Hal Connolly

Harold Vincent "Hal" Connolly (August 1, 1931 – August 18, 2010) was an American athlete and hammer thrower from Somerville, Massachusetts. He won a gold medal in the hammer throw at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Connolly became the first American to throw a hammer more than 200 feet. The New York Times noted, "When he won his Olympic gold medal, photographers yelled at him to raise his arms in triumph. He lifted only his right arm." They married after the Olympics, the following year in Prague—in three ceremonies there, with a celebration before 40,000 well-wishers. Adam Connolly, a son from his second marriage, was America's third-ranked hammer thrower in 1999.

A statue of Connolly is located at the former Taft Elementary School in Brighton, Massachusetts, and depicts his gold medal-winning hammer throw at the 1956 Olympic Games.