Tom Pukstys
Encyclopedia
Thomas Paul "Tom" Pukstys (born May 28, 1968) is a former American track and field
athlete who was a javelin throw
er. Pukstys was a six-time U.S. javelin champion, and represented the United States at two consecutive Summer Olympics (1992 and 1996).
Pukstys parents came to the U.S. from Lithuania
in 1949. He was born in Glen Ellyn, Illinois
.
He accepted an athletic scholarship
to attend the University of Florida
in Gainesville, Florida
, where he was a member of the Florida Gators track and field team. He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree
in public relations in 1992.
Pukstys broke his first American record in June 1993. His personal best was a throw of 87.12 meters in 1997.
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete who was a javelin throw
Javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...
er. Pukstys was a six-time U.S. javelin champion, and represented the United States at two consecutive Summer Olympics (1992 and 1996).
Pukstys parents came to the U.S. from Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
in 1949. He was born in Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Glen Ellyn is an affluent village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 Census, the village population was 26,999.-Geography:...
.
He accepted an athletic scholarship
Athletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he was a member of the Florida Gators track and field team. He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in public relations in 1992.
Pukstys broke his first American record in June 1993. His personal best was a throw of 87.12 meters in 1997.
Achievements
| Representing the | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 26th | 74.72 m |
| 1992 | Olympic Games Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, 43 events in athletics were contested, 24 events by men and 19 by women. The competition ran from July 31, 1992 to August 9, 1992. Fourteen world record-holders were among the contenders... |
Barcelona, Spain | 10th | 76.72 m |
| 1993 | World Championships 1993 World Championships in Athletics - Men's Javelin These are the official results of the Men's Javelin Throw event at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. There were a total of 47 participating athletes, with the final held on Monday August 16, 1993. All results were made with rough surfaced javelin... |
Stuttgart, Germany | 9th | 77.92 m |
| 1995 | World Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 19th | 76.12 m |
| 1996 | Olympic Games | Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in... , USA |
8th | 83.58 m |
| 1997 | World Championships 1997 World Championships in Athletics - Men's Javelin These are the official results of the Men's Javelin Throw event at the 1997 World Championships in Athens, Greece. There were a total number of 40 participating athletes, with the final held on Tuesday 5 August 1997... |
Athens, Greece | 15th | 78.64 m |
| IAAF Grand Prix Final 1997 IAAF Grand Prix Final The 13th IAAF Grand Prix Final was held at the Hakata-no-mori Stadium in Fukuoka, Japan on September 13, 1997.-Men:- Women :-External links:*... |
Fukuoka, Japan | 4th | 85.68 m | |
| 1998 | Goodwill Games Athletics at the 1998 Goodwill Games At the 1998 Goodwill Games, the athletics events were held at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, New York, United States from 19 to 22 July. The programme consisted of 44 track and field events, of which 22 were contested by male athletes and 22 by female athletes... |
Uniondale, New York Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a hamlet as well as a suburb of New York City in Nassau County, New York, United States, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead. The population was 24,759 at the 2010 United States Census.-Geography:... , United States |
2nd | 79.86 m |
| 1999 | World Championships | Seville, Spain | — | DNS |
| 2001 | World Championships | Edmonton, Canada | 20th | 78.10 m |
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- List of University of Florida alumni
- List of University of Florida Olympians