event death_date club birth_place weight height pb sport birth_date image article_title name
hammer throw 28 may 2011 krasnoye zhnamya vitebsk , armed forces minsk khvoevo , minsk oblast , belarus 103 kg lb on 1.85 m ftin on 74.52 m -lrb- 1969 -rrb- athletics 25 may 1933 romuald klim 1968.jpg romuald klim
 romuald klim
romuald klim

romuald iosifovich klim -lrb- , , 25 may 1933 -- 28 may 2011 -rrb- was a soviet hammer thrower .
he competed at the 1964 and 1968 olympics and won a gold and a silver medal , respectively .
klim was awarded the order of the badge of honor in 1965 .
klim was born in a farmer 's family .
he started training in hammer throw around 1955 , but became noticed only in 1963 , after winning the riga cup and finishing second at the 1963 soviet championships .
in those years klim was lighter -lrb- ca. 90 kg -rrb- and physically weaker than elite soviet throwers , but he had a strong mental balance and a superior throwing technique ; he added weight only after joining the national team .
the 1964 olympics were his first international competitions .
after three attempts he was third behind gyula zsivótzky and world record holder hal connolly , but then threw 69.74 m and won a surprising gold medal .
after that klim won the 1966 european championships , the european cup in 1965 and 1967 , and three soviet championships -lrb- 1966 -- 1968 -rrb- .
he finished second at the 1968 games behind zsivótzky , who had been his main rival all those years .
in 1969 klim finished second at the 1969 european championships and set his only world record -lrb- 74.52 m -rrb- .
he retired in 1973 to become an athletics coach and referee .
from 1989 until his death he was professor at the belorussian academy of physical culture and sports .
since 1976 a hammer throwing competition has been held in his honor in minsk .
klim was married and had two twin sons born in 1960 .
