Félix Erauzquin

Félix Errauzquin was a Basque weight thrower who competed in the discus throw at the 1948 London Olympics and was entered in the shot put and discus in 1936, although he did not start in Berlin due to the ongoing Spanish Civil War. Most of his records and titles were in those events, but he is best known for marks he set in the javelin throw that were later removed from the record books.

In the mid-1950s Errauzquin began experimenting with throwing the javelin like the discus, using a spin technique and soaping his hand to help release the implement, which became known as the Basque technique. Doing this he set two outstanding marks, close to the world record, throwing 74.32 on 7 October 1956 in Barcelona and then 83.40 on 13 October in Bilbao. Reports of other records by other athletes appeared but because the spin/Basque technique was considered to be very dangerous to officials and spectators it was quickly banned by the IAAF (World Athletics).

This should not diminish Errauzquin’s status as a top Spanish weight thrower. He won 28 Spanish titles – 9 in the shot put, 9 in the discus, 8 in the hammer throw, and 2 in the javelin. He also set two Spanish records in the shot put in 1936 and three discus throw records, one in 1943 and two in 1948.

Personal Best: SP – 13.90 (1936); DT – 44.56 (1959).