| Bud Held | |
| Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Headercolor: | lightsteelblue |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Franklin Wesley "Bud" Held (born October 25, 1927) is an American athlete primarily notable for his performance throwing the javelin. He was born in Los Angeles, California.
Held started as a pole vaulter at Grossmont High School near San Diego, where he finished in a 3-way tie for 4th place at the 1946 CIF California State Meet.[1] He switched to the javelin while a student at Stanford University, where he won the NCAA javelin championship in 1948, 1949, and 1950.[2] [3] Held won the AAU USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships six times, 1949, 1951, 1953 to 55 and 1958.[4] Held set six American records in the javelin, and in 1953 became the first American to hold the world javelin record with an effort of 263feet; in so doing, Held became the first athlete ever to throw the 800g javelin over .[2] He set a second world record of 268feet in 1955, and his career best throw was 270feet in 1956.[2]
Held was a member of the United States' 1952 Olympic team where he placed ninth[5] after a shoulder injury, and missed making the 1956 Olympic team by an inch.[2] He won a gold medal in the 1955 Pan American Games in 1955 with a throw of 69.77m (228.9feet).[6]
Held continues to compete in masters competitions. In 1970, Held set a United States national masters javelin record of .[2] On October 4, 2008, at the Club West Masters Track meet in Santa Barbara, Held set the age 80+ World Record in the pole vault[7] adding to the M75 World Record he already holds. He is also ranked in the discus.[8] He also coaches his live-in partner Nadine O'Connor,[9] who holds the women's 65+ pole vault world record, among numerous other track and field records.[10]
After his retirement from standard competition, Held became a sporting equipment businessman.[2] He founded Ektelon, inventing the world's first aluminum tennis racquet and its related stringing equipment from his San Diego garage, then subsequently the first aluminum racquetball racquet.[11] He also invented a hollow javelin that was used into the 1960s, but his design was later outlawed due to safety concerns.[2] [12]
Held was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1987,[2] the USATF Masters Hall of Fame in 2005[13] and is a member of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame.[14]