byLarry EderOne of the treasures for distance runners on the web is the UJENA Fit Club site. Bob Anderson, the founder of Runners World magazine and my first boss, continues to love running and has developed this site to support his double-double race series-running a 10k, then a 5k, on same day after a short break.
38.7 SECONDS!
Bob Schul is the only American to ever win an Olympic Gold Medal for the 5000
That’s how long it took Bob Schul to sprint the last 300 meters on a muddy track to overtake Michel Jazy and win the gold medal for the 5000 meters in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. It remains the only time an American has won the Olympic gold medal in the 5000. Bob is going to be the guest of honor at the Indy Double Road Race in August 11.
by David Prokop (Editorial Director for Best Road Races)
The 5000 meters in the Tokyo Olympics was run under miserable weather conditions – it was cold and dreary (51 degrees) with a steady rain falling.
As the 12½-lap race unfolded, an American woman in her 50s sat in the stands, shivering and suffering through the inclement weather.
A man sitting next to her, himself an experienced runner, said to her in a gentle voice soft with compassion. “It’s too cold for you to be out here. You should go back to your hotel.”
“I can’t,” she replied. “My son is running in this race.”
Her son was Bob Schul, who that day would make history by winning the gold medal in that race with an electrifying finishing kick – the first and last time an American had taken the gold in the Olympic 5000 meters!
To read the entire story on the UJENA Fit Club site, please go to: http://www.ujenafitclub.com/ninter.php/43#nana
