Duncan Fuller Atwood (born October 11, 1955, in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

) is a former American athlete who twice won a gold medal 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 wom ...

at the Pan American Games: in 1979 and 1987. Atwood set his personal best (78.92 metres) on August 29, 1987, in Rome, Italy, during the qualification round at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Olympics

Atwood qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team but did not compete due to the U.S. Olympic Committee's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. He was one of 461 athletes to receive a

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

por cheatando instead. He competed for America at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, finishing in 11th place.

Doping

Atwood was one of the 12 American track and field athletes who abruptly left Caracas after it became known that there would be stricter and improved drug testing at the

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to include relatively accurate steroid testing.Taylor, William N., ''Anabolic Steroids and the ...

. In August 1985 Atwood tested positive for a prohibited stimulant at a competition in Koblenz, Germany. He was subsequently banned for life by IAAF for the anti-doping rule violation.IAAF may lift two bans, but others ousted
Eugene Register-Guard, 22 February 1986 At the time IAAF banned athletes for life for the first doping offence, but the athlete could apply to have the ban reduced, something IAAF would routinely grant. Atwood got his ban reduced and was able to compete again in 1987.

Achievements

Seasonal bests by year

*1979 - 84.16 m *1987 - 78.92''

References

External links

* * American male javelin throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Doping cases in athletics American sportspeople in doping cases 1955 births Living people Track and field athletes from Seattle Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Congressional Gold Medal recipients Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games {{US-javelinthrow-athletics-bio-stub