Dave Laut was a shot putter who competed at the 1984 Olympics, although he likely would also have competed in Moscow in 1980, save for the USA-led boycott. Laut attended UCLA where he won two NCAA shot put titles. He won four US Championships with the shot – 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, as well as winning the 1984 Olympic Trials, and setting an American record of 22.02 (72-3) in 1982. In 1979 he was a gold medalist at the Pan American Games, and he competed four other times internationally for the US – 1979/1981/1985 World Cups, placing third in 1981, and at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, where he placed fourth. Laut was ranked second in the world in 1982 and third in 1979 and 1983. He eventually became a track coach in high school, at Ventura College, and later an athletic director at Hueneme High School in California. Laut was killed in August 2009 at his home in Oxnard, California, when police responded to reports of a shooting and he was found on the lawn of his home with multiple gunshot wounds, at first thought to be the victim of a robbery attempt, but his wife later confessed to shooting him, claiming self-defense and that she had been a long-time victim of spousal abuse. In March 2016 his wife was convicted of first-degree murder in Dave Laut’s shooting death.
Personal Best: SP – 22.02 (72-3) (1982).
United States