Discus legend Oerter dies aged 71

FORT MYERS, Florida -- Al Oerter, the discus great who won gold medals in four straight Olympic Games to become one of track and fields biggest stars in the 1950s and 1960s, has died at the age of 71.

Oerter on his way to winning his fourth Olympic gold medal in the 1968 Games in Mexico City.

Oerter died at a hospital near his Fort Myers Beach home.

"Al had dealt with high blood pressure since he was young and has also struggled with heart problems," said wife Cathy.

"He was a gentle giant," she said. "He was bigger than life."

Oerter won gold medals in 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968. He and Carl Lewis are the only track and field stars to capture the same event in four consecutive Olympics.

Oerter, however, is the only one to set an Olympic record in each of his victories.

In Melbourne in 1956, Oerter recorded 56.36 meters on his first throw and watched in amazement when nobody else, including team-mate and world record holder Fortune Gordien, came close to beating him.

He came from behind to win again in Rome, and overcame a torn rib cartilage and other injuries to make it three in a row at the Tokyo Games in 1964.

At 32, he was a long shot in the 1968 field headed by world-record holder Jay Silvester. However, Oerter responded with a personal-best 64.89 meters to leave Mexico City with the gold.

He came out of retirement and won a spot as an replacement on the 1980 U.S. team that did not compete because of the boycott ordered by President Carter.

Later in life, Oerter discovered a new passion and took up abstract painting.

Oerter maintained a tie to the Olympic movement through Art of the Olympians, a program he founded to give him and other former Olympians who've taken up art to showcase their work.

"Al approached the art world the same way he approached the sports world," said friend and former Olympian Liston Bochette.

"He studied it. He analyzed it. And he sought excellence in the arts." E-mail to a friend