Donald Favor
Donald Emerson "Don" Favor (February 16, 1913 – November 13, 1984) was an American hammer thrower. He was national champion in 1934 and placed sixth at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Career
Representing the University of Maine, Favor won the hammer throw at the 1934 IC4A championships, throwing 170 ft 9 in (52.04 m) and narrowly defeating Rhode Island State's Henry Dreyer.[1][2] At the NCAA championships later that summer Favor placed third, losing to Dreyer and 1932 Olympic bronze medalist Peter Zaremba (who had been third in the IC4A meet),[3] but at the national (AAU) championships Favor again defeated both Zaremba and Dreyer, throwing 163 ft 5 3⁄4 in (49.82 m) for his first and only national title.[4]
After completing his studies Favor became a teacher at his former high school, Deering High in Portland, Maine, but he continued throwing.[5][6] He did not enter the 1936 Olympic season as a favorite to qualify for the American team,[7] but at the Eastern Tryouts, a semi-final qualifying meet, he threw 177 ft 4 in (54.05 m),[8] which was his personal best.[9] At the final Olympic Trials Favor threw 167 ft 6 in (51.05 m) and placed third behind Dreyer and another Rhode Islander, Bill Rowe; he qualified for the Olympics by less than eight inches, his margin over Chester Cruikshank, who placed fourth.[10]
At the Olympics in Berlin Favor qualified for the final, where he threw 51.01 m (167 ft 4 11⁄16 in) and placed sixth. He was the second-best American, behind Rowe but ahead of Dreyer.[11][12]
References
- "Stanford Garners Sweeping Victory In College Games". Waco Tribune-Herald. May 27, 1934. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- "Kiesel, Clark Win Firsts In I.C.4-A. Events". Berkeley Daily Gazette. May 26, 1934. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- Hill, E. Garry. "A History of the NCAA Championships" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian; Track & Field News. "History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2014". Track & Field News. Archived from the original on December 19, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- "Maine Forester" (PDF). May 1936. p. 23. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- "Series Title At Stake For Maine Against Bowdoin". The Lewiston Daily Sun. November 5, 1932. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- Gould, Alan (Associated Press) (March 25, 1936). "Coast Leads in Olympic Stars". Prescott Evening Courier. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- Gould, Alan (Associated Press) (June 28, 1936). "Bill Bonthron Beats Venzke". Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- All-Time List As At 31 December 1945, Association of Track and Field Statisticians
- Hymans, Richard. "The History of the United States Olympic Trials - Track & Field". USA Track & Field; Track & Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
- "Owens Wins". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. August 3, 1936. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- "Donald Favor Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2014.