Bud Held

Franklin Wesley ("Bud") Held (born October 25, 1927 in Los Angeles, California) is an American athlete primarily notable for his performance throwing the javelin.

College career

Bud Held started as a pole vaulter at Grossmont High School near San Diego, where he finished in a 3 way tie for 4th place at the 1946 CIF California State Meet. He switched to the javelin while a student at Stanford University, where he won the NCAA javelin championship in 1948, 1949, and 1950. Held won the AAU USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships six times, 1949, 1951, 1953 to 55 and 1958. Held set six American records in the javelin, and in 1953 became the first American to hold the world javelin record with an effort of 263 feet 10 inches (80.42 m); in so doing, Held became the first athlete ever to throw the 800 gram javelin over 80 meters. He set a second world record of 268 feet 2 inches (81.74 m) in 1955, and his career best throw was 270 feet 0 inches (82.30 m) in 1956.

International competition