Mohinder Singh Gill

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Mohinder Singh Gill
Mohinder Singh Gill 1970.jpg
Mohinder Singh Gill
Personal information
Full nameMohinder Singh Gill
Nationality American
Born (1947-04-12) 12 April 1947 (age 74)
Nawa Jamsher, Lyallpur District, British India
Height182 cm (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Weight75 kg (165 lb)
Sport
CountryIndia
SportTrack and field
Event(s)Triple jump
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)TJ – 16.79 (1971) Indian Record for almost 40 years. 57’ 5.5” (1972 ) Controversiol foul was measured over World Record.
Medal record
Representing  India
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 1970 Edinburgh Triple jump
Silver medal – second place 1974 Christchurch Triple jump
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1970 Bangkok Triple jump
Silver medal – second place 1974 Tehran Triple jump
Gold medal – first place Triple Jump
Gold medal – first place 1975 Cebu Island Phillipnes Triple Jump
Gold medal – first place 1973 Manila Triple jump
Silver medal – second place Triple Jump
Silver medal – second place Triple Jump

Mohinder Singh Gill is a retired Indian triple jumper who competed at the 1972 Munich Olympics. After placing second in a pre-Olympic meet in Munich, he competed while injured and failed to reach the final.[1][2] Gill won one gold and one silver medal at the Asian Games.[3]

Gill won two of India's five-ever medals at the Commonwealth Games. There were attempts to remove him from the national team, but Prime Minister Indira Gandhi intervened to allow him to compete.[4]

Gill won 52 major international invitational competitions in North America and Europe, setting 19 new records in the process; in addition, he won 5 NCAA Championships all with new records.[5] Some of those records stood 40 years later.[6]

A profile in the Sacramento Bee in 1971 described Gill as "six feet.. 163 pounds .. fast enough to run 100 yards on 9.6 seconds, strong enough to do squat jumps with 300 pounds across his shoulders, dead lift 500 pounds, practice half squats carrying 650 pounds and to do toe raises packing 700 pounds"[7]

Gill was sent for playing volleyball when he was in the eighth grade. After three years, he quit volleyball and took up high jump. When he failed in high jump in a championship at the age of 17, he tried triple jump and won with a jump of 41 ft and 4 inches. After this he received a sports scholarship from the Kurukshtetra University. He attended it for one year before moving to California Polytechnic State University (CPSU)[7]

Gill attended the "Cal Poly", competing in triple jump from 1968 to 1971, winning five NCAA championships and setting five NCAA records. He was elected into the CPSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993 as the only Asian to receive the honor. He currently resides in Turlock in central California.[5][8]

In 1970, Gill was given India's highest sports award, the Arjuna Award.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Mohinder Singh Gill. sports-reference.com
  2. ^ "The Sunday Tribune – Spectrum – Article". Tribuneindia.com. 25 November 2001. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  3. ^ Asian Games. gbrathletics.com
  4. ^ a b "I'm pained by reported scams in Commonwealth Games: Gill". The Times of India. 15 August 2010. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013.
  5. ^ a b Mohinder Gill. "Mohinder Gill – Cal Poly". Gopoly.com. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  6. ^ "2013 Cal Poly ShareSlo.com Invitational San Luis Obispo, CA Results online at". Phototiming.com. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  7. ^ a b Don Bloom, India's Gill Will Wow 'Em Tonight, The Sacramento Bee, 11 June 1971
  8. ^ Singh, Rajmeet (25 September 2006). "Olympian on a mission to warn against NRI conmen". tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 16 February 2017.

External links[]


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