Gary Stenlund

Gary Stenlund was runner-up in the AAU javelin throw in 1967-68 and also won a silver medal in the 1967 Pan American Games javelin. He had placed second in the NCAA javelin in 1960 for Oregon State. He also set a short-lived World Junior Record.

Stenlund had started drinking heavily in college and was an alcoholic by the time he left college. He spent the next 12 years servicing houseboats on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers in Oregon. In 1984, after a series of DUI convictions, he went into rehab and beat the disease, staying sober for over 30 years. Stenlund then returned to masters’ competition, setting several age group world records, even into his 70s, and winning world titles in the 60-64 and older age groups. He also ran an organic coffee farm in Costa Rica.

Personal Bests: PV – 4.46 (14-7½) (1962); JT – 80.85 (265-3) (1968).