Friday The Thirteenth

[DoubleRBar]

Happy birthday today (Sunday) to an Olympic champion who competed in three Olympic Games, but not without some controversy.

This champion, who was born on a Friday, was ranked fifth in the world at the age of 19.

Besides an Olympic gold medal and an Olympic silver medal, our birthday athlete owns two World Championship gold medals, two World Championship silver medals, and four World Indoor gold medals.

The people of the country where this athlete was born and the people of the country where this person won Olympic gold speak the same language.

Another Olympic champion (with two gold medals) shares the same initials as our birthday athlete. You might already know that this other champion was born about 32 years before our birthday athlete and competed in a similar event as our birthday person.

Both athletes (that share the same initials) set world records in their careers and no hurdles were involved.

Major "barriers" were broken by both of these athletes.

A boycott prevented our birthday athlete from competing in four Olympic Games.

Who is this Olympic champion with a 52nd birthday on this second Sunday of October?

[Trickstat]

I think it may be Javier Sotomayor from Spanish-speaking Cuba who I think won gold in Barcelona. He was the first man to high jump 8 feet.

[catson52]

I think it may be Javier Sotomayor from Spanish-speaking Cuba who I think won gold in Barcelona. He was the first man to high jump 8 feet.

Would seem to follow that the other JS, is Josef Schmidt (Poland), Rome and Tokyo winner in TJ, first to break 55 foot and 17 m barriers.

[DoubleRBar]

Happy 52nd birthday today to Javier Sotomayor and nice going, Trickstat. You are correct in saying that he won gold in Barcelona. He also took the Olympic silver medal in Sydney, Australia in 2000.

Yes, catson52, the athlete sharing the same initials is Josef Schmidt who competed in the triple jump in Rome, Tokyo, and Mexico City. Nice job.