by RBR Admin
This Day in Track & Field–August 16
1920–Using his patented finish-line leap, American Charley Paddock edged teammate Morris Kirksey to win the 100-meter at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, with both being timed in 10.8. Kirksey might have lost the gold medal when he glanced to his right just as Paddock crossed the finish line. Great Britain’s Harry Edward edged American Jackson Scholz to take the bronze medal(estimated time of 10.9 for both). Loren Murchison, the winner at the U.S. Trials, was left in the blocks after thinking that a recall gun was about to be fired and wound up last in the 6-man field.
Unhappy with the living quarters on the ship carrying the U.S. team across the Atlantic to Antwerp, Paddock led the “Mutiny on the Matoika,” gathering signatures from his fellow athletes on a petition asking for more suitable conditions when they arrived in the host city. This was a noble gesture, but the athletes’ plea apparently fell on deaf ears, and Paddock ended up renting his own apartment so he could better prepare for the Games.
Paddock won the silver medal in the 200 in Antwerp and ran the lead-off leg on the U.S. team that won the 4×100 relay. He competed in two more Olympics, winning the silver medal in the 200 in 1924.
Paddock had a brief acting career after befriending Hollywood’s Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., on the trip to the 1924 Games in Paris. He enlisted in the Marines when World War II broke out, serving as a Morale Officer, and was killed in a plane crash in Alaska in 1943 while serving in that capacity.
It was a medal sweep for the U.S. in the 400-meter Hurdles, with the winner, Frank Loomis, setting a World Record of 54.0. John Norton(54.6e) won silver and bronze, who had set a WR of 54.2 for the slightly longer 440-yard event at the Western Trials earlier in the year, and August Desch(54.7e).
Finland’s Eero Lehtonen won the first of his two gold medals in the 5-event Pentathlon, while teammate Hugo Lahtinen won the bronze. American Everett Bradley won the silver medal.
Medalists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1920_Summer_Olympics
Great video feature on Paddock(includes the Olympic final): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU7Ei5IbIAw
Paddock: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_Paddock
Kirksey: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Kirksey
1980—While the first full World Championships wouldn’t occur until 1983, the IAAF offered World titles in two women’s events that weren’t part of the 1980 Olympic schedule.
Held in Sittard in the Netherlands, the 3000-meter was won by West Germany’s Brigit Friedmann in 8:48.05. 2nd & 3rd were Sweden’s Karoline Nemetz (8:50.22) and Norway’s Ingrid Kristiansen (8:58.8).
It was an East German 1-3 sweep in the 400-meter hurdles: Bärbel Broschat (54.55), Ellen Neumann (54.56), Petra Pfaff (55.84). Finishing 5th was Esther Mahr, who set an American Record of 56.81.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_World_Championships_in_Athletics
1985–Mary Decker ran 1:56.90 in Bern, Switzerland, to improve her American Record in the 800 meters.
1987—Dealing with shifting winds, Carl Lewis had one of the greatest long jump series in history at the Pan-American Games in Indianapolis. He had a legal jump of 28-8 ½ (8.745), wind-aided jumps of 28-8 1/2, and two at 28-5 ¾ (8.68).
Medalists: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1987_Pan_American_Games
1989–Roger Kingdom won the 110-meter hurdles in 12.92 in Zürich to break Renaldo Nehemiah’s 8-year-old American and World Record of 12.93. Kingdom, who won his 2nd Olympic gold the previous year, beat a star-studded field that included his fellow medalists from Seoul, Great Britain’s Colin Jackson (13.12) and Tonie Campbell (13.23). 4th was Jack Pierce (13.24), and 5th was Greg Foster (13.26). Kingdom was mobbed by his fellow hurdlers when the official time was posted!
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHA2rWbIvJs
Hall of Fame Bio(2005): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/roger-kingdom
1993–Gail Devers, the 1992 Olympic sprint Champion, won the 100-meter at the World Championships in Stuttgart in a photo-finish over Jamaica’s Merlene Ottey, with both runners clocked in 10.82. 3rd was Gwen Torrence (10.89). Devers would later win the 100-meter hurdles with an American Record time of 12.46.
Adding a World Championships gold to the one he earned at the previous year’s Olympics, Mike Conley won the Men’s Triple Jump with a leap of 58-7 ¼ (17.86). Winning silver and bronze were Russia’s Leonid Voloshin
(57-11 [17/65]) and Great Britain’s Jonathan Edwards (57-2 ¾ [17.44]).
Unlike most championship distance races, which become tactical affairs, the Men’s 5000 meters was a quick one. It was won by 18-year-old Kenyan Ismael Kirui in 13:02.75. He broke his own World Junior Record of 13:06.50 and the Championships Record of 13:14.45.
A close 2nd to Kirui was another youngster, 20-year-old Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie (13:03.17), who was not yet the legend he would soon become (although he would win the first of his four World 10k titles later in these Championships). 3rd was Ethiopia’s Fita Bayisa (13:05.40).
Coming from behind in the 5th round, Czech Jan Železný threw 282-1 (85.98) to win the first of his three World titles in the Men’s Javelin (also won in 1995 and 2001). 2nd & 3rd were Finland’s Kimmo Kinnunen (278-2 [84.78]) and Great Britain’s Mick Hill (272-2 [82.96]).
The Women’s 3000 meters was swept by three members of “Ma’s Army,” China’s Qu Yunxia (8:28.71), Zhang Linli (8:29.25), and Zhang Linong (8:31.95). Despite a slow early pace, all three smashed the previous Championship Record of 8:34.62, set by Mary Decker in Helsinki in 1983. Finishing a frustrated 4th was Ireland’s Sonia O’Sullivan (8:33.38). Qu Yunxia ran an amazing 4:06 for her final 1500 meters!
It wouldn’t be long before questions arose about the success of the Chinese women who were coached by Ma Junren (see links).
Medalists/Results: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_World_Championships_in_Athletics
Athletics Weekly Recap:
https://athleticsweekly.com/london-2017/iaaf-world-championships-history-stuttgart-1993-65250/
Rise and Fall of Ma’s Army:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/sep/07/sydney.sport1
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2001/jul/24/athletics.duncanmackay1
1995—Coming just 3 days after the completion of the World Championships in Gothenburg, athletes arrived in Zürich in fine form, ready to compete at a high level at the legendary Weltklasse meet. And they did, producing two World Records and many other fine performances.
Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie, the World Champ at 10,000 meters, regained the World Record in the 5000 meters by running a fantastic 12:44.39, more than 10 seconds under the old mark of 12:55.30.
Kenya’s Moses Kiptanui, the previous 5k record holder, came away from the meet with a consolation prize of a new World Record in the Steeplechase. He became the first man to break 8 minutes with his winning time of 7:59.18.
Geb and Kiptanui picked up bonuses of $50,000 and a kilo of gold for their WR efforts.
Algeria’s Noureddine Morceli almost gave the rabid Weltklasse fans a 3rd WR, winning the Mile in 3:45.19, just .8s short of his global standard of 3:44.39!
The Women’s 400-meter hurdles featured the 3 medalists from the Worlds, including Americans Kim Batten (gold) and Tonja Buford (silver), both of whom had bettered the WR in Gothenburg, and France’s Marie-José Pérec, the World Champion at 400-Meters. Buford (52.90) had the upper hand this time, winning in 52.90 over Pérec (53.21), Jamaica’s Deon Hemmings (53.57/3rd at Worlds), and Batten (54.41).
It’s a shame that the Men’s 800 was split into 2 sections. Johnny Gray won the 1st in 1:43.36, with 4 other men breaking 1:44. Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer was even quicker in the 2nd, running 1:42.87 to match his personal best.
Other notable winners included: Michael Johnson (400/43.88), Sergey Bubka (PV/19-4 ¼ [5.90]), Lars Riedel (DT/221-0 [67.36]), Maria Mutola (800-1:55.93), Sonia O’Sullivan (3000/8:27.67),
Videos
5000 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=falH2esJepA
steeple https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC1-fS8YzwY
WR Progression(5k): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5000_metres
WR Progression(steeple): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steeplechase_(athletics)
LetsRun’s Jonathan Gault and World Athletics celebrated the 25th anniversary of this magical night in 2020.
https://www.worldathletics.org/heritage/news/moses-kiptanui-steeplechase-eight-minutes
