Olympians Dominate the Hammer : Deal Unleashes Throw of 252-5 to Lead Sweep and Win His First Title

HOUSTON — Lance Deal outperformed Olympic teammates Ken Flax and Jud Logan and won his first national hammer throw title Friday in the Athletics Congress Outdoor Track and Field championships.

Deal, the American leader this year with a career-best of 257 feet, threw 252 feet 5 inches, breaking the Robertson Stadium record at the University of Houston.

The previous mark of 245-2 was set by Robert Weir of Britain in 1983.

Flax, the defending champion and ranked No. 1 in the United States for 1988, finished second at 252-0. And Logan, the American record-holder at 268-8 and the 1984, 1985 and 1987 national champion, was third at 250-4.

It was only the third time in history that three Americans had surpassed 250 feet in the same meet.

The hammer throw was the first of 15 finals in the next-to-last day of the five-day meet in which the winners qualify for the U.S. team for the World Cup meet at Barcelona, Spain, Sept. 8-10.

Deal, a hammer thrower for only six years, this year has surpassed his previous best by more than seven feet.

“I’ve been working hard with my coach, Stewart Togher, on technique,” Deal said. “It gives you a confident feeling in the ring.”

However, Deal said he thought he would throw farther in the final and so would his closest competitors.

“I wasn’t as tough as I wanted to be,” said Deal, who had two legal throws before fouling on his final four attempts.

“They didn’t want to lose. I told my girlfriend this morning, ‘They’re not going to give it to me. I’m going to have to beat them.’

“To win the nationals . . . with the top three this close is exciting,” he said, spreading his hands only inches apart.

Flax was just as impressed with the closeness between the top two.

“Five inches between first and second . . . that’s good competition,” he said.

Flax, who had three fouls, said he was favoring his right shoulder, which he injured about two weeks ago in a fight. The result was that his throws were veering far to the left.

“My shoulder felt good, but some of the training I missed (one week) affected me today,” he said.

Logan also noted the keen competition.

“I was in a dogfight out there,” the two-time Olympian said. “The better man won. He’s been more consistent than anyone this year.

“I just couldn’t hook on to the big one that would have sent me to Spain.”