Myer (or Meyer) Prinstein (born Mejer Prinsztejn, December 22, 1878 – March 10, 1925) was a Polish American

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 eve ...

athlete and member of the Irish American Athletic Club. He held the world record for the long jump and won

gold medals A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in three

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

for the long jump and triple jump.

Early life

Prinstein was

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish and was born in Szczuczyn, in Russian-ruled

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

.Paul Taylor
Jews and the Olympic Games: The Clash Between Sport and Politics
Sussex Academic Press, 2004, , pp. 239-40 His parents, Jacob and Julia Prinstein (born Jankiel Prinsztejn and Judes Rubinsztejn), emigrated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1883 and soon thereafter moved to Syracuse, New York, where Myer was raised. They had five daughters and four sons; Jacob was a grocer and baker. Myer was the third child. Prinstein was captain of the Syracuse University track team, and graduated with a law degree in 1901.

World record

Prinstein set a

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

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 ...

of 7.235 m (23' 8⅞") in New York on June 11, 1898. However, the record was soon broken, first by William Newburn of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on June 18, 1898, and then by

Alvin Kraenzlein Alvin Christian "Al" Kraenzlein (December 12, 1876 – January 6, 1928) was an American track-and-field athlete known as "the father of the modern hurdling technique". He was the first sportsman in the history of the Olympic games to win four i ...

on May 26, 1899. On April 28, 1900, Prinstein set a new record of 7.50 m (24' 7¼") in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. Four months later, on August 29, 1900, this record was also broken by Peter O'Connor of Ireland.

Olympic Games

Prinstein won the silver medal in the long jump at the 1900 Summer Olympics in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

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, losing to Alvin Kraenzlein after being denied permission by Syracuse officials to compete in the final because it was contested on a Sunday – despite the fact that Prinstein was a Jew, and Kraenzlein, who was a Christian, did compete. The two had had an informal agreement not to compete on Sunday, and when Prinstein learned that Kraenzlein had competed he became angry and, depending on the account, punched Kraenzlein in the face or was restrained from doing so. The following day, he won the gold medal in the hop, step and jump (triple jump), beating

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

champion

James Connolly James Connolly ( ga, Séamas Ó Conghaile; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. Born to Irish parents in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, Connolly left school for working life at the a ...

with a leap of 14.47 meters which simultaneously set the Olympic Record. Competing as a member of the Irish American Athletic Club in St. Louis 1904 he won both the long jump (setting an Olympic record) and the hop, step and jump on the same day, the only athlete ever to win both events in the same games. He also came 5th in both the 60 m and 400 m dash. In Athens 1906 he again won the long jump competition, beating the world record holder, Peter O'Connor. The only judge for the competition was Matthew Halpin, who was manager of the American team. O'Connor protested, but was overruled. He continued to protest Halpin's decisions through the remainder of the competition. The distances were not announced until the end of the competition. When they were, Prinstein had won with his very first jump.The King of Spring - The Life and Times of Peter O'Connor. Mark Quinn.

Later career

Prinstein did not compete in the Olympics after 1906. He practiced law in Jamaica, Queens, and later became a businessman. He died in 1925 at age 46 of a heart ailment at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York. Myer Prinstein was inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere arou ...

in 1982.

Notes

References

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External links

*
Jewish community of SzczuczynWinged Fist Organization
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prinstein, Meyer 1878 births 1925 deaths People from Grajewo County People from Łomża Governorate Sportspeople from Podlaskie Voivodeship Congress Poland emigrants to the United States American people of Polish-Jewish descent Track and field athletes from New York (state) Sportspeople from Syracuse, New York American male triple jumpers American male long jumpers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1900 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1906 Intercalated Games World record setters in athletics (track and field) Jewish American sportspeople Jewish male athletes (track and field) Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1906 Intercalated Games