Platt Adams (March 23, 1885 – February 27, 1961) was an American

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

. He competed in various events at the 1908 and 1912 Olympics and won a gold and a silver medal in jumping events in 1912.Platt Adams
sports-reference.com

Biography

Adams was born in Belleville, New Jersey. He had a brother, Ben Adams, also an Olympic athlete. In 1908 he finished fifth in the triple jump competition as well as in the standing high jump event. In the standing long jump competition he finished sixth. He also participated in the discus throw event and in the Greek discus contest but in both events his result is unknown. Four years later he won the gold medal in the

standing high jump The standing high jump is an athletics event that was featured in the Olympics from 1900 to 1912. It is performed in the same way as high jump, with the difference being that the athlete has no run-up and must stand still and jump with both feet ...

and the silver medal in the

standing long jump The standing long jump, also known as the standing broad jump, is an athletics event. It was an Olympic event until 1912. It is one of three standing variants of track and field jumping events, which also include the standing high jump and ...

. In 1912 he also finished fifth in the triple jump competition and 23rd in the high jump event. At the same Olympics he competed in the baseball event which was held as

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games, but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration spor ...

. In January 1915, the Metropolitan Association of the Amateur Athletic Union found Adams not guilty on charges of professionalism, having sold a prize or accepted cash for a medal in violation of his amateur status, in connection with a claim the Adams had traded a trophy he had received at an exhibition jump in exchange for pins. A resident of South Orange, Adams was serving in the New Jersey General Assembly when he was named as the state's Chief Boxing Inspector in March 1923. He died at his home in the Normandy Beach section of Toms River, New Jersey on February 27, 1961."A Roundup Of The Sports Information Of The Week"
'' Sports Illustrated'', March 13, 1961. Accessed April 13, 2013. "DIED: PLATT ADAMS, 75, winner of the 1912 Olympic standing high jump, at Normandy Beach, N.J. Adams won the now-discontinued Olympic event with a jump of 5 feet 4 inches."

References

External links

Find-A-Grave site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Platt 1885 births 1961 deaths American male long jumpers American male high jumpers American male triple jumpers Baseball players from New Jersey Olympic baseball players of the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field People from Belleville, New Jersey People from South Orange, New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Sportspeople from Essex County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Toms River, New Jersey Track and field athletes from New Jersey 20th-century American politicians Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Standing high jump