by RBR Admin
This Day in Track & Field—October 3
1885—Future Hall-of-Famer Lon Myers ran 1:55.4 in New York to match his World Record for 800-meters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lon_Myers
1914—George Parker ran 21.2 (21-1/5) in Fresno,CA, to equal the World Record for 200-Meters on the straight that was shared by fellow Americans Bernie Wefers, Ralph Craig, Don Lippincott, and Howard Drew.
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/200_metres_straight
1936–Archie San Romani, Sr. pulled off a huge upset by winning the Mile (4:09.0) at Princeton over Jack Lovelock and Glenn Cunningham, the last two World Record holders in the event. The race was held during the Princeton-Williams football game. Earlier in the year, San Romani ended his collegiate career at Emporia State by winning his 2nd NCAA title in the 1500/Mile (won the Mile in 1935) and finished 4th in the 1500-meters at the L.A. Olympics. His son, Archie, Jr, was 2nd in the NCAA 1500 in 1964 while at Oregon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_San_Romani
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78993
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1959/05/11/archie-san-romani-sr-and-jr
2019— Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser, the surprise silver medalist in the Women’s 400-Meters at the 2017 Worlds, provided another stunner in Doha, upsetting favored Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas and winning in 48.14, the 3rd-fastest time in history (fastest in 34 years). Miller-Uibo finished 2nd with a personal best of 48.37, making her the 6th-fastest woman ever in the event (at the time). Winning the bronze medal was Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson (49.47/PB). Finishing 4th and 5th were Americans Wadeline Jonathas (49.60) and defending champion Phyllis Francis (49.61/PB).
(Eid Naser missed the Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 World Championships after being banned for two years for a “whereabouts” violation. She returned to competition in 2023 and won the silver medal at the 2024 Olympics).
https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2021/07/01/salwa-eid-naser-doping-ban-400-meters/
China’s Gong Lijiao won her 2nd straight World title in the Women’s Shot Put with a toss of 64-1 ¾ (19.55), but got a scare from Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-Dodd, who almost pulled off an upset with her final throw of 63-10 ½ (19.47). Winning the bronze medal was Germany’s Christina Schwanitz (62-10 ¾ [19.17]), the 2015 World Champion. Finishing 4-7-9 were Americans Maggie Ewen (62-1 ¼ [18.93]), Chase Ealey (61-9 [18.82]), and Michelle Carter (60-4 ¾ [18.41]).
Germany’s Niklas Kaul won the Decathlon with a personal best score of 8691 points. Estonia’s Maicel Uibo (8604/PB), a 2-time NCAA Champion while at Georgia, matched the silver medal that his wife Shaunae Miller won in the 400-Meters, and Canada’s Damian Warner (8529) won the bronze medal.
Kaul was in 11th place after six events, moved up to 9th after the Discus, 6th after the Pole Vault, and then made a big jump up to 3rd with a long throw of 259-4 (79.05) in the Javelin. He finished 1st in the 1500-Meters with a time of 4:15.70, which propelled him into 1st place.
At 21, Kaul became the youngest World Champion in the Decathlon, and he is only the 2nd man to win World Youth (under 18), Junior (under 20), and Senior World titles in the event. The first to achieve the trifecta was France’s Kevin Mayer, the World Record holder and defending World Champion, who withdrew after being unable to make it down the Pole Vault runway. “This is sport,” said the Olympic silver medalist. “Yesterday I had an injury on my right knee, but today I was still able to do the Hurdles and Discus. It was very difficult. But then my left hamstring hurt and I had to stop.”
Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson set a British Record of 6981 points (#7 All-Time Performer) to win the Heptathlon by more than 300 points over Belgium’s Nafi Thiam (6677), the defending champion. Austria’s Verena Preiner (6560) won the bronze medal and Americans Erica Bougard (6470) and Kendell Williams (6415) finished 4th and 5th.
KJT’s win made up for past disappointments at the World Championships—she had 3 fouls in the Long Jump in 2015 and placed 5th in London in 2017.
Medalists/Results: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_World_Athletics_Championships
Day 7 Recap: https://worldathletics.org/news/report/naser-kaul-johnson-thompson-day-7-world-champ
Videos: WSP Highlights W400 DEC(Day 2) Highlight HEP: Day 1 Day 2
Ashton Eaton and Brianne Theisen analyze the multis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmj1CpaQpcQ
Silver medals for the Uibos: https://worldathletics.org/news/feature/world-championships-doha-2019-maicel-shaunae
T&F News’ Coverage(for subscribers) WSP W400 DEC HEP
