Al Oerter was the first athlete to win the same individual event at four consecutive Olympics.
Oerter won the men’s discus throw at Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960, Tokyo 1964, and Mexico City 1968. Each victory came against a different Olympic field, making his achievement a landmark in athletics.
His feat is sometimes confused with Carl Lewis’s four consecutive Olympic long-jump victories from 1984 through 1996. Lewis matched the four-Games pattern later, but Oerter achieved it first. Unlike team events, the discus is an individual competition, so the record refers specifically to winning the same individual event.
Oerter was known for competing through pain, including a neck injury suffered before the 1968 final. He still won with a throw of 64.78 metres. His Olympic run ended with four gold medals, and he later pursued art and founded Art of the Olympians.