Ramona Pagel (born Ramona Ebert, November 10, 1961 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

) is a retired American

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

ter. She made four consecutive Olympic teams, 1984-1996, four IAAF World Championships and won a full set of medals in three showings at the

Pan American 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 ...

. Her personal best put was 20.18 metres, achieved in June 1988 in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. That mark was the American record for 25 years. The record was tied 23 years later by Jillian Camarena-Williams in 2011 and was finally beaten by Michelle Carter at the

2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 20–23 in conjunction with the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Champion ...

. Two days before her record was beaten, Stamatia Scarvelis, coached by Pagel, won the Junior National Championship at the same meet. Ramona attended

Schurr High School Schurr High School is a public high school in Montebello, California, United States, a suburb in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Part of the Montebello Unified School District, it has an enrollment of approximately 3,500 students in grades 9� ...

Montebello, California Montebello (Italian language, Italian for "Beautiful Mountain") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located just east of East Los Angeles, California, East Los Angeles and southwest of San Gabriel Valley. It is an indepen ...

. In 1979, she placed 3rd in

CIF California State Meet The CIF California State Meet is the annual championship track and field meet for the California Interscholastic Federation. The meet was started in 1915 for boys and 1974 for girls. Every athlete in every high school in California has a direc ...

, throwing the 8 Lb. Shot 47' 5¼". Not only was that the third best in the competition, it was the third best in state history (in the 6 years that weight was thrown). The weight was changed to 4 Kg the following year. Her next school was Long Beach State, where she met and married

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

and former Fullerton High School thrower Kent Pagel. He coached her throughout her career. She left LBSU in 1982 and transferred to

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

, where she would ultimately complete her studies. Through her career, she was ranked in the top 10 American shot putters 16 years in a row, from 1981 to 1996, including the No. 1 ranking from 1985 to 1989. She also spent 8 years on the American Discus list, until back problems caused her to choose to focus on her best event. Pagel also collects Pooh bear dolls.

International competitions

References

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USATF bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pagel, Ramona 1961 births Living people Track and field athletes from Los Angeles Sportspeople from Montebello, California American female shot putters Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States San Diego State Aztecs women's track and field athletes Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games bronze medalists for the United States Long Beach State Beach women's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1991 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportswomen