Triple Jump, Men

Prior to 1976, counting only individual events and not including the 1906 Olympics, only John Flanagan (hammer throw) and Al Oerter (discus throw) had ever won the same Olympic athletics event at three consecutive Olympics. Oerter, of course, did it four times. Viktor Saneyev was back in Montréal and was favored to duplicate the Flanagan feat. He was expected to be challenged by Brazil’s João Carlos de Oliveira who was the world record holder with 17.89 (58-8½), although that had been set at the altitude of Ciudad de México in winning the 1975 Pan-American Games. The first two rounds were led by Cuban Pedro Pérez, a former world record holder and Pan-Am champion, with 16.81 (55-2). Saneyev moved ahead in round three with 17.06 (55-11¾). But American James Butts responded with 17.18 (56-4½) in round four to take the lead. Saneyev bettered that in round five with 17.29 (56-8¾) which won him his third consecutive gold medal. De Oliveira had a lackluster meet, placing third with 16.90 (55-5½). Butts, the first American to win an Olympic medal since 1928 worked two jobs in the run-up to the Games and, as a result, was forced to train at 6 o’clock in the morning.