Margus Hunt (SMU)

Margus Hunt From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Margus Hunt
SMU Mustangs — No. 92
Defensive End Senior
Major: Business
Date of birth: (1987-07-14) 14 July 1987 (age 25)
Place of birth: Karksi-Nuia, Estonia
Height: 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Weight: 275 lb (125 kg)
Career history
College(s):
Southern Methodist University (2009–present)

Stats at ESPN.com
Margus Hunt (born 14 July 1987 in Karksi-Nuia) is an Estonian multi-sport athlete who competes in the discus throw and shot put in addition to playing college football. He is the former world junior record holder in discus throw.[1]

Contents [hide]
1 Athletics
2 Football career
3 Athleticism
4 Achievements
5 References
6 External links

[edit] AthleticsHunt grew up in the small town Karksi-Nuia, and took up athletics because "there wasn’t much to do". After trying decathlon he decided to concentrate on the throwing events – discus, shot and hammer throw. Hunt started training with Aleksander Tammert, an Olympic bronze medalist in discus throw from the 2004 Summer Olympics. Hunt competed in hammer throw at the 2003 World Youth Championships and discus at the 2004 World Junior Championships, placing eighth and sixth respectively.

In 2005 he won his first title at the European Junior Championships in Kaunas, throwing 62.19 metres with the 1.75 kg discus.

In 2006 at the World Junior Championships in Beijing Hunt established a new world junior record of 66.35 metres in his first throw on the qualifying round. At the final competition Hunt improved his own world junior record to 66.68 m in the fourth round and then 67.32 m in the sixth and final round. His gold medal was the first World Junior gold medal for Estonia.[citation needed]

Three days later he won the gold medal in the shot put by 20.53 metres in the final, beating the closest competitor Mostafa Abdul El-Moaty by 39 centimetres. Hunt became the first athlete to win the gold medal both in shot and discus at the World Junior Championships, outperforming Rutger Smith of the Netherlands who won a gold and a bronze in 2000. His winning distance of 20.53 m was a national junior record with the 6 kg shot.

His personal best hammer throw result is 64.89 made on 28 March 2008 in Arlington, Texas.[2][3] His personal best shot put result is 17.98 made on 22 March 2008 in Waco.[4]

His personal best with the senior 2 kg discus is 61.33 meters made on 6 July 2010 in Viljandi.

[edit] Football careerSee also: 2009 SMU Mustangs football team, 2010 SMU Mustangs football team, and 2011 SMU Mustangs football team
Hunt left Estonia for Dallas in 2007 in order to train with Southern Methodist University track and field coach Dave Wollman,[5] and he began attending SMU part-time. However, by the time he arrived at SMU, it had dropped its men's track program. Hunt wanted to keep working with Wollman, who had previously worked with another Estonian discus thrower, and the latter decided that Hunt's size and athleticism could earn him an (American) football scholarship.[5] When Hunt tried out for football, his physical power, combined with a 4.7-second 40-yard dash, led head football coach June Jones to give him a scholarship,[5] and he began attending SMU full-time in 2009. Since then, he has played for the Mustangs. On October 12, 2009, Margus Hunt was named the Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Week.[6] On November 7 Hunt broke the school record for blocked kicks in a season when he blocked an extra point try and a field goal against Rice. In his first 14 games at SMU he blocked 8 kicks, putting him in the top 10 in blocked kicks among all NCAA players.[7] He was named the MVP of the 2012 Hawaii Bowl.

[edit] AthleticismFor nearly 10 years, Bruce Feldman, a writer for CBSSports.com, has annually compiled what he calls a "Freak List" of the 10 college football players he considers the most freakish athletes. In 2012, Hunt was on top of his list. According to Feldman, Hunt "sounds like a PlayStation football creation"—despite his 82-inch (2.1 m) wingspan, he is able to bench press 225 pounds (102 kg) 35 times, and has also cleaned 384 pounds (174 kg) and snatched 345 pounds (156 kg). Hunt also boasts a 36-inch (91 cm) vertical jump. Wollman predicts that Hunt will have 45 repetitions and a 4.6-second 40-yard dash at the 2013 NFL combine.[5]

[edit] AchievementsYear Tournament Venue Event Result Mark
Representing Estonia
2003 Youth World Championships Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada Hammer throw (5 kg) 8th 64.77 PB
2004 World Junior Championships Grosseto, Italy Discus Throw (1.75 kg) 6th 58.30 PB
2005 Junior European Championships Kaunas, Lithuania Discus throw (1.75 kg) 1st 62.19 CR, NJR
2006 Junior World Championships Beijing, China Shot put (6 kg) 1st 20.53 WJL
Discus throw (1.75 kg) 1st 67.32 WJL
European Cup First League Group A Prague, Czech Republic Hammer throw 6th 60.21 SB
2007 European U23 Championships Debrecen, Hungary Discus Throw 6th 56.49
[edit] References^ "Margus Hunt" From www.iaaf.org, Retrieved October 18, 2009.
^ "News, March 2008" (in Estonian). margushunt.ee. March 29, 2008. http://www.margushunt.ee/et/news.html?month_filter=03-2008. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
^ "Margus Hunt hammer throw record" From www.ekjl.ee, Retrieved October 18, 2009.
^ "Margus Hunt Shot put record" From www.ekjl.ee, Retrieved October 18, 2009.
^ a b c d Feldman, Bruce (May 8, 2012). "Freak List: The 10 craziest athletes in college football". College Football Insider. CBSSports.com. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/18992316/the-freak-list-the-10-craziest-athletes-in-college-football. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
^ "Hunt Named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week". smumustangs.cstv.com. http://smumustangs.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/101209aab.html. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
^ Hairopoulos, Kate (September 5, 2010). "Hunt blocks another FG attempt". Dallas Morning News. http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/09/hunt-blocks-another-fg-attempt.html.
[edit] External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Margus Hunt
IAAF profile for Margus Hunt
SMU Biography
Homepage (Estonian)
Persondata
Name Hunt, Margus
Alternative names
Short description Estonian thrower
Date of birth 14 July 1987
Place of birth Karksi-Nuia, Estonia
Date of death
Place of death

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