To the editor:

You can tell a lot about a person by his handshake, which begs the question, who has had the strongest grip of anyone I’ve met? This I can answer with certainty. It was Al Oerter. When I was a boy, my dad took me to the Kansas Relays where I got to meet the former Olympic discus thrower and shake his hand. I vividly remember his giant hand engulfing my 9-year-old mitt. Yet Oerter was a gentle giant who assured you everything was under control.

The handshake of this four-time gold medalist did not merely suggest his strength of character. Oerter’s strength was his character, always competing with class, winning with dignity. Arguably the greatest Olympian of all time, he returned this weekend for the first time in 20 years to be inducted into the new Kansas Relays Hall of Fame. Let’s all welcome this KU track and field legend and give him a hand.

David Johnston,

Lawrence