Jānis Lūsis (19 May 1939 – 29 April 2020) was a Latvian

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who competed in javelin throw.

Biography

Lūsis trained at Daugava Voluntary Sports Society and later at Armed Forces sports society. He competed in four Summer Olympics for the USSR team, winning bronze in 1964 Olympics, gold in 1968 Olympics and silver in 1972 Olympics. The javelin competition at the 1972 Games was the closest in Olympic history.

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's Klaus Wolfermann had taken the lead from Lūsis in the fifth round with an Olympic Record throw of 90.48 meters. Then, in the sixth and final round, Lūsis let fly with a very long effort that measured at 90.46 meters - Wolfermann's two-centimeter margin was, at the time, the smallest unit of measurement used in javelin competitions. , he remains the only Latvian to have won an all three classes of Olympic medals (

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

and

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

) over the span of his career. Lūsis set two world records in javelin throw, of 91.68 m in 1968 and of 93.80 m in 1972. He is also a 4-time European champion. In 1987

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named him the greatest javelin thrower in history. After Lūsis finished competing, he became an athletics coach. He was married to Elvīra Ozoliņa, the 1960 Olympic female champion in the javelin throw. Their son, Voldemārs Lūsis, is also a javelin thrower who competed in

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

and

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. During the 2009 Latvian Sportspersonality of the year award ceremony, Lūsis received the Lifetime Contribution to Sport award. In 2014 he was inducted into IAAF Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lusis, Janis 1939 births 2020 deaths Sportspeople from Jelgava Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Soviet male javelin throwers Latvian male javelin throwers Latvian sports coaches Soviet athletics coaches Olympic male javelin throwers Olympic athletes for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics 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 Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games gold medalists for the Soviet Union Medalists at the 1963 Summer Universiade European Athletics Championships medalists Japan Championships in Athletics winners Armed Forces (sports society) sportspeople Soviet Athletics Championships winners