Boris (Dov) Djerassi (born February 3, 1952) is a former athlete and

strongman In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. Thes ...

, based in the United States but originally from

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, Israel. Between 1973-81 Djerassi was ranked in the United States' top-ten hammer throwers, being number one in three different years. He was selected for the Olympic team in 1980, but the United States boycotted the Moscow Games and Djerassi was unable to compete in the Olympics. He also competed at the

World's Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international Strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of Decem ...

finals.

Early life

Boris Djerassi was born in

Haifa, Israel Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, and is Jewish.

Sporting career

Djerassi came to the US in the early 1970s enrolling at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. However, when NYU dropped their athletics program in his sophomore year he moved on to Northeastern University in 1973. Known as "Dov" (Hebrew for Bear) he won

All America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honors in 1975, indoors in the weight and outdoors in the hammer. In the hammer he began dominating the New England, Eastern, and eventually the national collegiate hammer event. In 1975 he defeated defending champion Pete Farmer for the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

crown in Provo, Utah in 1975 by just three inches. This proved to be the first of the fabled quadruple sweep, when he went on in 1975 to win the

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...

, the

IC4A IC4A Championships (Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America) is an annual men's competition held at different colleges every year. Association was established in 1875, the competition (started in 1876) served as the top level col ...

Championships, and the AAU Championships. He was the first athlete to perform this feat in one year. Djerassi competed for the United States in the

1977 Maccabiah Games At the 10th Maccabiah Games in Israel, more than 2,800 athletes from 34 countries participated in 26 different sports, including chess and bridge. The opening ceremonies were held on July 12, 1977, in Ramat Gan Stadium before a crowd of 50,000 p ...

in Israel, as well as in the

1981 Maccabiah Games The 11th Maccabiah Games brought 3,450 athletes to Israel from 35 nations. The Opening Ceremony was held on July 7, 1981, before a crowd of 53,000 and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Ramat Gan Stadium, with 3,500 Jewish athletes paradin ...

. He won a gold medal in the hammer throw in each Maccabiah. In 1980, he earned one of three berths in the hammer for the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, but was unable to compete when the USA boycotted the games. Djerassi did however receive one of 461

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

s created especially for the spurned athletes. In total, he was three time national champion and four time All-American. In 1989 Northeastern University later inducted Boris into their Hall of Fame for his accomplishments in the sport of

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

. In 1978 Djerassi also earned an invite to the

1978 World's Strongest Man The 1978 World's Strongest Man was the second edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Bruce Wilhelm from the United States. It was his second title. Don Reinhoudt also from the United States finished second, and Lars Hedlund from Sweden t ...

contest, only the second time it had been held. In this contest he was said to be representing Israel, despite his American citizenship.

Later career

Djerassi went on to become a Track & Field coach and trained body building and track & field national champions. In 1995 he graduated from the Life Chiropractic College of Atlanta, Georgia and became a chiropractor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Djerassi, Boris 1952 births American strength athletes Israeli strength athletes Jewish American sportspeople Jewish male athletes (track and field) Maccabiah Games medalists in athletics Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Competitors at the 1977 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 1981 Maccabiah Games People from Haifa American male hammer throwers Living people Male weight throwers Congressional Gold Medal recipients