the 1984 Summer Olympics held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. He placed 5th in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea.

World records

Wilkins broke the world record four times in his career. During his discus throw series on May 1, 1976 in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, he 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 organizati ...

three times with consecutive throws of 69.80 m, 70.24 m, and 70.86 m. In 1976 and 1980, Wilkins was ranked #1 in the world in the discus throw. In 1977, he was the indoor national champion in the shot put, with a throw of 69' 1.5" (21.06 m).

Coaching

From 2006 thru 2013, Wilkins was the throws coach at

Concordia University Concordia University (French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the th ...

, an NAIA school in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

. His throwers won 26 individual national championships and earned 94 All-American honors. When

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 Ga ...

died on 1 October 2007, Wilkins became the earliest surviving Olympic champion in the men's discus. He is not the oldest;

Viktor Rashchupkin Viktor Ivanovich Rashchupkin (russian: Виктор Иванович Ращупкин, born October 16, 1950) was a Soviet/ Russian athlete who competed mainly in the discus throw. He was born in Kamensk-Uralsky. He competed for Soviet Union a ...

—the 1980 champion—is almost a month older. In August 2013, Wilkins left Concordia University to coach for USATF in Chula Vista, California.

References

External links

* Wilkins at the 1976 US. Olympic Trials @ 30:55 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Mac American male discus throwers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Oregon World record setters in athletics (track and field) Concordia University (Oregon) 1950 births Living people Track and field athletes from California Track and field athletes from San Jose, California Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Congressional Gold Medal recipients Beaverton High School alumni Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games