- Fortune Gordien
Fortune Everett Gordien (September 9, 1922 &ndash – April 10, 1990) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the discus throw.
Born in
Spokane, Washington he competed for the United States in the1948 Summer Olympics held inLondon ,Great Britain in the discus throw where he won the bronze medal behind two Italians,Adolfo Consolini andGiuseppe Tosi . He failed to medal in the 1952 Olympics but improved to his best Olympic performance with a silver medal, behind the greatAl Oerter , in the1956 Summer Olympics held inMelbourne ,Australia .According to the "Guinness Book of Track and Field: Facts and Feats", the smallest crowd ever to see a world record may have been 48, the number attending a Pasadena, California all-comers meet in 1953 when Fortune Gordien broke the discus record.
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