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Edgar Baumann
Paraguayan field athlete (born 1970) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Edgar Andres Baumann Dure (born 16 April 1970 in San Lorenzo) is a former Paraguayan javelin thrower, current javelin coach, sports promoter and businessperson.[2] He is of German descent.[3][4]
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Baumann won a silver medal at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina, achieving the South American record at the time with a throw of 78.70 metres, surpassing Colombia's thrower Luis Lucumi's throw of 77.80m which was held since 1989.[5] He held the record four times, overtaking temporary record holder and compatriot Nery Kennedy's throw of 81.28m metres in 1998 and extending it to 84.70 metres in Texas, United States of America on 17 October 1999.[6] Baumann was the first South American javelin thrower to throw over 80 metres.
He qualified for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, although he did not compete. He competed at an Olympic Games for the first time at Atlanta 1996, reaching a maximum distance of 77.74 metres. His extension to the South American record of 84.70 metres qualified him for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, however, during a scandal which involved the Paraguayan Olympic Committee, without any justification Baumann did not participate and was replaced by Nery Kennedy.
It took him 9 years to sue the Olympic Committee after establishing a lawsuit against them in 2000, Baumann received support from Paraguayan football figure José Luís Chilavert in the process who condemned corruption in Paraguayan sport,[7][8][9] culminating with the Paraguayan Supreme Court ruling in favor of the javelin thrower who was awarded a minimum of US$1 million.[10]
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Education
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Baumann attended Texas State University and was a member of the athletics team, Texas State Bobcats.[1]
Personal life
In November 2016, Cronica newspaper reported that his house had been shot at.[11]
Career
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Perspective
1995
On 21 March 1995, Baumann threw a distance of 78.70 meters at the 1995 Pan American Games in Argentina. He won a silver medal, finishing behind Cuban thrower Emeterio González, who threw 79.28 meters. Baumann's result of 78.70 meters was the then South American record, surpassing Colombia's thrower Luis Lucumi's throw of 77.80m which was held since 1989.[5] He was the only Paraguayan to achieve a medal in athletics at the competition.
"It is difficult to make such an important mark in South America, more being Paraguayan. It is extremely difficult because of adversities." – Said Baumann, among these obstacles he mentioned the lack of support and the directors of his time[12]
In the same year, he threw 72.90m in Sweden at the World Championships, attending the competition again with Cuba's Emeterio González, who reached 76.54m.[13]
1996
Baumann was one of eight track and field athletes at Texas State University who were close to competing at the '96 Olympics.[14]
1999
On 17 October 1999, Baumann threw a distance of 84.70 meters during an encounter in San Marcos, Texas.[15] The result of 84.70 meters increased his continental record for a fourth time, overtaking temporary record holder and compatriot Nery Kennedy's throw of 81.28m meters in 1998, Baumann reached an IAAF ranking of 6th in the world and he qualified for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.[6]
Lawsuit against Paraguayan Olympic Committee
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One day before the Paraguay team was scheduled for the trip to the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, in Sydney, Australia, Baumann became sick and was hospitalized for five days.[16] He did not travel and the Paraguayan Olympic Committee chose to send Nery Kennedy to the Olympics in his place, resulting in Baumann suing the Olympic Committee for US$2 million for damages.[16] Baumann and tennis player Rossana de los Ríos were expelled from the delegation, as was confirmed by Ramón Zubizarreta, the president of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee.[17]
In an interview with Paraguayan newspaper ABC in 2011, Kennedy recalled that he was called up for the Olympics "at the last minute".[18] Zubizarreta said Edgar Baumann was separated from the team that competed in the Sydney due a doping test that showed positive results for cocaine and amphetamines. Baumann responded by saying the alleged doping tests in question were declared "false and irrelevant" in the trial he filed against the authorities and the Paraguayan Olympic Committee. He also denounced an alleged poisoning attempt, stating that the then president of the Paraguayan Athletics Federation, Francisco Rojas Soto, allegedly gave him contaminated water to drink after which Baumann felt unwell during an athletics meeting. He added that he did not lose consciousness on the track, but left on his own to request toxicology tests at the hospital.[19]
The scandal deprived Edgar Baumann of his right to participate at the Sydney Olympics, and Kennedy ultimately finished in 33rd place with a maximum distance of 70.26 m. The qualification mark was set at 83.00 meters,[20] whilst Kennedy had not been ranked within the IAAF top 50 in 1999 nor 2000 in order to qualify.[21][22]
Paraguayan goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert backed Baumann and condemned the actions of Zubizarreta, and said the latter should be expelled from the Olympic Committee for harming athletes and their careers as well as refusing to give them benefits.[7][8][9] The former captain of the Paraguay national team also had a lawsuit against Zubizarreta.[19] José Luis Chilavert, along with Claudio Escauriza, Tomás Orué and lawyer Alejandro Rubin, attended a Press Conference at main mall of the country, the Shopping del Sol, in Assunción, in support of Baumann.
The incident was resolved after 9 years of judicial proceedings, with Baumann receiving a favorable ruling from the Paraguay Supreme Court for stripping him of the right to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics and for unlawfully taking funds earned from his scholarship.[23]
In 2015, Zubizarreta was investigated again and had charges filed against him for the misappropriation of funds.[24] In 2016, the mayor of San Bernardino in Paraguay filed a report for the shortage of 3.840 million Paraguayan Guaraníes from his predecessor, Zubizarreta.[25]
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Coaching and Sports Promoting
In 2013, he coached Paraguayan junior representative Fabian Jara.[4]
On 27 September 2016, ADN Newspaper reported that Baumann presented a project to Itaipú Dam to form an athletes and citizen leaders in Paraguay.[3] Baumann said of the project:
The goal of the proposed plan is to discover the potential that each child and young person has and to strengthen it in what they do well, always using sports as the foundation. Of course, we hope to discover talents for athletics. We want to take children out of the streets and the dangers of violence and drug addiction.[3]
As a resident in Ciudad del Este,[26] he helped in organization of the Asociación de Atletismo del Alto Paraná, athletics club in the same city, in hosting a national athletics competition of the Paraguayan Athletics Federation in Ciudad del Este in November 2016.[27]
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Competitions
International competitions
National competitions
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Personal best
- Javelin Throw: 84.70m
San Marcos – 17 October 1999[15]
Seasonal bests
- 1988 - 55.30
- 1989 - 64.68
- 1990 - 68.26
- 1991 - 69.98
- 1992 - 72.90
- 1993 - 74.76
- 1994 - 75.96
- 1995 - 78.70
- 1996 - 80.56
- 1997 - 76.44
- 1998 - 79.22
- 1999 - 84.70 (AR)
See also
References
External links
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