Jim Fuchs

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Jim Fuchs
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Alma materYale University
Height6 ft 2 in (187 cm)
Weight223 lb (101 kg)
Sport
Country United States
SportAthletics
Event(s)Shot put, discus throw, decathlon
ClubNYAC, New York
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)SP – 17.95 m (1950)
DT – 52.60 m (1949)[1][2]
Medal record
Men's
athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1948 London Shot put
Bronze medal – third place 1952 Helsinki Shot put
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1951 Buenos Aires Shot put
Gold medal – first place 1951 Buenos Aires Discus throw

James Emanuel Fuchs (pronounced

athlete who competed in the discus throw and shot put. Track and Field News rated him the number one shotputter in the world in the 1949–50 seasons.[3] He developed a new shot-putting technique to compensate for a leg injury, and then used what he called "the sideways glide" to set world records and dominate the sport over a two-year span in the early 1950s. He won bronze medals in shot put at both the 1948 Summer Olympics in London and the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.[4]

Early years, college, new technique, Olympics

Fuchs was born in

lifting weights; in a 1994 interview he suggested that had he done so he would easily have broken 60 feet, shot putting's equivalent of the four-minute mile.[4]

Competing for Yale University, Fuchs won both the

International Amateur Athletics Federation in April 1951.[7] At the Boston Athletic Association games held in February 1950, Fuchs set an unofficial indoor record with a 16-pound shot which he heaved a distance of 57 feet, 6½ inches from the board circle, for an event that at the time of the toss was not officially tracked by the AAU in its record book.[8]

Fuchs represented the United States at the

strep throat and a 104-degree temperature while competing.[4] Competing in two events in athletics at the 1951 Pan American Games held in Buenos Aires, Fuchs won gold medals in both the discus and shot put. He earned himself the nickname "The Magnificent Wreck" for his willingness to compete in the face of illness and injury.[4] As one of the favorites heading into the next Olympics, Fuchs sprained a finger in his right hand in July 1952 which left his entire hand throbbing and put him off the field for three days, in addition to an ankle injury he had sustained with while training.[9] Despite the injuries, Fuchs repeated with his second bronze medal in the shot put at the 1952 Summer Olympics, held in Helsinki, Finland. Gold medalist Parry O'Brien later surpassed Fuchs's records with a more radical innovation which featured a 180-degree turn called the "backwards glide"; he broke the 60-foot mark in 1953.[4]

Post shot-put career

After his shot-put career, Fuchs spent 20 years as a communications executive, working for NBC, Curtis Publishing and Mutual Sports, of which he was president. Later he was the chairman and chief executive of the outplacement firm Fuchs, Cuthrell & Company.[4]

In 1981, he co-founded, together with

September 11 terrorist attacks with $20,000 in funds to be used towards their education.[4]

Fuchs was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2005, in recognition for his dominance of the sport in 1949 and 1950 which had him top ranked by Track & Field News for both of those seasons.[5]

Fuchs died in Manhattan at age 82 on October 8, 2010. He was survived by his fiancée, Mary St. George, as well as by five daughters from his first marriage, two sons from his second and seven grandchildren. Both of his marriages had ended in divorce.[4]

References

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jim Fuchs". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on January 17, 2012.
  2. ^ "James Fuchs". trackfield.brinkster.net. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016.
  3. ^ Martin, Douglas, "Obituary: James Fuchs 82; Transformed Shotput Sport", Boston Globe, Boston, Massachusetts, pg. B-12, 22 October 2010
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Martin, Douglas (October 17, 2010). "James E. Fuchs, Shot-Put Innovator, Dies at 82". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 23, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Jim Fuchs Archived May 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, USA Track & Field Hall of Fame. Accessed October 23, 2010.
  6. ^ Staff. "Yale's Fuchs Sets Shot-Put Mark, But So. California Is Track Victor Archived November 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, April 30, 1950. Accessed October 18, 2010.
  7. ^ Associated Press. "8 World Records in Track Approved" Archived November 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, April 24, 1951.
  8. ^ Sheehan, Joseph M. "Fuchs' Toss Lacks Definite Category" Archived July 23, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, February 6, 1950. Accessed October 18, 2010.
  9. ^ via Associated Press. "Fuchs Hurts Finger" Archived March 22, 2022, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, July 13, 1952. Accessed October 18, 2010.

External links


Records
Preceded by
Charles Fonville
Men's Shot Put World Record Holder

July 28, 1949 – May 9, 1953 		Succeeded by
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