Oto Grigalka

Oto Yanovich Grigalka (Russian: Отто Янович Григалка; 28 June 1925 – 8 February 1993) was a Latvian track and field athlete who competed in the shot put and discus throw. He represented the Soviet Union at the Summer Olympics in 1952 and 1956. He placed fourth in the shot put and sixth in the discus in 1950, then came fifth at the 1954 Olympic discus competition.[1]

Oto Grigalka
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  Soviet Union
European Athletics Championships
1950 BrusselsShot put
1954 BernShot put

Grigalka was twice a medallist for the Soviet Union at the European Athletics Championships, taking shot put bronze in 1950, then the shot put silver in 1954. He also competed in the discus at the latter edition, placing sixth.[2][3] He was highly successful as a student-athlete at the World Festival of Youth and Students, taking three consecutive shot put silver medals before winning the gold medal in 1955.[4]

At national level he was a seven-time winner at the Soviet Athletics Championships, taking three straight shot put titles from 1952 to 1954 and going undefeated in the discus throw from 1953 to 1956. During his career he was a member of the Dynamo Moscow sports club and was trained by Leonīds Mitropoļskis. He later went into coaching and was throws coach to the 1964 Olympic Soviet team.[5]

His personal bests were 17.20 m (56 ft 5 in) for the shot put (achieved during his 1954 European silver medal performance) and 56.94 m (186 ft 9 1⁄2 in), achieved in Kharkov in 1958. He was highly ranked in the discus throw during the latter part of his career, placing third on the world seasonal lists for the event in 1955 and 1958. His best yearly placing in the shot put was fifth, which he achieved in both 1951 and 1954.[2]

He was born and died in Saikava, a small village in Latvia's Madona Municipality. He married a fellow Soviet track athlete, Mariya Pisareva who won an Olympic high jump medal.[1]

International competitions
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
1949 World Festival of Youth and Students Budapest, Hungary 2nd Shot put 14.76 m
1950 European Championships Brussels, Belgium 3rd Shot put 15.14 m
1951 World Festival of Youth and Students East Berlin, East Germany 2nd Shot put 15.59 m
1952 Olympic Games Helsinki, Finland 4th Shot put 16.78 m
6th Discus throw 50.71 m
1953 World Festival of Youth and Students Bucharest, Romania 2nd Shot put 16.23 m
1954 European Championships Bern, Switzerland 2nd Shot put 16.69 m
6th Discus throw 50.60 m
1955 World Festival of Youth and Students Warsaw, Poland 1st Shot put 17.05 m
1956 Olympic Games Melbourne, Australia 5th Discus throw 52.37 m

National titles

See also

References
  1. Oto Grigalka. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2016-04-11.
  2. Otto Grigalka. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2016-04-11.
  3. European Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-04-11.
  4. World Student Games (UIE). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-04-11.
  5. Oto Grigalka. Latvian Olympic Association. Retrieved on 2016-04-11.
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