- Ben Plucknett
Walter Harrison ("Ben") Plucknett (
April 13 ,1954 inBeatrice, Nebraska –November 17 ,2002 inEssex, Missouri ) was a American athlete, who competed in thediscus throw .Plucknett attended Beatrice High School and was the state discus record holder in Nebraska. He received a degree in
animal husbandry from theUniversity of Missouri and was a member of the track team, throwing the discus and shot put. He received the Tom Botts Award as a freshman, was a member of the Junior Olympics team in 1973 in discus, and won the Big 8 as a freshman, sophomore and senior at the university.Plucknett participated in many national and international competitions, and was a member of the
1980 Summer Olympics team but did not compete due to the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Games. He threw a world record in discus in 1981 and still holds the American record. He retired from track and field around 1989. He became involved in the Highland Scottish Games, participating nationally and internationally, and won the world championship inEdinburgh, Scotland .He set world records of 233 feet 7 inches on
May 16 ,1981 inModesto, California , and 237-4 (72.34 m) onJuly 7 inStockholm . Less than a week after the second record, track and field's world governing body, theInternational Amateur Athletic Federation , announced that he had tested positive at a meet the previousJanuary 31 andFebruary 1 inNew Zealand . It said the drug wasnortestosterone , a bodybuilding anabolic steroid banned partly because of potentially dangerous side effects.The federation nullified both world records, the first time it had thrown out a record because of a positive drug test. It banned Plucknett from competition for life, although he could petition for reinstatement after 18 months. The Athletics Congress, then the American governing body, allowed him to compete in domestic meets. His 237-4 throw was recognized as the American record and still stands.
Plucknett was inducted into the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Hall of Fame in 2000.
ee also
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List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences References
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02E6DB1539F931A15752C1A9649C8B63 Obituary]
External links
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