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Hall of Famers

Hall of Famer

ARNIE BOLDT

Inducted in 1977

Member Details

Date of Birth: September 16, 1957
Place of Birth: Osler, Saskatchewan
Sport: Para Athletics
Member Category: Athlete

Career Highlights

1976

Paralympics gold medal in high jump (world one-legged jumper record of 1.86m) and gold medal in long jump (disabled world record of 2.96m)

1980

At Paralympics, broke high jump record with 1.96m

1981

Raised world high jump record to 2.04m (best outdoor performance) and long jump record to 3.01m

Best indoor high jump performance of 2.08m at Tribune Games in Winnipeg

1992

Flagbearer, Paralympics in Barcelona

Hall of Famer ARNIE BOLDT
Sport

Story

Arnie Boldt won numerous medals at local and international track and field championships and continually broke his own records in the high- and long-jump events. While these are impressive results by anyone's standards, Boldt's accomplishments were even more extraordinary because he had only one leg. Boldt lost his right leg in a grain auger accident at the age of three, but he did not let this injury stop him from competing in a variety of sports including swimming, skiing, volleyball, and, most notably, track and field. Boldt caught the world's attention at the 1976 Paralympics when he won two gold medals in the high jump and the long jump. He cleared 1.86m in the high jump, a world record for a one-legged jumper. By comparison, Canada's best Olympic female high jumper cleared 1.87m. Boldt's performance of 2.96m in the long jump also established a new disabled world record. Over the course of his career, Boldt continued to establish new records in the high jump. At the 1980 Paralympics in The Netherlands, he broke his own 1976 record with a new height of 1.96m. The following year, he had his best performance at an outdoor meet in Rome, clearing 2.04m, and his best performance at an indoor meet, clearing 2.08m at the Tribune Games in Winnipeg. In 1981, he also raised his long jump record to 3.01m. Boldt reigned supreme at disabled meets from 1976 to 1993. He showed so much talent in his sport that he competed at the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union level with able-bodied opponents while studying at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Manitoba.