Fred Hansen
![]() Hansen in the 1960s | |||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
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Full name | Frederick Morgan Hansen | ||||||||||
Born | December 29, 1940 Cuero, Texas, U.S.[1] | (age 80)||||||||||
Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||
Weight | 75 kg (165 lb) | ||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||
Event(s) | Pole vault, long jump | ||||||||||
Club | Rice Owls, Houston | ||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||
Personal best(s) | PV – 5.28 m (1964) LJ – 7.26 m (1961)[1][2] | ||||||||||
Medal record
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/TV-icon-2.svg/110px-TV-icon-2.svg.png)
Pathe film of world record @1:07 Video on YouTube
Frederick Morgan "Fred" Hansen (born December 29, 1940) is an American former athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault.[1]
A 1963 graduate of Rice University, he competed for the United States in the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan in the pole vault where he won the gold medal.[3] He held the world record in the Pole Vault for almost 2 years, first set as 5.23 m (17 ft 1+3⁄4 in) on June 13, 1964 and then improved to 5.28 m (17 ft 3+3⁄4 in) on July 25, 1964 at the USA vs USSR dual meet at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.[1][2][4]
1964 Olympics[]
Going into the 1964 Olympics, the United States had never lost an Olympic pole vault competition. In the final, the last remaining American was Hansen, who at the time was also the world record holder. The field included two other previous world record holders and decathlete C. K. Yang. Hansen cleared 5 meters on his first attempt, but so did three German athletes. Hansen then passed the next height, watching as only Wolfgang Reinhardt was able to clear. Re-entering the competition at 5.10, Hansen failed his first two attempts, but so did Reinhardt. Hansen then sailed over his final attempt, while Reinhart could not. Hansen continued the American streak, which would survive through one more Olympics until the 1972 pole vault controversy, when defending champion Bob Seagren had his pole confiscated at the games and had to compete on an unfamiliar, borrowed pole.
Other achievements[]
Besides pole vault Hansen competed in the long jump. He was also an avid golfer and played at the 1980 U.S. Amateur golf championship.[1] He currently is a practicing dentist in Houston, Texas, in the Memorial area of town. He was Inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2016.[5]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Fred Hansen". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on August 30, 2013.
- ^ a b Fred Hansen. trackfield.brinkster.net
- ^ "Athletics at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games: Men's pole vault". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
- ^ Video on YouTube @1:10
- ^ http://ttfca2.wixsite.com/txtfhalloffame/inductees Archived January 16, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. wixsite.com
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fred Hansen (athlete). |
- Fred Hansen at Sporting Heroes
- Fred Hansen at the International Olympic Committee
- 1940 births
- Living people
- American male pole vaulters
- American Presbyterians
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics
- World record setters in athletics (track and field)
- Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
- Rice Owls men's track and field athletes
- Rice University alumni
- People from Cuero, Texas
- Track and field athletes from Texas
- American track and field athletics Olympic medalist stubs