Flax, Ken

Kenneth Flax

Sport:
track and field

Country Represented:
United States

Years Competed:
1988, 1992

Olympic Info:
Flax was a two-time member of the U.S. Olympic track and field team. He competed in the hammer throw at the 1988 Games in Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Flax did not finish in the top ten at either competition.

Career Highlights:
Flax, one the greatest hammer throwers in the history of the United States, did not compete in the event until his freshman year at the University of Oregon. He was a quick study, promptly winning the junior national (19-and-under) and becoming the top-ranked thrower in the country. A four-time All-America, Flax was NCAA champion in 1986 with a throw of 78.34 meters, which set the U.S. college record (it would stand for ten years). From 1984-1992, Ken ranked in the top ten in U.S. hammer throwers and was among the top two from 1987-1992 (Flax was ranked No. 1 in 1988, 1990, and 1991, and No. 2 in 1987, 1989, and 1992).

Flax was one of the world's best hammer throwers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The gold medalist at both the 1985 and 1989 Maccabiah Games and the 1991 World University Games, Ken finished sixth at the 1990 Goodwill Games (76.12 meters) and seventh at the 1991 World Championships (75.98); he was also ranked No.9 in the world in the hammer throw in 1991. Flax continued to compete throughout the 1990s and still ranks 69th all-time (world-wide) in the hammer throw at 80.02-meters (second among Americans).

Birth and Death Dates:
b. 1963

Origin:
San Francisco, California

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