Romuald Klim

Sport: Athletics (Shot Put)

Born: 25 May 1933

Birthplace: Khvoyevo, Minsk Region, BSSR

Honors:

Honored Master of Sports of the USSR

Honored Worker of Physical Education of the BSSR

Order of Honor

Top-tier national referee, 1980

Valor sign of the Central Committee of the Komsomol

Badge of Honor For Services to Physical Education and Sport

Career highlights:

Champion of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, 1964

Silver, Olympic Games in Mexico City, 1968

Gold, World Athletics Championships in Budapest, 1966

Silver, the European Championships in Athens, 1969

Gold, European Cup, 1965, 1967

Gold, Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, 1967, 1971

Gold, Soviet Championships, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1971

Winner of the 1969 USSR Cup

Five-time winner of the Brothers Znamensky Memorial

Biography:

Romuald Klim was born on 25 May 1933 in the village of Khvoyevo, Nesvizh District, Minsk Region. In the seventh grade the future Olympic champion tried his hand in shot-put and discus throw. The young man had no plans of becoming a professional athlete and wanted to serve in the Baltic Fleet. However, he came down with angina before a meeting of a recruitment ocmisison and was not drafted.

After school, Romuald Klim entered the Belarusian State Institute of Physical Education. During the studies, the young athlete did discus throwing. At some point, his performance slowed down and coaches suggested he take up hammer throwing. The athlete began showing good results in the new discipline immediately and became the leading athlete in 1955.

After graduating from the Institute of Physical Education, Romuald Klim worked as a teacher of physical education at the Gorki Agricultural Academy in Mogilev Region. Later on, Romuald Klim moved to Vitebsk where his coach Yevgeny Shukevich worked in the local children’s sports school.

In 1963, Romuald Klim finished third in all major competitions (Brothers Znamensky Memorial, Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR and others). He also won the Riga Cup. By the end of the year he was ranked second best in hammer throw in the country and was included in the USSR national team.

Romuald Klim almost always showed his best results in the final attempt. He used his first attempt to get into the final. He tried to slightly improve his result in the second, perfected his throwing technique in the third, and gave it all in the final.

He did the same at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The Belarusian athlete’s main rival at the Games was Hungary’s Gyula Zsivotzky. Romuald Klim repeated the Olympic record of 67.10m in the qualifying. He improved this result three times in the final, showing his winning effort of 69.74m in the fourth attempt.

At the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico Romuald Klim set Olympic records in the third and fourth attempts. Gyula Zsivotzky, however, overpassed him by just eight centimeters and Romuald Klim had to settle for silver.

In 1973 at the age of 40, Romuald Klim retired from sport, but his hammer throwing technique is still considered a paragon. Romuald Klim began to train athletes at his native Army Sport Club of Belarusian Military District, where he helped many reach the championship level. In 1989, a year after retiring at the rank of lieutenant colonel, he was transfered to the Academy of Physical Education and Sport (now the Belarusian State University of Physical Education).

Since 1976, Belarus has hosted a hammer throwing tournament for the prizes of Romuald Klim. In recognition of the athlete’s outstanding achievements, the International Athletics Federation granted an international status to the tournament in 1992.

Romuald Klim passed away at the age of 78 on 28 May 2011 following a severe and long illness.



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