Janusz Sidło

World Record: 83.66m (274’ 5”)         Milan, Italy     30 Jun 1956

Six days after Finland’s Soini Nikkinen’s record, Janusz Sidlo of Poland added 10 centimeters (4 inches) to the record (bringing it to 83.66 meters) at an international meet in Milan, using a Held javelin. Sidlo had been the first European to reach the 80-meter mark, with 80.15 meters (263’ 0”) in 1953, and had won the European Championships in 1954 with 76.36 meters (250’ 6”). He enjoyed a long career and was Polish champion 15 times.

Five months after his record, he took the lead in the Olympic final with 79.98 meters. However, in round four Viktor Tsibulenko (USSR) switched to a metal javelin and improved by four meters to 79.50 meters. Norway’s Egil Danielsen then used the same javelin, and it sailed way beyond the 85-meter mark. That ended the contest: Danielsen had 85.71 meters (281’ 2”), Sidlo 79.98 meters (262’ 5”), and Tsibulenko 79.50 meters (260’ 10”).

Sidlo was European champion again in 1958 with 80.16 meters (263’ 0”). At the 1960 Rome Olympics, the final was plagued by wind and rain, and he managed 76.46 meters (250’ 10”) for eighth position. He competed at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics (seventh). His lifetime best of 86.22 meters (282’ 10”) was achieved in 1970.

source: World Record Breakers in Track & Field Athletics