Harold Vincent Connolly (1931 - 2010)

Born 1 Aug 1931 in Somerville, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States

Died 18 Aug 2010 at age 79 in Catonsville, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

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Biography

Hal Connolly is Notable.

Hal was born in Massachusetts in 1931. He graduated from Boston College in 1953. He was a teacher and a school principal in Santa Monica.

He was a world-class athlete, specializing in the hammer throw. Hal held 6 world records at the hammer throw (1956-1965) and won the gold in the 1956 Olympic games - where he met his future wife, the Czechoslovakian gold medal discus-thrower Olga Fikotová. They were married in 1957 after she obtained permission to marry a foreigner^[1]

Hal and Olga had four children: Jim, Mark, Merja, and Nina. Sadly, in 1975 the couple divorced.^[2][3]

The following year, 1976, he married Pat Winslow (nee Daniels) (US Olympian)^[2] They had two children together (Adam and Shannon) and they raised her wife's son, Bradley Winslow.

He died suddenly after collapsing at his gym. It is supposed that he hit his head on the floor and that may have been the fatal blow.

More unique facts:

• He appeared on the television show To Tell the Truth, aired 10 June 1958.^[4]
• 1988 Executive director, Special Olympics
• Junior Hammer Development Chairmen, US Track and Field Association
• Created Hammerthrow.org to promote the sport^[5]
• 1984 National Track and Field Hall of Fame^[6]
• Statue of him at his elementary school on Boston^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia:Olga Fikotová, accessed 24 July 2021.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Wikipedia:Hal Connolly, accessed 24 July 2021.
3. ↑ Duguid, Sarah. "Olga Fikotová, Czechoslovakia: Olga and Harold Connolly thawed the cold war a little when they found love." Financial Times. 9 June 2012. ft.com. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
4. ↑ "To Tell the Truth with Betty White aired Jun 10, 1958 on YouTube.
5. ↑ "About Harold Connolly." Hammerthrow.org. No date. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
6. ↑ USATF: Harold Connelly. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20100826081304/http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=33; Retrieved 24 July 2021.
7. ↑ Sports statues in Boston: Harold Connolly at Taft Elementary school in Brighton.

• "United States Census, 1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K4VD-4J8 : Thu Mar 07 20:50:47 UTC 2024), Entry for Harold V Connolly and Margaret M Connolly, 1940.
• Wikidata: Item Q464679, en:Wikipedia
• SR/Olympic Sports: Hal Connolly. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20200417173033/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/co/hal-connolly-1.html; Retrieved 24 July 2021.
• Litsky, Frank. "Harold Connolly, champion in hammer throw." Boston.com. 21 Aug 2010. boston.com. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
• "Olympian Harold ‘Hal’ Connolly, hammer legend, dies at age 79." Masterstrack.com. No date. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20100824202339/http://masterstrack.com/2010/08/15095/; Retrieved 24 July 2021.
• "Harold Connolly, 1956 Olympic champion, passes away." IAAF.com. 19 Aug 2010. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20100822162308/http://www.iaaf.org/aboutiaaf/news/newsid=58030.html; Retrieved 24 July 2021.
• "Harold Connolly, 1956 Olympic champion, passes away." World Athletics. 19 Aug 2010. worldathletics.org. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
• Hal Connolly at Olympedia.com; accessed 25 July 2021.