Donna Lee Mayhew is a retired American javelin thrower who represented the United States at the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics. She was a five-time United States javelin champion and won a silver medal at the 1991 Pan American Games.
Background
Donna Lee Mayhew was born on 20 June 1960 in Dupont, Pennsylvania, a community in the northeastern part of the state. Her competitive life developed in the United States, where she moved from collegiate competition to national and Olympic-level javelin throwing.
The javelin throw is a track and field event in which athletes throw a spear for distance. Her career followed the usual progression of American athletes in the event, from university athletics to national championships and the Olympic Games.
Education
Mayhew competed for the University of Arizona and graduated in 1985. The university was established in 1885 in Tucson, when Arizona was still a territory, and it was the first university in the territory. It is now a public land-grant research university, and its athletic teams are known as the Wildcats.
Her collegiate period coincided with the university's growth as a competitive athletic institution. Her third-place finish in the javelin at the 1983 NCAA Meet came during her years in the Arizona program.
Career
Mayhew's competitive career in the javelin began at the University of Arizona. She placed third in the javelin at the 1983 NCAA Meet and graduated from the university in 1985.
Mayhew won the United States javelin title and the United States Olympic Trials in 1988, and she set her personal best of 63.66 metres in Indianapolis on 18 July 1988. She then competed at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, where the javelin competition was held at the Olympic Stadium on 25 and 26 September 1988. Twenty-nine competitors from 18 nations took part, and she qualified with a throw of 61.56 metres before finishing seventh in the final with 61.78 metres.
In 1989 she placed sixth in the javelin at the World Cup. In 1991 she won silver in the javelin at the Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba, a multi-sport competition for athletes of the Americas. Later that year she competed at the World Championships without reaching the final.
Mayhew returned to the Olympic programme in 1992, when the women's javelin was held at the Estadi Olimpic de Montjuic in Barcelona. Twenty-five athletes from 17 nations competed in the event, and she finished twelfth with a best final throw of 55.68 metres. She also won the United States javelin title in each year from 1992 to 1995 and the United States Olympic Trials again in 1992.
Mayhew is now retired from competition.
Achievements
Placed third in the javelin at the 1983 NCAA Meet while competing for the University of Arizona.
Placed sixth in the javelin at the 1989 World Cup.
Won the United States Olympic Trials in the javelin in 1988 and again in 1992, qualifying for the Olympic Games in both years.
Set a personal best of 63.66 metres in the javelin throw on 18 July 1988 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Finished seventh in the women's javelin throw at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, with a final best of 61.78 metres.
Finished twelfth in the women's javelin throw at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, with a final best of 55.68 metres.
Membership
Track clubs are organizations through which athletes train and compete outside school and college programs. Mayhew was affiliated with the South Bay Track Club, based in Torrance, California, a city in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County. She was also associated with the Nike Coast Track Club, a club bearing the name of the athletic footwear and apparel company Nike.
South Bay Track Club
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United States
Nike Coast Track Club
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United States
Personality
Physical Characteristics:
Her documented measurements are 160 centimetres in height and 70 kilograms in weight.
References
Olympedia
Biographical entry for the athlete covering her birth date and place, Olympic results from 1988 and 1992, her 1991 Pan American Games silver medal, and her personal best.
Olympics.com athlete profile
Official International Olympic Committee athlete profile listing her participation in the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics in athletics.
World Athletics athlete profile
International athletics federation profile giving her birth date and her 63.66-metre personal best set in 1988.
Wikipedia
Encyclopedia article describing her career as a javelin thrower who represented the United States at the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics.
