Donald Emerson Favor (February 16, 1913 – November 13, 1984) was an American

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...

er. He was national champion in 1934 and placed sixth at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

Career

Representing the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

, Favor won the hammer throw at the 1934

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, throwing 170 ft 9 in (52.04 m) and narrowly defeating Rhode Island State's Henry Dreyer. At the

NCAA championships 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 and ...

later that summer Favor placed third, losing to Dreyer and 1932 Olympic bronze medalist Peter Zaremba (who had been third in the IC4A meet), but at the national ( AAU) championships Favor again defeated both Zaremba and Dreyer, throwing 163 ft in (49.82 m) for his first and only national title. After completing his studies Favor became a teacher at his former high school, Deering High in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

, but he continued throwing. He did not enter the 1936 Olympic season as a favorite to qualify for the American team, but at the Eastern Tryouts, a semi-final qualifying meet, he threw 177 ft 4 in (54.05 m), which was his personal best. At the final Olympic Trials Favor threw 167 ft 6 in (51.05 m) and placed third behind Dreyer and another Rhode Islander,

Bill Rowe William Neil Rowe, (born June 4, 1942) is a former politician, lawyer, broadcaster, and writer in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Rowe was born in Grand Bank and is the son of the late Liberal Senator Frederick William Rowe and the late Edit ...

; he qualified for the Olympics by less than eight inches, his margin over

Chester Cruikshank Chester "Chet" Cruikshank (May 25, 1913 – November 1970) was an American track and field athlete. Cruikshank was USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, national champion in men's hammer throw in 1939 and 1942 and national junior champion in 1 ...

, who placed fourth. At the Olympics in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Favor qualified for the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, where he threw 51.01 m (167 ft in) and placed sixth. He was the second-best American, behind Rowe but ahead of Dreyer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Favor, Donald 1913 births 1984 deaths Sportspeople from Portland, Maine Track and field athletes from Maine American male hammer throwers Maine Black Bears athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Male weight throwers Deering High School alumni