Peter Blank (born 10 April 1962) is a German
track and field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
athlete who competed 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 ...
. Early on in his career, he was a
decathlete. In 1992, 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 organizatio ...
for longest javelin throw in a decathlon with a distance of 79.80
m.
His personal best throw is 88.70
m, achieved in June 2001 in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
at age 39. This throw was briefly a
Masters M35 world record; it lasted less than a week because
Jan Železný
Jan Železný (; born 16 June 1966) is a Czech former track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is a IAAF World Championships in Athletics, World and Olympic Games, Olympic champion and holds the Javelin throw#Men, world reco ...
had turned 35 three weeks earlier and in his first competition after turning 35, Železný threw the javelin 89.94 m. Železný then further improved the record to 92.80 m at the
2001 World Championships, putting it beyond Blank's reach. Two years later, Blank set the
M40 world record with an 84.08 m throw, but was again bested once Železný turned 40 and improved the record to 85.92 m. In 2007, Blank set the
M45 world record, surpassing the record by
Larry Stuart that had stood for 21 years. As of 2017, this record continues to stand, unsurpassed by Železný when he turned 45, or any other javelin thrower.
Achievements
Seasonal bests by year
*1987 - 77.94
*1988 - 80.84
*1989 - 79.60
*1991 - 82.62
*1992 - 81.12
*1993 - 80.76
*1994 - 82.56
*1995 - 83.18
*1996 - 88.12
*1997 - 86.84
*1998 - 86.99
*1999 - 87.11
*2000 - 85.45
*2001 - 88.70
*2002 - 82.24
*2003 - 84.08
*2004 - 82.65
*2005 - 76.00
*2007 - 77.15
References
*
1962 births
Living people
German male javelin throwers
Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes for Germany
World record holders in masters athletics
German masters athletes
Athletes from Frankfurt
West German Athletics Championships winners
20th-century German sportsmen
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