by RBR Admin
This Day in Track & Field–February 9
1929–15,000 fans in Madison Square Garden cheered wildly as Ray Conger passed the legendary Paavo Nurmi in the last ½-lap to win the Wanamaker Mile in 4:17.4. It was the first of three consecutive Wanamaker wins for Conger, who dropped out of the 1500 final at the 1928 Olympics.
He was treated to an indoor version of NY’s famed Ticker-Tape parades as he was showered with torn pieces of paper.
“When the American star broke the tape, sedate old gentlemen were slapping each other on the back. Strangers were shaking hands. The band played “Cheers for the Red, White, and Blue”. (From the NY Times Archives)
(For subscribers): https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/02/10/95878999.html?pageNumber=157
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Conger
1957–Arnie Sowell ran 1:50.3 at the 50th Millrose Games to set a World Record in the 1/2-mile. He also got credit for the World Record for 800-meters (1:49.7). Finishing 2nd to Sowell for the 8th straight time indoors was Tom Courtney, the 1956 Olympic Champion at 800-meters.
There was a lot of pre-race hype about the impending duel, with Courtney, who had tied the 600y record the week before in Boston, moving up in distance to take on his old rival.
“Last week I was full of running and tied the 600 record,” Courtney contemplated. “So, logically, I should run the 600 again, but I want the chance to beat Sowell.”
Sowell, meanwhile, was more concerned with getting ready to run the 1000y two weeks later at the U.S. Indoor Championships.
“While it may not be nice to say no to meet directors who invite you,” Sowell observed on Millrose eve, “I’m not ready to run my best yet. To be truthful, I’m a little tired of all the talk about a rivalry. Sometimes it can help you win, but it can also beat you. Courtney’s not the one to take the lead, but if the pace is slow I’ll have to. If I’m out front and thinking too much about Tom behind me, I’ll be running his race, not mine. Tonight,” Sowell concluded, “I’ll see a shoot-’em-up movie, sleep late, read in the afternoon, and in the race, if the pace is slow, I’ll take it.”
And slow it was, with Sowell taking the lead halfway through the race and holding off a late charge by Courtney to get the win and the records.
Milt Campbell, the 1956 Olympic Champion in the Decathlon, set a new World Record of 7-flat (7.0) in his semi-final of the 60-Yard Hurdles and matched that time in the final.
Ireland’s Ron Delany (4:06.5), the winner of the 1500-Meters at the Melbourne Olympics, won the Wanamaker Mile for the 4th year in a row.
Indoor veteran Reggie Pearman (1:11.0) won the Mel Sheppard 600y by two yards over Villanova’s Charlie Jenkins, the 1956 Olympic Champion at 400-Meters.
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1957/02/18/four-garden-duels
(For subscribers): https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/02/10/93207152.html?pageNumber=195
(Sowell-1955): https://vault.si.com/vault/1955/05/30/arnie-sowell-runs-so-soft
1968–It was billed as the first Madison Square Garden Invitational, but it’s remembered more as the last meet to be held in the “old” Garden, which was located in Manhattan at 50th Street and 8th Avenue. The promised appearance of Jim Ryun helped draw a surprising crowd of 15,000 for what used to be known as the USTFF (U.S. T&F Federation) meet, one that attracted collegians at a time when there was an ongoing dispute between the NCAA and the AAU. Ryun gave the crowd what it came for, winning the mile in 3:57.5, the 3rd fastest ever run at the time. As an experiment, he competed the next day at the Michigan State Relays, where he won the Mile in 4:03.4.
Villanova sophomore Larry James won the 500y in an eased-up 56.0, just short of the World Record of 55.5, then came back with a 47-flat anchor 440 to lead the Wildcats to victory in the Mile Relay. Jim Dunaway wrote in T&F News, “James (who excelled in the 180y- and 330y-hurdles at White Plains H.S. in NY) will be after a 400-meter hurdles Olympic berth”. Of course, James, who passed away late in 2008, went on to win the silver medal in the 400-meters at the Mexico City Olympics and won a gold medal in the 4×400 relay.
Winner of the 60-yard dash was Nebraska’s Charlie Greene. Finishing 2nd was one O.J. Simpson of USC.
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1968/02/19/jim-ryuns-big-experiment
NY Times Coverage (For subscribers):
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/02/10/79933948.html?pageNumber=40
Pre-Meet: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/02/09/79933449.html?pageNumber=61
1974–Ethiopia’s Miruts Yifter set a World Record of 13:34.2 for 5,000-meters on the 220-yard track at the Mason-Dixon Games in Louisville. The previous best for the event, which didn’t have much of a history at this point, was 13:45.2, set by the Soviet Union’s Vyacheslav Alanov in 1969. East Tennessee State’s Neil Cusack, a native of Ireland, set a Collegiate Record of 13:53.6 in 2nd place, and Penn State’s Charlie Maguire lowered Don Lash’s ancient (1939) American record of 14:31.0 to a more respectable 14:07.6.
Another World Record fell in the 2-mile relay, as the University of Chicago Track Club, with a lineup of Tom Bach (1:51.1, Ken Sparks (1:51.5), Lowell Paul (1:49.4), and Rick Wohlhuter (1:48.8), ran 7:20.8 to lower its own mark of 7:23.6, which was set on this same track a year ago. Wohlhuter was ranked #1 in the world at 800-meters in 1973.
1979—Eamonn Coghlan beat a stellar field at the Millrose Games to win his 2nd Wanamaker Mile in 3:55.0, just missing Dick Buerkle’s World Record of 3:54.93. Trailing Coghlan across the line were Kenya’s Wilson Waigwa (3:56.3), South Africa’s (and Villanova’s) Sydney Maree (3:57.1), New Zealand’s John Walker (3:57.3), the Outdoor World Record holder (3:49.4), and American Steve Scott (3:58.6). Buerkle was a distant 6th in 4:03.2.
“It would have been a lot sweeter if had been two‐tenths of a second faster,” said Coghlan. “When I heard 2:58, I thought I’d get the record for sure. But I slowed up in the last five yards, I don’t know why. I usually run through the tape. If I hadn’t I would have gotten the record.”
In a battle between present and past Villanova Wildcats, Don Paige won the 1000y over former teammate Mark Belger and set a Collegiate Record of 2:05.3, with Belger clocking 2:06.5. Belger had won 20 straight 880/1000 races .from 800y-1000
Madison Square Garden was packed with a record crowd of 18.301
1985–Eamonn Coghlan edged fellow Villanova alum Sydney Maree to win a thrilling Mile at the Vitalis/Meadowlands Inv. in New Jersey (3:52.37-3:52.40). Mary Decker was on her way to breaking her World Record of 4:00.8 in the 1500 meters when a calf injury forced her to step off the track with 400-meters to go. Diana Richburg went on to win the race in 4:08.57, while Clemson’s Tina Krebs finished 4th and set a Collegiate Record of 4:10.20 that lasted for 29 years until Dartmouth’s Abbey D’Agostino ran 4:09.77 in 2014.
The Women’s 400-meters provided a controversial finish. Valerie Brisco and Diane Dixon finished in a virtual dead-heat, but Brisco was given the win (52.63-52.64) and a new American Record. Dixon’s coach, Fred Thompson, protested the decision and the race was then declared a dead-heat. Brisco’s coach, Bobby Kersee, didn’t find out about the reversal until the following week. He filed his own protest and the original decision giving Brisco the win was allowed to stand!
After winning the 55-meters in 6.15, Carl Lewis led the crowd in the singing of the National Anthem.(and did a good job!) Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1985/02/18/fast-turns-and-strange-twists
1986—East Germany’s Thomas Schönlebe set a World Indoor Record of 45.41 for 400-Meters in Vienna
1990–It’s believed that this was the first time that cash bonuses for World Records were offered publicly. Ray Lumpp, the director of the Vitalis/Meadowlands Invitational, put up $100,000 for records in both miles, and $50,000 for the Men’s 600y. The only runner to cash in on this generous offer was Romania’s Doina Melinte, who ran 4:17.14 on the 10-lap banked oval to better her own 2-year old mark of 4:18.86. Melinte got credit for another record (but not another bonus) when she passed 1500-meters in 4:00.27 to break Mary Slaney’s 10-year old mark of 4:00.8.
Great Britain’s Peter Elliott, just back from New Zealand, where he won the 1500-meters at the Commonwealth Games, fell short in his attempt to challenge Eamonn Coghlan’s mark of 3:49.78 in the Men’s Mile (run on this track in 1983). He still ran a fine 3:52.02, making him the 5th-fastest indoor miler ever at the time. Setting the early pace for Elliott (1:53.4-880y) was Ray Brown, who had to be “convinced” ($$$) to move from his favorite event, the 1000-meters, to act as the pace-setter (55.5, 1:53.0).
The 600y mark of 1:07.6 was set by the incomparable Martin McGrady in 1970 and the bonus was set up with Butch Reynolds, the outdoor World Record holder in the 400-meters, given the best shot at collecting the $50,000 prize. But late-add Danny Harris, one of the best 400-meter hurdlers in the world, wasn’t about to concede anything to Reynolds.
Any chance of a record went out the window when Harris got involved in a collision with Ian Morris and Antonio McKay with a lap to go, knocking the two indoor veterans out of the race. Harris crossed the line first in 1:09.98, but was disqualified for the earlier bumping incident. The only official finisher was Reynolds, who was clocked in 1:10.36.
NY Times: http://tinyurl.com/NYTimes-Melinte
1991–Ukraine’s Sergey Bubka raised his World Record in the Men’s Pole Vault to 19-11 ¼ (6.08m) in Volgograd. Contrary to the perception that Bubka only raised his record one centimeter at a time to maximize his earning potential, his previous mark was 19-10 ¼ (6.05).
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_pole_vault_indoor_world_record_progression
1995–Two years after setting the World Record of 6.92 in the Women’s 60-meters in Madrid, Russia’s Irina Privalova returned to the Spanish capitol and ran another 6.92. In addition, she also ran 6.93 in 1994 and 6.94 in 1995, giving her the four fastest times in history (at the time).
http://www.alltime-athletics.com/w60mok.htm
1996—For the 2nd year in a row, the Reno Air Games were held at the Reno Livestock Events Center, complete with a betting line provided by the Eldorado Hotel/Casino! And, for the 2nd year in a row, I lost every bet I placed, since I picked longshots in every event!
And again the meet presentation was unlike anything ever seen at any other venue for an indoor meet. Here was the
schedule:
Opening Act: Would include Harley-Davidson motorcycles jumping over the track onto the infield (if possible) (I
don’t remember that happening)
Show girls from the “Splash” act show
National Anthem
intermission: a six minute act which involves puppets, etc…real showstopper, all events will be stopped for this act
Throughout: music and live interviews with athletes before, during, and after their events. The during interviews
will be in the field events
characters and celebrity look-alikes working through the crowd
stilt walkers around the pole vault
Frisbee dogs and other acts doing one minute routines in between events
Among the winners on the track (4,500’ altitude):
Men’s 50-Donovan Bailey (Canada) 5.56 (WR, but start was questionable)
Men’s Mile-Niall Bruton (Ireland) 4:04.16
Women’s 50m-Gwen Torrence 6.07 (American Record)
Women’s 400-Jearl Miles 53.22
Women’s 800-Suzy Favor 2:02.72
Women’s 50yh-Jackie Joyner-Kersee 6.73
2019—Two American Records were set and a World Record escaped by the narrowest of margins at the Millrose Games at NY’s Armory.
Ajeé Wilson won the Women’s 800-Meters for the 4th time in 5 years and ran 1:58.60 to break Nicole Teter’s 17-year old AR of 1:58.71, which was also set at the Armory at the 2002 U.S. Indoor Championships.
Kenya’s Michael Saruni set a Millrose Record of 1:43.98 in the Men’s 800, with runnerup Donavan Brazier running 1:44.41 to take down Johnny Gray’s 27-year old AR of 1:45.00.
It had been 64 years (1955) since Gunnar Nielsen set the last World Record in the Wanamaker Mile at Millrose, and that dry spell almost came to an end when Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha won this year’s race in 3:48.46, just .01s short of Hicham El Guerrouj’s WR of 3:48.45! Kejelcha took advantage of a 2nd shot at the World Record a few weeks later, smashing El G’s mark by running 3:47.01 at Boston University.
Ryan Crouser set a Meet Record of 73-3 ¼ (22.33) in the Shot Put.
There was a very scary moment in the Men’s 3000-Meters when Jamaica’s Kemoy Campbell collapsed while serving as the race’s rabbit. Stanford’s Grant Fisher (7:42.62) went on to win the race as medical personnel treated Kemboy, who was then wheeled out on a gurney to NY Presbyterian Hospital, which is right across the street from the Armory. Thankfully, Kemboy made a full recovery, but he listened to his doctors, who told him his elite running career was over. He is still active in the sport as a coach.
Prior to the following year’s Millrose Games, NBC’s Lewis Johnson interviewed Kemoy Campbell and others who rushed to his aid for a documentary—“The Gift of Life” (see link below).
Results: https://www.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=45586&do=news&news_id=561079
https://ny.milesplit.com/meets/327960-112th-nyrr-millrose-games-2019/coverage#.YCJyUC1h24I
https://www.letsrun.com/events/2019-nyrr-millrose-games/
Campbell
Gift of Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA_T4R0FqdA
2021—Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, following the pace-maker through “insane” splits of 58.97 and 2:05.94, never eased up as she ran 3:53.09 for 1500-Meters in Liévin, France, smashing the previous record of 3:55.17 that was set by Genzebe Dibaba in 2014.
Grant Holloway ran 7.32 in the Men’s 60-Meter Hurdles to break his own American Record of 7.35.
There was almost a 2nd World Record in the Men’s 3000, with Ethiopia’s Getnet Wale winning in 7:24.98, only .08s off Daniel Komen’s “invincible” 23-year old mark of 7:24.90.
Tsegay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTR8348i630
Significant Birthdays
Jeff might be able to offer an update on Arzhanov—they’re friends on Facebook
Born On This Day*
Antonio McKay 60 (1964) 1984 Olympic gold medalist—4×400, bronze medalist—400m;
2-time World Indoor Champion—400 (1987,1989)
1987 World Champion—4×400; PB: 44.69 (1987)
1984 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Champion—400m (Georgia Tech);
6-time U.S. Indoor Champion—400m (1985-1989, 1993)
First African-American athlete to compete for the NYAC
Has an online coaching service
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_McKay
Atlanta HOF: http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-track/spec-rel/020814aab.html
Yevgeny Arzhanov-Ukraine 76 (1948) 1972 Olympic silver medalist-800m (to Dave Wottle); 1968 (1st round)
PB: 1:45.3 (1972)
Like many of his countrymen, he has endured hardships during the war with Russia
http://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77357
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LHid-nC45k
Deceased
David Cecil, Lord Burghley 76 (1905-Oct.22, 1981) 1928 Olympic gold medalist—400-Meter Hurdles
Silver medalist in the 4×400 relay at the 1932 Olympics
1927 Penn Relays Champion
Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the 1948 Olympics
Presented the medals to the top 3 finishers in the Men’s 200-Meters at the 1968 Olympics (Tommie Smith-Peter
Norman, John Carlos)
President of the IAAF from 1946-1976
Vice President of the IOC from 1952-1966
The story of Burghley House and the Olympic Games:
“In the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, the flamboyant hurdler Lord Andrew Lindsay is shown practising in the
grounds of his country estate, with glasses of champagne delicately balanced on the hurdles as he skips over
them. His character is based on David Cecil, Lord Burghley…”. Read more at:
https://www.discoverbritainmag.com/burghley_house_in_lincolnshire_and_the_olympic_games_1_3234919/
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/68929
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cecil,_6th_Marquess_of_Exeter
