Mark Murro

Murro broke the national high school record in men's javelin throw in 1967 while attending Essex Catholic High School in Newark, New Jersey, throwing 252 ft 8 in (77.01 m).[2] In June 1968 he placed third at the national championships;[3] three months later he won at the United States Olympic trials with a throw of 263 ft 9 in (80.39 m), defeating national champion Frank Covelli and qualifying for the Olympic Games in Mexico City.[4] Murro was the top American at the Olympics, throwing 80.08 m (262 ft ​8 ¹⁄₂ in) and placing ninth;[1][4] Track & Field News ranked him as the world's 10th best javelin thrower that year.[5] The magazine put him on the cover of its April 1969 issue.[6]

Murro continued improving in the next years, breaking Covelli's American record with a throw of 292 ft 8 in (89.21 m) in Tempe, Arizona on May 23, 1969.[7][8] Murro won both the NCAA championship (representing Arizona State) and the national championship that year,[3][9] with his national championship mark of 284 ft 3 in (86.64 m) breaking Al Cantello's meeting record from 1960.[3][10] He was ranked fourth in the world that year, behind Jānis Lūsis, Pauli Nevala and Jorma Kinnunen.[5]

Murro broke his own American record on March 27, 1970, again in Tempe;[7][11] with his throw of 300 ft 0 in (91.44 m) he became the first American to reach 300 feet, as well as the first to break 90 meters.[1] However, two months later at the Compton Invitational he slipped while throwing and sprained his ankle,[12] missing the NCAA meet and failing to qualify for the national championship final as a result.[9][13] While he continued competing, he never regained his pre-injury level;[14] in 1970 he ranked a career-best third in the world, behind Nevala and Manfred Stolle, but after that year he never featured in the world's top 10 again.[5] At the 1972 Olympic Trials Murro placed eighth and failed to qualify for the Olympic team.[15]