Alfred Oerter Jr. (/ˈɔːrtər/; September 19, 1936 – October 1, 2007) was an American athlete and a four-time Olympic Champion in the discus throw.

He began his track and field career at the age of 15 when a discus landed at his feet and he threw it back past the crowd of throwers.

He was not considered the favorite but he felt a rush during the competition and he unleashed a throw of 184 feet 22 inches (56.64 m)—which, at the time, was a career best.

He recovered in time to compete at the 1960 Summer Olympics at Rome, where he was the slight favorite over teammate Rink Babka, who was the world record holder.

[2][3] Oerter returned to the Olympics in 1968 at Mexico City; however, teammate Jay Silvester was cast as the favorite.

His record held and he became the first track and field athlete to win gold medals in four consecutive Olympic Games.

He later eyed a comeback and took anabolic steroids in 1976 under medical supervision in order to put on muscle mass.

Dr. Gideon Ariel, a former Olympic shot putter himself for Israel, had developed a business of biomechanical services, and Oerter after working with Ariel—at age 43—threw a discus 27 feet farther than his best gold medal performance.

Oerter had struggled with high blood pressure his entire life, and in the 2000s, he became terminally ill with cardiovascular disease.

On March 13, 2003, Oerter experienced a period of being clinically dead; a change of blood pressure medications caused a fluid build-up (Pericardial effusion) around his heart.

Oerter was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame on Long Island in the Track & Field Category with the Class of 1990.

Art of the Olympians also had their work on display on the giant Panasonic Astro-Vision screen in Times Square for the entire month November 2006.