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Don Cohan

Medal record
Sailing
Olympic Games
	1972 Munich	Dragon class

Donald Stephan "Don" Cohan (born in 1930 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) has been one of the leading yachtsmen in the U.S.

He won a bronze medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics, becoming the oldest competitor to win a bronze in sailing, at the age of 42. Years later, he twice defeated Hodgkins Disease. He came back to win a U.S. sailing championship at the age of 72.

Education and career

Cohan graduated from Amherst College (cum laude; 1951), where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi, and from Harvard Law School. He practiced as an attorney, before going into business in real estate. He became President of Donesco Company, a real estate development firm.

Sailing

Cohan began sailing in 1967 at age 37. He was on the U.S. team at the World Championships in 1969, 1970, and 1971. Cohan won the 1972 Olympic trials. Within five years from when he began sailing, he was an Olympic medalist. He was the first Jew to be a member of the United States Olympic Team in Sailing, and the first to win an Olympic medal in sailing.

In the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, he was set to compete when the Munich Massacre resulted in the killing by terrorists of 11 Israeli athletes. All Jewish athletes were warned to leave, and two Israelis slated to compete in sailing were instructed to return home immediately. They handed Cohan their satin, blue and white triangular flag, emblazoned with "Sports Federation of Israel. XXth Olympiad Munich 1972," and said: "You're representing us now. Go win a medal for us."

Competing at the age of 42, he came from far back on the final day and earned a bronze medal as helmsman in the mixed three-person keelboat named Caprice in the 29-foot (8.8 m) Dragon class. He became the oldest person ever to place in Olympic sailing.

He wrote: "The last act of Avery Brundage was to hang an Olympic medal around my neck." Brundage (a Nazi sympathizer) was notorious, among other things, for having pressured to have the only two Jews on the 1936 U.S. track team, Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller, removed at the last moment on the morning of the 400-meter relay race, so as not to embarrass Hitler and the Nazis with a Jewish victory. Brundage later praised the Nazi regime at a Madison Square rally.

Cohan has also been U.S. champion, European champion, German champion, and Australian champion.

In 1984, he put his legal skills to good use. He was involved in a dispute with regard to the fact that Robbie Haines, one of the competitors in the Olympic yachting Soling trials had left too early (or "barged" at the start) in the Long Beach, California, race. Ed Baird, a fellow competitor, said that Cohan "destroyed Haines in the protest room", but that "We're all still pretty close". Haines was disqualified for the race. At the end of the day, however, Haines qualified for the 1984 Olympics, where he won a gold medal.

Hodgkin's Disease

Nineteen years later, in 1991, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease of the lymph glands and nodes, and was diagnosed with the most severe type (4B). He was not expected to survive.

Recalling that he said to himself, "Don, you may be very good in your line of business, but you know nothing about this one", he assembled a team around him that he could rely on in the fight. Cohan looked for excellent doctors who would allow him to undergo therapy usually considered too grueling for someone his age. He interviewed doctors, engaged a psychiatrist to help him deal with grief and fear, and told his wife she was his deputy in the struggle. He went through aggressive chemotherapy and radiation therapy, suffered through fatigue, nausea, night sweats, swelling, and pain, and made it through the cancer successfully.

Then, though only one percent of patients get it a second time—he fell into that category. Again, he was not expected to survive. Again, he underwent aggressive chemotherapy and radiation therapy. And again, he defeated the cancer.

Sailing, post-Hodgkins

In 2002, at the age of 72, he won the United States Soling Championship. He also finished 5th in the world championship.

Taking a step back to ruminate on sailing competitively at his age, Cohan remarked, "I'm aware that I'm on the downwind side of the hill, and the reawakened goal of being a competitive sailor has caused me to stir up banked fires and rejuvenate neglected physical abilities."

He was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

In 2010, he was still sailing competitively.

Philanthropy

Cohan has served as President of Jewish Employment and Vocational Service (JEVS) Human Services, as a member of the Directors Leadership Council of the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center, and as a member of the Board of Directors of The Philadelphia Orchestra. In 1986 he made a gift of a dormitory to Amherst College; it was named the Cohan Dormitory in his honor in 1989.

Select works

Books

• Importing practices & procedures: A reference manual (1964; Pennsylvania Bar Association, Committee on Continuing Legal Education)
• Pennsylvania Trusts (1964)

Articles

• "Pennsylvania Wait-and-See Perpetuity Doctrine – New Kernels from Old Nutshells", 28 Temple Law Quarterly 321 (Winter 1955)
• "Manufacturing Federal Diversity Jurisdiction by the Appointment of Representatives: Its Legality and Propriety", with Mercer Tate, 1 Villanova Law Review 201 (1956)
• "Legal, Tax, and Accounting Aspects of Fiduciary Appointment of Stock Proceeds: The Non-Statutory Pennsylvania Rules", with Stephen Dean, 106 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 2 (December 1957)
• "Considering Apportionment Consequences of Corporate Action", 21–22 The Shingle 57 (1958)
• "Law and Practicalities for Yachtsmen", 32 Temple Law Quarterly 241 (1958–59)
• "Pennsylvania Tentative Trusts", 110 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 972 (1962)
• "Accounting Considerations of Apportionment by Trustees of Receipts from Stock", 36 Temple Law Quarterly 121 (Winter 1963)
• "Legal and Practical Implications of Purchasing a Pleasure Boat – The Role of the Attorney", 37 Temple Law Quarterly 401 (1963)

See also

• List of select Jews in sailing
• List of Olympic medalists in Dragon class sailing

References

1. Murray Friedman (2003). "Philadelphia Jewish life, 1940-2000". Temple University Press. ISBN 1566399998,. Retrieved June 6, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
2. "Carol-Lee Adler Becomes Bride of Donald S. Cohan". The Hartford Courant. April 21, 1962. Retrieved June 6, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
3. Arlen Specter (2008). Never Give In: Battling Cancer in the Senate. Macmillan. ISBN 0312383061. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
4. "The Sigma Chapter of Beta Theta Pi". Sigmabetathetapi.org. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
5. ^ "Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum". Jewsinsports.org. September 10, 1972. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
6. Parton Keese (December 3, 1972). "The Stars Fall on Olympic Skippers". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
7. "Bretton Woods Project has been Brought to Halt," The Nashua Telegraph, December 20, 1974
8. ^ Dare to Prepare: How to Win Before You Begin. Random House, Inc. 2009. ISBN 0307451801. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
9. ^ "Inductions | Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame". Phillyjewishsports.com. August 24, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
10. ^ "'Lectronic Latitude". Latitude38.com. June 7, 2004. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
11. ^ June Sandra Neal (March 5, 2006). "Accuracy Gap Of Olympic Proportions". Hartford Courant. Retrieved June 6, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
12. "An Old Yachtsman with New Resolve; Don Cohan, 55, has overcome a lot. Now He's Plotting a Last Hurrah," The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 5, 1996, accessed June 5, 2010
13. Isler, Peter, "An Olympic Campaign in Less-Than-One-Year", Retrieved June 5, 2010
14. ^ "Seeking Solutions With Suzanne". Suzanne.tv. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
15. "U.S. Olympic Yachting Medal Record". Ussailing.org. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
16. Joseph Siegman (2000). Jewish Sports Legends: the International Jewish Hall of Fame. Brassey's. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
17. Andrea McDonald. "1968 Dragon Racing Sailboat CAPRICE". Bone Yard Boats. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
18. Peter S. Horvitz (2007). The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heros: An Illustrated Compendium of Sports History and the 150 Greatest Jewish Sports Stars. SP Books. ISBN 1561719072. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
19. ^ Marty Glickman (1999). The Fastest Kid on the Block: The Marty Glickman Story. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0815605749. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
20. Red Auerbach (2004). Let me tell you a story: a lifetime in the game. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0316738239. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
21. ^ Documentary, "Hitler's Pawn: The Margeret Lambert Story", produced by HBO and Black Canyon Productions
22. ^ Churchill, Jr., James E. (1983). The Olympic story: pursuit of excellence. Grolier Enterprises Inc. ISBN 0717281531.
23. ^ Peter Levine (1993). Ellis Island to Ebbets Field: Sport and the American Jewish Experience. Oxford University Press US. ISBN 0195085558. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
24. Paul Taylor (2004). Jews and the Olympic Games: the clash between sport and politics. Sussex Academic Press. ISBN 1903900875. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
25. ^ Jan Stradling (2009). More Than a Game. Books.google.com. ISBN 1741961351. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
26. ^ Call of the Ancient Mariner: Reese Palley's Guide to a long Sailing Life. McGraw-Hill. 2003. ISBN 0071388818. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
27. "Robbie Haines Biography and Olympic Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
28. ^ "Scuttlebutt: May 17". About Boats.com. May 17, 2002. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
29. "ISAF : Preview". Sailing.org. September 21, 2002. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
30. "Canadian Bill Abbott takes the Soling Worlds in Marblehead reports Phil Crebbin". The Daily Sail. Retrieved June 5, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
31. "Our Leadership". JEVS Human Services. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
32. "University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center, 2006 Annual Report" (PDF). 2006. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
33. "The Philadelphia Orchestra – Board of Directors". Ticketphiladelphia.org. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
34. Irvin R. Glazer (1995). The Philadelphia Orchestra: the search for a home. Sutter House. ISBN 0915010399. Retrieved June 6, 2010. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
35. Amherst College: A Chronology, accessed June 6, 2010

External links

• Olympic bio

• 1930 births
• Olympic bronze medalists for the United States
• American yacht racers
• Jewish sportspeople
• American Jews
• Living people
• Olympic sailors of the United States Virgin Islands
• People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Amherst College alumni
• Harvard Law School alumni
• Sailors at the 1972 Summer Olympics
• Cancer patients