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Class of 1995
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Frank B. Havens
Destined to compete in the Olympic Games since the day he was born, Frank Havens had the rare distinction of being a four-time Olympian. His father was scheduled to compete in the Olympics in 1924, but did not for fear of missing his son’s debut into the world. Many years later in the 1952 Olympic Games at Helsinki, Finland, Frank Havens won the grueling 10,000-meter Canadian single-blade race in 57 minutes and 41 seconds. He broke the world record set by Czechoslovakia’s Frantisek Capek. Havens proudly presented the gold medal to his father, thanking him for waiting around until he was born.
Havens competed in four Olympics—1948 in London, 1952 and 1956 in Melbourne, Australia, and 1960 in Rome. He was a leading candidate to be the United States’ flag–bearer in the opening ceremonies at Rome, but the honor went to decathlete Rafer Johnson at the last minute. In Haven’s first shot in the 1948 games, he finished second to Capek by 35.4 seconds in a canoe he borrowed from the Czechs. In 1952, his world record was set in a canoe he and his brother, Bill, imported from Sweden for $160.00.
With many accomplishments to his name, including the National Paddling Single Blade championships in 1950, 1951, and 1952, Havens refused to rest. In the 1985 Masters Games in Toronto at the age of 61, he paddled his way to seven first-place medals in seven races. The former Olympian continued his extraordinary victory streak in the World Games in Denmark. Havens still remains the only American Olympic gold medal winner in a singles canoeing event.
(To Sports Inductees List) |
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