Armin Hary
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| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | |||
| Men's athletics | |||
| Gold | 1960 Rome | 100 metres | |
| Gold | 1960 Rome | 4x100 m relay | |
Armin Hary (born March 22, 1937) is a German athlete. In 1960 he became the first non-American to win the Olympic 100 m since 1928.
Born in Quierschied, after playing football in his youth, Hary switched to sprinting at age 16. Only a few years later, in 1958, he won his first international titles when he came first in the 100 m and the 4 x 100 m at the European Championships.
That same year, Hary appeared to have run a new World Record with a time of 10.0 seconds, but the track's slope of 11 cm was found to exceed the maximally allowed 10 cm. In 1960, another try at the World Record seemed to have failed again, after judges believed Hary's start of another 10.0 race had been false—Hary was well-known for his fast starts. In a re-run at the same evening, Hary finally set the world record.
That same year, at the Olympics, he achieved his greatest moment of fame. After a nerve-racking number of near-starts, Hary sprinted to the gold in 10.2 seconds to become the first non-American winner of the event since Canadian Percy Williams.
In the final of the 4 x 100 m, Hary and his teammates appeared to have finished second behind the team of the United States, but 15 minutes after the final it was announced that the USA had been disqualified for an incorrect exchange. Germany's time, 39.5 equaled their own world record.
After the Olympics, Armin Hary was suspended by the German federation, and Hary retired from the sport. In 1980, he was found guilty of a 3.2 million German-mark swindle, and was sentenced to probation for 18 month until 1983.
| Olympic champions in men's 100 m |
|---|
| 1896: Tom Burke | 1900: Frank Jarvis | 1904: Archie Hahn | 1908: Reggie Walker | 1912: Ralph Craig | 1920: Charlie Paddock | 1924: Harold Abrahams | 1928: Percy Williams | 1932: Eddie Tolan | 1936: Jesse Owens | 1948: Harrison Dillard | 1952: Lindy Remigino | 1956: Bobby Joe Morrow | 1960: Armin Hary | 1964: Bob Hayes | 1968: Jim Hines | 1972: Valeri Borzov | 1976: Hasely Crawford | 1980: Allan Wells | 1984: Carl Lewis | 1988: Carl Lewis | 1992: Linford Christie | 1996: Donovan Bailey | 2000: Maurice Greene | 2004: Justin Gatlin |
| Olympic champions in men's 4×100 m relay |
|---|
| 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 |
| 1960 United team of Germany Bernd Cullmann, Armin Hary, Walter Mahlendorf & Martin Lauer |
