‘Hulk’ Harting wins first discus gold at Olympics

LONDON - The Associated Press

Germany’s Robert Harting makes his usual celebration of ripping his shirt after winning the men’s discus throw during the London Games at the Olympic Stadium. REUTERS photo

Germany’s Olympic Committee won’t mind footing the bill for new shirts for Robert Harting.

The discus thrower has a tradition of tearing them up whenever he wins a title and on Aug. 7, it was a rip-roaring victory in London.

“If you see me coming out the stadium without a shirt, you know it was good,” Harting said.

He is on a two-year unbeaten streak in the discus and has now completed the golden tripl of the European, world and Olympic titles.

The tradition of shirt-shredding goes back years. On Aug. 7, he added hurdling to his resume. After he flexed his muscles to his fans and waved the German flag, he noticed the hurdles were already set up for the women’s final. So off he went, bouncing up and down the track as he cleared one obstacle after another in front of 80,000 fans.

“It’s just amazing,” said the 27-year-old, who won with a mark of 68.27 meters. “I’ve dreamed of this since I was 12 years old.”