A 'Miracle' Man And Paying It Forward

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By Ray Glier

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla.___Gottfried Gassenbauer’s story will stagger you.

On May 27, 1999, Gottfried was coaching at a camp for track & field throwers in Austria when he saw a javelin someone earlier had left sticking out of the grass. He walked to retrieve it. As he reached out to grab the javelin, Gassenbauer was distracted and turned his head to the left to look behind him.

When Gottfried turned his head back to the right to snatch the javelin the utterly horrific happened.

He was too close to the javelin. He turned his head into the tip of the javelin and it pierced the right side of his neck below the jaw bone. The tip of the spear went through his head and was showing out inside his left ear. 

“I heard it crashing through my head,” Gottfried said.

Regarded as one of the most poised Masters athletes in the world (hammer throw), Gassenbauer stood very still for a moment. He quickly realized he could not have someone take the 2.5-meter long javelin out of the ground while it was still in his head and have himself be loaded into an ambulance. 

Many of us would have been hysterical, but Gottfried simply turned his head back to the left, away from the javelin, and the spear slid out of his head.

“I raised my fingers so I could try and stop the blood from the wound,” he said. “I knew there would be blood.”

There was no blood. 

There was only a miracle.

The tip missed his carotid artery by a millimeter, Gassenbauer said. The javelin missed his vertebral artery by the same whisker.

“Last May 27, I celebrated my 25th birthday,” said Gottfried, who is 66. “I am a miracle. I should be gone, or maybe paralyzed for life. 

“I thank my Guardian Angels every day.”

It seems very small-fry and insignificant to note that Gassenbauer told Geezer Jock this fantastical story after he had obliterated the field in the Men’s 65-69 Hammer Throw in the World Masters Athletics championships here last Saturday.

Gottfried tossed the round metal element with the same exquisite and precise technique he has used for years. One spin to set himself up with a firm base and three more spins to build speed and a heave the hammer straight down the pitch. 

His best throw for the gold went 52.64 meters (172 feet, 8 inches). The silver went to the U.S.’s Robert Arello at 47.01 meters (154 feet, 2 inches).

Asked if it gets harder to spin as he gets older, Gottfried said, "No. I have done this 170,000 to 200,000 times in my life and it is the only movement I know how to do." He gave a hearty laugh,

Gassenbauer also won the gold medal in the weight throw at 16.91 meters, or 55 feet, 5 ¾ inches.

Most people in the crowd watching the competition did not know Gottfried’s story of survival. Yet, he still drew applause for his gentlemanly demeanor, gracious smile, and skill. The man is a magnet because of the goodwill he exudes and the sheer twinkle in his eyes. When you talk to Gassenbauer he makes you feel as if you are the only person on the planet in that moment.

It would have been a worldly loss to have him taken from us at 41.

As it was the only damage Gottfried suffered was to the Trigeminal nerve on the left side of his face, which is responsible for sensation in the face and motor functions such as biting and chewing.

For six months, he said, he could not whistle and was not able to drink without losing some liquid in the crook on the left side of his lower lip and mouth. Gassenbauer could also not smile big and wide, which was a significant loss to this man.

Then, a friend, who is an expert in acupuncture, told him with great assurance, “I can fix this.”

And he did. In six months time, all the sensation returned to the left side of Gottfried’s face, along with that beaming smile. He could easily drink. He could whistle. Gassenbauer was whole again and had his sport, which is second only to the 50-year love of his life, Sylvia.

You bet there is a moral to this story.

When he enters the circle to throw the hammer, Gottfried stands and faces the pitch and verbally, or with a wave, makes contact with all the officials. The thrown 11-pound hammer, if it hits you in the head, will most likely kill you.

“The most important thing on the throwing field is to watch the throwers,” Gassenbauer said. “When you are anywhere, you have to look in the direction where the throwers are. I have seen in so many years, so many close moments (of disaster).

“For me, the first thing is I check is with the referees. They must show me they are ready and then I'm ready. My brain says, ‘No throw’ unless everyone is ready.”

Gassenbauer is retired now, but he was manager of one of the finest outdoor sports facilities in Europe. You better believe he preached safety.

After he has made contact with the referees, Gottfried turns his back and walks to the back of the circle, exhales, and begins his wonderfully precise technique. He spins four times and releases, and watches it fly. He leaves the ring with his head up and a smile.

It seems the cheers start before a distance for his throw shows on the scoreboard. Perhaps the other competitors have told their friends and family beforehand, “You are going to witness someone special today.” Gassenbauer’s competitors lead the cheers.

When the hammer competition was done last Saturday, a group of javelin throwers, who were competing nearby, walked over and stood in a semi-circle around him. Gottfried told them the story how their element, the javelin with sharpness at either end, almost ended his life.

Their jaws went slack, or dropped open. Their eyes were as wide as a satellite dish with amazement.

Gottfried steadied them. He put his finger to where the javelin entered his neck. He moved his finger slightly and said, “And this is where you feel your pulse.”

Gottfried smiled wide and said, “I have a pulse.”

A worker at the competition walks with the javelins. You can see the tip and the sharpness.

A group of javelin throwers listen to Gottfried's story. (Left to right) Reinhold Paul, six-time masters world champion,Leonardo Moran Cahusac, Clay Parker, former New York Yankees pitcher, and Masters M60 world champion, and world champion (M65) Zane Rodriguez, far right in the blue shirt.