Ferenc Paragi, Hungarian Olympic javelin thrower, Died at 62

  Sports

Ferenc Paragi was born on August 21, 1953, and died on April 21, 2016.

He was a Hungarian athlete.

On April 23, 1980, he established a world record of 96.72 meters in the javelin throw, eclipsing the global standard set by fellow countryman Miklós Németh at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

His extra effort added more than two meters to the previous world record, fueling discussion and speculation regarding the likelihood of alterations to the javelin’s design and flight characteristics.

He suggested changes would finally take effect in 1986, following another two sizable improvements to the javelin world record; the first coming in 1983, when Tom Petranoff, then of the United States, added precisely three meters to Paragi’s mark, and the other in 1984, when East German Uwe Hohn launched the 800 gram implement to 104.80 meters.

Ferenc also competed at the Moscow Olympics.

Although his form had dipped a bit after one more monster mark of 96.20 on May 18, 1980, there could be no question he was among the leading favorites.

Ferenc Paragi passed away at 62 yrs old.