Wilkins, Mac

▪ American athlete

byname of  Maurice Wilkins 

born Nov. 15, 1950, Eugene, Ore., U.S.

      American world-record-holding discus thrower (1976–78). He was the first man ever to break the 70-metre barrier.

      Wilkins took part during his college years (1969–73) at the University of Oregon (Eugene) in all weight-throwing events—discus, hammer throw, shot put, and javelin—which earned him the nickname “Multiple Mac.” In 1973 he won the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championship in the discus and was second in 1974 and 1975.

      Wilkins set the world record in April of 1976 and a week later, in May, broke his own record three times, the farthest throw being 70.86 m (232 feet 6 inches). At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal he won the gold medal, after which he denounced the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) for having tried to force him to live in the Olympic Village during the week before competition. He later criticized the AAU and USOC for failing to recognize the importance of medical research in athletic performance and to provide adequate coaching and support for postgraduate athletes. His criticisms were supported by a report of the President's Commission on Olympic Sports in 1977.

      In 1980 Wilkins achieved a throw of 70.98 m (233 feet), then the second farthest ever. The U.S. boycott of the Olympic Games in Moscow that year (in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan) prevented him from defending his title, but he won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, and was fifth at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.

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