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.

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.

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 {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub