 Carpenter in 1936 | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | April 19, 1913 Compton, California, U.S. | |||||||||||
| Died | March 15, 1984 (aged 70) Buena Park, California, U.S. | |||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Southern California | |||||||||||
| Height | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||
| Weight | 102 kg (225 lb) | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||
| Event | Discus throw | |||||||||||
| Club | USC Trojans, Los Angeles | |||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||
| Personal best | 53.08 m (1936)[1][2] | |||||||||||
Medal record
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William Kenneth Carpenter (April 19, 1913 – March 15, 1984) was an American discus thrower. He won the NCAA and AAU titles in 1935 and 1936, becoming the first two-time NCAA champion in a weight throw event from the University of Southern California (USC). In 1936 Carpenter won an Olympic gold medal,[1] and between 1936 and 1940 held the American record in the discus.[3]
Carpenter graduated from Compton High School, where he was a track and field star. After attending USC, he went on to serve in the United States Navy, and then began a 33-year-long career as a coach and teacher at the College of the Sequoias and Compton Community College. In 2003 he was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame.[3]
Carpenter appears in Leni Riefenstahl's film Olympia about the 1936 Olympic Games. He is also mentioned by Viktor Chemmel, a character in Markus Zusak's 2006 bestselling novel The Book Thief.
Media related to Ken Carpenter (athlete) at Wikimedia Commons
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US National Championship winners in men's discus throw | |
|---|---|
| 1897–1979 Amateur Athletic Union |
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| 1980–1992 The Athletics Congress |
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| 1993-onwards USA Track & Field |
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| Notes |
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