Donald Robert Laz (May 17, 1929 – February 21, 1996) was an American
pole vault
Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...
er. He won a silver medal at the 1952 Olympics and a bronze at the 1955 Pan American Games. Domestically he held 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 ...
title in 1951 and shared the
AAU title in 1953. After retiring from competitions he worked as an architect in Champaign, Illinois, and retired after suffering a stroke.
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Personal life
In January 1951 Laz married Nancy June Barber[ :File:Don Laz with wife 1951.jpg.] They had a son Doug, who also became a competitive pole vaulter.[
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References
1929 births
1996 deaths
Track and field athletes from Chicago
American male pole vaulters
Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field
Athletes (track and field) at the 1955 Pan American Games
Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States
Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games
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