Steve Seymour

Early life and education Seymour threw javelin for his Middletown, Pennsylvania, High School track team, and then for his college team, Franklin and Marshall in Lancaster, setting a school record of 208 feet or 63.4 meters after several years of competition. Around this time he abandoned his side arm delivery and began to use a technique known as the "front cross", which he would maintain and continue to refine. At Franklin and Marshall, he also competed in the pole vault, long jump and ran cross country.

1947 American record

Seeking to refine his skills, Seymour spent 1946 in Finland, training with that nation's world-class throwers. It did not take long for his meticulous research to pay dividends. Besting his first American record of 235'3" he set in Istanbul while serving overseas as an Army medic in 1945, in 1947 he established a new American record with an exceptional throw of at the U.S. AAU Championships representing the Los Angeles Athletic Club; his mark was within ten feet of the global standard of set by Finland's Yrjö Nikkanen in 1938.

Technique Seymour helped improve and popularize a throwing position with more of a straight arm release with the arm over the head and close to vertical at one point. At the beginning of the throw, the head and upper body tilted backward and moved closer to vertical. At release, the arm would be extended overhead and slightly in front of the body, near the top of the arc, with the athlete often looking in the direction of the throw. The javelin may be initially held at an angle exceeding 45 degrees, but released at only around 30 degrees allowing a snap of the wrist and an elbow pivot, but getting most of the force from the shoulders. It was distinct from one earlier Finnish method that used a side arm release. Seymour's method seemed to more effectively use the muscle strength in the arms, shoulders, back and chest to power the throw than a side arm technique. The overhead or over the shoulder throw technique is required today in most competitions. Seymour also was an innovator in the development of strength training techniques specific to the javelin throw. For a period in his prime, Seymour was coached by Dean Cromwell, who had served as the 1936 American Olympic Track Team Coach. Seymour's primary American competitor at the 1948 Olympics was Californian Martin Biles, a former 1940-41 NCAA javelin champion, who had beaten Seymour at least seven times previously, but failed to medal in 1948.

Later life and death Seymour wrote a number of articles on the javelin, effectively used strength training, and continued to train in the sport as late as 1957–8. He researched written material on the sport including translations.