America's former Olympic discus champion Al Oerter has died aged 71 after suffering from high blood pressure and heart problems.
He won gold medals in four consecutive Olympics, a record only he and American sprinter Carl Lewis share in track and field.
But in each of Oerter's successes in 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968, the thrower from New York, set an Olympic record.
His wife Cathy Oerter said: "He was a gentle giant, he was bigger than life."
Peter Ueberroth, chairman of the United States Olympic Committee, added: "His legacy is one of an athlete who embodied all of the positive attributes associated with being an Olympian.
"He performed on the field of play with distinction and transferred that excellence to the role of advocate for the Olympic movement and its ideals."
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