fullname updated event birth_place weight height sport birth_date image article_title
yanis voldemarovich lusis 1 june 2015 javelin throw jelgava , latvia 90 kg 180 cm athletics 19 may 1939 janis lusis 2011-03-23 . jpg jānis lūsis

jānis lūsis

jānis lūsis -lrb- born 19 may 1939 -rrb- is a latvian -lrb- and soviet -rrb- athlete who competed in javelin throw .
in 2014 he was inducted into iaaf hall of fame .
lūsis trained at daugava voluntary sports society and later at armed forces sports society .
he competed in four summer olympics for the ussr team , winning bronze in 1964 olympics , gold in 1968 olympics and silver in 1972 olympics .
the javelin competition at the 1972 games was the closest in olympic history .
germany 's klaus wolfermann had taken the lead from lūsis in the fifth round with an olympic record throw of 90.48 meters .
then , in the sixth and final round , lūsis let fly with a very long effort that measured at 90.46 meters - wolfermann 's two centimeter margin was , at the time , the smallest unit of measurement used in javelin competitions .
, he remains the only latvian who has won a complete set of olympic medals .
lūsis set two world records in javelin throw , of 91.68 m in 1968 and of 93.80 m in 1972 .
he is also a 4-times european champion .
in 1987 iaaf nominated him as the all-time greatest javelin thrower in the world .
there were many competitions for throwing a cricket ball the furthest distance , particularly in the earlier years of the game .
wisden describes how the record was set around 1882 , by one robert percival at durham sands racecourse , at 140 yards and two feet .
former essex allrounder ian pont threw a ball 138 yards in cape town in 1981 .
there are unconfirmed reports that jānis lūsis , once threw a ball 150 yards .
after lūsis finished competing , he became an athletics coach .
he is married to elvīra ozoliņa , 1960 olympic female champion in javelin throw .
their son , voldemārs lūsis , is also a javelin thrower who competed in 2000 summer olympics and 2004 summer olympics .
during the 2009 latvian sportspersonality of the year award ceremony , lūsis received the lifetime contribution to sport award .
