Rink A. Babka

Sports Career

1960 Rome Olympics - Discus Silver Medal

Babka, Oerter, Cochran

19 years old breaking into the top 5 throwers of the world

The Early Years

Rink Babka entered the sports world at a very early age in Cheyenne, Wyoming and excelled throughout his early school years. As he grew in stature and talent while living in California, he lettered at Palo Alto High ten times in four major sports, including football, basketball, baseball, and track. Babka was named to the Football All League and to the All-Northern California Football All-Star Team as tight end. Captain of his basketball team and National Honorable Mention All-American Team, he took his high school to the California Tournament of Champions.

While in high school track, Rink became the top discus thrower, winning the California State Discus Championship. He set a new record and was honored on the All-States Far Western track and field team. In his senior year, he was honored as the San Francisco Bay Area High School Athlete of the Year.

Babka attended Menlo College as a freshman where he played football and was chosen to be on the All-Star Team for small colleges. After suffering a knee injury, which held him out of basketball, he returned in the spring to win the California and National Junior College discus championships, setting new records. At the age of 18 years, he was ranked in the top 10 of world throwers.

Recruited by the University of Southern California (USC) in three sports, Babka lettered in football and track and field. More knee injuries kept him out of both football and basketball, but he excelled in track and field as one of the greatest discus throwers of all time. He won the West Coast PCC Conference championship (now called the PACC 10) in 1956, 1957 and 1958 in Apple Valley, California. He was also a three-time All-American pick to the NCAA All-American track team and as captain of the USC track team in his senior year, he won the NCAA Championships.

Babka, 1958 college discus thrower of the year, held the All-University discus record, and the NCAA and AAU discus records. As an American and European record holder, Babka became the World’s Record Holder and the first person, man or woman, to throw over the historical mark of a 200-foot barrier in the discus on March 22, 1958. In the 12^th Olympic games held in Rome in 1960, Babka placed second in the discus throw, claiming the Olympic Silver Medal and is ranked in the top five of discus throwers in the world from 1955 to 1969. Rink was the last discus World's Record Holder not to be on steroids.

In 1959, after taking time off from football for two seasons, Rink was drafted and signed an NFL pro-contract with the San Francisco 49ers but had to wait until after the 1960 Olympic Games to play. Due to knee injuries that continued to plague him, he was forced to resign after a short season.

World Record Holder

World’s Record Holder

First Thrower in the World to throw over the 200-foot Barrier

American Record Holder

World Thrower’s Congress Hall of Fame

The last discus World's Record Holder not on steroids

World-class form

Babka has been the recipient of many sports awards including induction into the Hall of Fame at Menlo College, Helm’s Hall of Fame at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, the American Track and Field Los Angeles Coliseum’ Hall of Fame, and “The World Throwers Congress”, Hall of Fame for Olympic throwing events of the Olympic games.

Staying close to sports and promotion of the Olympic Games, Babka has served on the Presidential Commission of Olympic Sports and the President’s Council of Physical Fitness and was an advisor for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He also served on the National Athletic Council and acted as the U.S. State Department’s Goodwill Ambassador, traveling and assisting in clinic programs worldwide. He also served on the Advisory Committee of the Olympic Training Center in Colorado and California.

Among his other accolades, Babka was one of the Founding Directors at the University of Pacific for the Women and Men’s Sports Foundation, responsible for millions of dollars of fund raising. He also announced for his own sports broadcast radio show on KWG in Stockton, California spanning over a ten-year period, and wrote and produced the Babka Sports Column in the Stockton Record.

Babka developed a vitamin nutrition line, which was sold to college athletic programs and professional teams throughout the United States. He is still active as a private trainer in selective areas of coaching in weight training and health rehabilitation.

Named President Elect and Chairman of the Board of the World Throwers Congress, Hall of Fame, for International and Olympic throwing events, he is serving this international post for an eight-year term, which began in January 2002.

International

US - AAU Champion

Rink Babka - Steering Committee 1984 Olympic Movement

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