Peter Blank (born 10 April 1962) is a German
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 events ...
athlete who competed in the
javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...
. Early on in his career, he was a
decathlete
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ ...
. In 1992, he set the
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
for longest javelin throw in a decathlon with a distance of 79.80
m.
His personal best throw is 88.70
m, achieved in June 2001 in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
at age 39. This throw was briefly a
Masters M35 world record; it lasted less than a week because
Jan Železný
Jan Železný (; born 16 June 1966) is a Czech former track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is a World and Olympic champion and holds the world record with a throw of . Widely considered to be the greatest javelin thrower ...
had turned 35 three weeks earlier and in his first competition after turning 35, Železný threw the javelin 89.94 m. Železný then further improved the record to 92.80 m at the
2001 World Championships, putting it beyond Blank's reach. Two years later, Blank set the
M40 world record with an 84.08 m throw, but was again bested once Železný turned 40 and improved the record to 85.92 m. In 2007, Blank set the
M45 world record, surpassing the record by
Larry Stuart that had stood for 21 years. As of 2017, this record continues to stand, unsurpassed by Železný when he turned 45, or any other javelin thrower.
Achievements
Seasonal bests by year
*1987 - 77.94
*1988 - 80.84
*1989 - 79.60
*1991 - 82.62
*1992 - 81.12
*1993 - 80.76
*1994 - 82.56
*1995 - 83.18
*1996 - 88.12
*1997 - 86.84
*1998 - 86.99
*1999 - 87.11
*2000 - 85.45
*2001 - 88.70
*2002 - 82.24
*2003 - 84.08
*2004 - 82.65
*2005 - 76.00
*2007 - 77.15
References
*
1962 births
Living people
German male javelin throwers
Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes for Germany
World record holders in masters athletics
German masters athletes
Sportspeople from Frankfurt
West German Athletics Championships winners
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