George Woods (February 11, 1943 – August 30, 2022) was an American athlete who mainly competed in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

. As a senior at

Sikeston High School Sikeston High School, also known as SHS, is a public secondary school in Sikeston, Missouri. History In 1868, a two-story public school building was constructed at the corner of West Malone and School Street. In 1884, this building was destroy ...

, Woods became the first

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

high school athlete to top 60 ft (18.3 m), setting a Sikeston school record that still stands to this day. He would go on to attend

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

. Woods competed at the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympics. After winning the US Olympic track and field team trails in 1968, he was overtaken by fellow American shot putter

Randy Matson James Randel "Randy" Matson (born March 5, 1945) is an American track and field athlete who mostly competed in the shot put. Matson won a silver medal at the 1964 and a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics. Early years The son of Charles and Ellen M ...

(Texas A&M) in the Mexico City games, settling for the silver medal behind Matson’s Olympic record performance. Four years later in 1972, he again entered the games as the American Olympic trials champion and the favorite for Olympic gold. He came close, but was again denied Olympic gold. Wladyslaw Komar, a virtual unknown from Poland, set an Olympic record at 21.18 m (69 ft 5¾ in) on his first throw. Woods responded, steadily and methodically, reaching 21.17 m (69 ft 5½ inches) in the fourth round. While Komar never approached his opening effort throughout the series, Woods couldn’t pick up the final centimeter on his remaining throws. He would settle for another silver medal. Woods would win the U.S. trials again in 1976, but finish seventh at the Olympics. Woods had a great indoor career, winning national championships in 1967–1969 and 1973. His 1973 meet record of 69 ft 9½ in stood as the meet record for 20 years. A year later in 1974, Woods set the indoor world record at 22.02 m (72 ft 3 in), a mark that would stand for 11 years. He ranks 5th among shot putters all time indoors, and his record throw is the 10th longest indoor effort of all time. His outdoor best ranks him in the top 40 putters of all–time worldwide, an amazing statistic after nearly 30 years. Woods was inducted to the

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

National Track and Field Hall of Fame The National Track and Field Hall of Fame is a museum operated by The Armory Foundation in conjunction with USA Track & Field. It is located within the Armory Foundation (the former Fort Washington Avenue Armory) at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, b ...

in 2007.

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* * Woods at the 1976 US. Olympic Trials @ 27:27 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, George 1943 births 2022 deaths American male shot putters Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics People from Sikeston, Missouri Track and field athletes from Missouri Southern Illinois University alumni Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field