Mac Wilkins

Mac Wilkins USA Track & Field (http://www.nationalthrowscoachesassociation.com/Mac_Wilkins.htm)

The first time I heard about Mac Wilkins was when I was watching “Fire on the Track” a documentary on Steve Prefontaine. But Mac Wilkins was in it also. It portrayed him as a great thrower who never got the exposure that he deserved. I, myself am a discus thrower and I look up to him because he was the first thrower to break 200 feet which is a huge accomplishment. In my mind, he was the greatest thrower in the world.

For being an Olympic Athlete you need to train 20 hours a week and be improving greatly. Doing exercises and weight training to keep you in the best of shape. You also need to be the top in the country to be accepted into the Olympics. They work for 20 hours a week and make about $40 an hour.

Mac Wilkins was a very jealous man. As he would throw the whole crowd would be watching him, which is something that’s pretty good. But, when Steve Prefontaine was competing, automatically the lime light was on him and Mac did not like that. He was a huge star but Steve was bigger. Mac attended the University of Oregon and broke the world record for discus on May 1st, 1976, and he won the 1976 Olympic Gold Medal for the discus.

I think that Mac Wilkins contributes a lot to society. He represents the United States as an Olympian. He was also the first person to break 200 feet, setting the bar for everyone in the world. He was a positive influence on me and, I assume, on many more people in the world. He is a coach and does throwing camps and wants to help kids. I look up to him.

For me to be like Mac Wilkins would be something that would be very hard to do. In high school I would need to continue my weight training and work extra hard every day to get better. In college I would need to train harder every day until I’m at an Olympic level and from there, go to the Olympics and win. Keep up my positive spirit and help others so I can feel a sense of accomplishment. That is what I would do in order to be like my hero Mac Wilkins.