{{Short description|American hammer thrower}} '''Donald Emerson Favor''' (February 16, 1913 – November 13, 1984) was an American hammer thrower. He was national champion in 1934 and placed sixth at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
==Career== Representing the University of Maine, Favor won the hammer throw at the 1934 IC4A championships, throwing 170 ft 9 in (52.04 m) and narrowly defeating Rhode Island State's Henry Dreyer.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/48159118/ |title=Stanford Garners Sweeping Victory In College Games |newspaper=Waco Tribune-Herald |date=May 27, 1934 |access-date=December 22, 2014}}</ref><ref name="bdg">{{cite news |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/california/berkeley/berkeley-daily-gazette/1934/05-26/page-2 |date=May 26, 1934 |access-date=December 22, 2014 |title=Kiesel, Clark Win Firsts In I.C.4-A. Events |newspaper=Berkeley Daily Gazette}}</ref> At the NCAA championships later that summer Favor placed third, losing to Dreyer and 1932 Olympic bronze medalist Peter Zaremba (who had been third in the IC4A meet),<ref name="ncaa">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/images/stories/tfn_pdfs/ncaa_history_pdfs/ncaamht.pdf |title=A History of the NCAA Championships |access-date=December 22, 2014 |author=Hill, E. Garry |magazine=Track & Field News }}{{Dead link|date=July 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> but at the national (AAU) championships Favor again defeated both Zaremba and Dreyer, throwing 163 ft {{frac|5|3|4}} in (49.82 m) for his first and only national title.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/tafn-presults?list_id=36&sex_id=M&event_id=28 |title=History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2014 |author1=Mallon, Bill |author2=Buchanan, Ian |author3=Track & Field News |magazine=Track & Field News |access-date=December 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219021831/http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/tafn-presults?list_id=36&sex_id=M&event_id=28 |archive-date=December 19, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
After completing his studies Favor became a teacher at his former high school, Deering High in Portland, Maine, but he continued throwing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.library.umaine.edu/forester/content/Forester_1936.pdf |title=Maine Forester |date=May 1936 |access-date=December 22, 2014 |page=23}}</ref><ref><!--the ref for Favor being a former Deering High student-->{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19321105&id=NkMpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qWYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1472,2691853 |date=November 5, 1932 |access-date=December 22, 2014 |title=Series Title At Stake For Maine Against Bowdoin |newspaper=The Lewiston Daily Sun}}</ref> He did not enter the 1936 Olympic season as a favorite to qualify for the American team,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=897&dat=19360325&id=CSRTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7YEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6077,4141179 |title=Coast Leads in Olympic Stars |author=Gould, Alan (Associated Press) |newspaper=Prescott Evening Courier |date=March 25, 1936 |access-date=December 22, 2014}}</ref> but at the Eastern Tryouts, a semi-final qualifying meet, he threw 177 ft 4 in (54.05 m),<ref>{{cite news |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/texas/amarillo/amarillo-sunday-news-globe/1936/06-28/page-6 |date=June 28, 1936 |access-date=December 22, 2014 |title=Bill Bonthron Beats Venzke |author=Gould, Alan (Associated Press) |newspaper=Amarillo Globe-News}}</ref> which was his personal best.<ref name="atfs">{{citation |title=All-Time List As At 31 December 1945 |publisher=Association of Track and Field Statisticians}}</ref> At the final Olympic Trials Favor threw 167 ft 6 in (51.05 m) and placed third behind Dreyer and another Rhode Islander, Bill Rowe; he qualified for the Olympics by less than eight inches, his margin over Chester Cruikshank, who placed fourth.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/special-articles/1153 |format=PDF |title=The History of the United States Olympic Trials - Track & Field |author=Hymans, Richard |publisher=USA Track & Field; Track & Field News |access-date=November 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524033232/http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/special-articles/1153 |archive-date=May 24, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
At the Olympics in Berlin Favor qualified for the final, where he threw 51.01 m (167 ft {{frac|4|11|16}} in) and placed sixth. He was the second-best American, behind Rowe but ahead of Dreyer.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19360803&id=FOMcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WGQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3078,2331548 |title=Owens Wins |date=August 3, 1936 |access-date=December 22, 2014 |newspaper=Sarasota Herald-Tribune}}</ref><ref name="sr">{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/fa/donald-favor-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418002639/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/fa/donald-favor-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 18, 2020 |title=Donald Favor Bio, Stats and Results |access-date=December 22, 2014 |publisher=Sports Reference LLC}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
{{Footer US NC Hammer Men}} {{Footer USA Track & Field 1936 Summer Olympics}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Favor, Donald}} Category:1913 births Category:1984 deaths Category:Sportspeople from Portland, Maine Category:Track and field athletes from Maine Category:American men hammer throwers Category:Maine Black Bears men's track and field athletes Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Category:Men weight throwers Category:Deering High School alumni Category:20th-century American sportsmen