Armin Hary

Armin Hary (German pronunciation: [ˈaʁmiːn ˈhaːʁi] ⓘ; born 22 March 1937) is a retired German sprinter who won the 1960 Olympic 100 meters dash. He was the first non-American to win the event since Percy Williams of Canada took the gold medal in 1928, the first non-North American since Harold Abrahams in 1924, the first man to run 100 meters in 10.0 seconds and the last white man to establish a world record in 100 meters dash.

Armin Hary
Armin Hary c. 1967
Personal information
Born22 March 1937 (1937-03-22) (age 86)
Quierschied, Germany
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight71 kg (157 lb)
Sport
SportSprint running
ClubFSV Frankfurt[1][2][3]
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)100 m: 10.0 (1960)
200 m: 20.5
400 m: 50.6[1]
Medal record
Representing  Germany
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome 100 m
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome 4×100 m
Representing  West Germany
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1958 Stockholm 100 m
Gold medal – first place 1958 Stockholm 4×100 m

Running career

After playing football (soccer) in his youth, Hary switched to sprinting at age 16. Only a few years later, in 1958, he won his first international title when he came first in the 100 m and the 4 × 100 m at the European Championships.[2] He was also one of the first track stars to be affected by the rivalry between Adidas and Puma; each of the two then-fledgling companies wanted the "world's fastest man" to wear its shoes.[3] Rumors of cash payments were floated, but no evidence was ever found to support the claim.

Also in 1958, Hary appeared to have run a new world record with a time of 10.0 seconds, but the track's slope of 11 centimetres (4.33 in) was found to exceed the maximum allowed 10 centimetres (3.94 in). In 1960 Hary set the world record, which was equaled 24 days later, but stood as a European record for eight years less one day.

That same year, at the Olympics, he achieved his greatest moment of fame. After a nerve-wracking number of near-starts, Hary sprinted to the gold medal in the 100 m dash with a time of 10.2 seconds.[3]

In the final of the 4 × 100 m relay, Hary and his teammates appeared to have finished second behind the American team, but 15 minutes later the Americans had been disqualified for a faulty exchange. Germany's time, 39.5 seconds, equaled their own world record.[4]

During his career Hary had multiple conflicts with the German Athletics Federation, which eventually suspended him. These conflicts and waning motivation to compete resulted in Hary's retirement from sport in the early 1960s.[3]

Later life

In 1980 Hary was sentenced to 18 months in prison for abusing his real estate trader position and defrauding the Catholic Church of 3.2 million German marks. In 2000 he was selected as Germany's Runner of the Millennium. In 2011 he was inducted into the German Sports Hall of Fame.[3]

100 m final in the 1960 Olympics. Hary is on the far left in Lane 6.

References
  1. Armin Hary. leichtathletik.de
  2. Knut Teske Armin Hary – ebenso groß wie verkannt. aha-f.de
  3. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Armin Hary". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  4. Athletics at the 1960 Roma Summer Games: Men's 4 × 100 metres Relay. sports-reference.com
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