Maurice "Mac" Wilkins (born November 15, 1950) is an
American athlete who competed mainly in the discus throw. He was born in
Eugene, Oregon.
Wilkins competed for the United States in the
1976 Summer Olympics in
Montreal,
Canada in the discus throw where he won the gold medal with a distance of 221' 5" to defeat
Wolfgang Schmidt of
East Germany by four feet.
Wilkins also won a silver medal in the discus at the
1984 Summer Olympics held in
Los Angeles after missing the
1980 games due to the
American boycott.
Wilkins is the last thrower that
Bill Bowerman coached in Eugene, Oregon. Wilkins was inducted into the
Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. He currently coaches at
Concordia University in
Portland.
With the death of
Al Oerter on 1 October 2007, Wilkins is the earliest surviving Olympic Champion in the Men's Discus. He is not the oldest as
Viktor Rashchupkin, the 1980 Champion, is almost exactly 1 month older.
During his discus throw series from May 1, 1976, he set the world record three times with throws of 69.80m, 70.24m, and 70.86m.
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