When the javelin-throwing competition began at the Summer Olympics in Helsinki on July 23, 1952, few in the crowd of nearly 70,000 expected a medal for the American Cy Young, who turned 24 that day.
Young — a 6-foot-5 farmer unrelated to the Hall of Fame pitcher of the same name — was one of three Americans challenging Finland’s domination of the event. Four of the previous five men’s Olympic champions had been from Finland, and Finns had swept all the javelin medals at the 1932 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
With his second throw in the finals of 73.