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Home Athletic History

This Day in Track & Field, May 12, Joan Benoit Samuelson takes Olympic Trials Marathon weeks after arthroscopic surgery (1984), compiled and written by Walt Murphy

RBR Adminby RBR Admin
May 12, 2025
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This Day in Track & Field History, April 18, 2024, Ray Norton, SJSU, ran 10.1 (1959), equals WR, Joan Benoit wins Boston (1983) in WR 2:22.43, by Walt Murphy News and Results Service

C81RXK Joan Benoit winner of the 1983 Boston Marathon

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This Day in Track & Field–May 12

1888–Yale’s Charles Sherrill is credited with becoming the first man to use the “crouching” start in a sprint race (at least in the U.S.–see below). Sherrill won the 100y and 220y at a meet sponsored by the Rockaway Hunting Club in Cedarhurst, Long Island.

In addition to winning 7 IC4A sprint titles in the late 1880s (4-100y/1887-1890, 3-220y/1888-1890), Sherrill was also the 1887 U.S. Champion in the 100-yard dash.

In an era when there were fewer restrictions on eligibility, Sherrill also finished 2nd in the IC4A 100 in 1886.  In 1894, he organized the first international collegiate track meet, a match between Yale and Oxford. Sherrill went on to have a distinguished career as a lawyer, a U.S. ambassador, and as a pivotal member of the International Olympic Committee.

Sherrill reportedly learned the new starting  technique from famed coach Mike Murphy, who observed runners such as New Zealand’s Bobby MacDonald using the innovative style on the professional circuit in Australia and New Zealand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_H._Sherrill_(ambassador)

(For Subscribers) NY Times Obituary(1936): https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/06/26/87953037.html?pageNumber=19

Murphy: https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-people/biography/michael-c-murphy/

1924–Former BYU Cougar Clint Larsen cleared 6-9  ½ (2.07m) in an exhibition High Jump in Magna, Utah. He had earlier cleared 6-7  7/8 (2.02+) in an unofficial meet in 1917. The World Record at the time of both jumps was 6-7  5/16 (2.01+), but neither of Larsen’s marks were ratified by the IAAF.

1928—Stanford’s Emerson “Bud” Spencer set a World Record of 47.0 for 400-meters at the Pacific AAU meet on his home track.  The previous record of 47.6 was set by Great Britain’s Eric Liddell (“Chariots of Fire”) in 1924.

Spencer went on to win the NCAA title the following month and was a member of the U.S. team that won the 4×400 (and set a World Record) at the Olympics in Amsterdam.

Hugo “Swede” Leistner, the 1925 NCAA Champion while at Stanford, set an American Record of 14.8 in the 120y-hurdles.

WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_400_metres_world_record_progression

https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/79077

Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerson_Spencer

Leistner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Leistner

 

1956–Two sporting legends tied for first place in the High Jump at the West Coast Relays in Fresno, California. Charlie Dumas, who would become history’s first 7-footer the following month at the U.S. Olympic Trials, and a young basketball player named Bill Russell both cleared 6-9  ¼ (2.06+).

Cordner Nelson wrote of Russell in T&F News at the time, “…a good coach would have him clearing 7’-3” (2.21) or better in a few months…if (the 6’-10”[2.08+]) Russell wanted to make the effort”. Both would win gold medals at the Melbourne Olympics later in the year, Dumas in the High Jump and Russell, who had led the University of San Francisco to its 2nd straight NCAA title in March, as a key member of the winning U.S. basketball team.

Russell was ranked #7 in the world in the High Jump in 1956 by T&F News (Dumas was #1), but gave up the opportunity for further glory in the event to pursue a career in the NBA. I guess the Hall-of-Famer made the right decision, leading the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons.

Dumas HOF Bio: https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/charles-dumas

1962–The University of Oregon, which has produced more than 30 sub-4 minute milers over the years, used three of them here as they ran 16:08.9 (ratified as 16:09.0) in the 4-Mile Relay at the West Coast Relays in Fresno, California, to shatter the previous World Record of 16:23.8, which was set by a Peter Snell-anchored New Zealand team the previous year.

Leading off for the Ducks was Archie San Romani,Jr., who ran 4:03.5 and would  later run 3.57.6 in 1964. He was followed by Canadian Vic Reeve (4:05.4), the only one of the four who never broke four, and Keith Forman (4:02.3), who ran 3:58.3 later in the year.  With Dyrol Burleson, the American Record holder in the mile (3:57.6) and 1960 Olympic finalist (6th) on the anchor, a new record was a certainty, but “Burly” raced as if every second counted and finished off Oregon’s great run with an anchor split of 3:57.7.  Burleson made his 2nd Olympic final in 1964, finishing 5th in Tokyo..

New Zealand regained the WR when it ran 16:02.8 in 1972, but Oregon’s mark stood as the Collegiate Record for 37-years until Arkansas ran 16:07.96 at the 1999 Penn Relays. Michigan improved the record to 16:04.54 at the 2005 Penn Relays, but the Ducks took back the record when they ran 16:03.24 in 2009. The CR was taken to another level in 2024 when Villanova (15:51.91), Virginia (15:52.30), and Georgetown (15:52.56) broke through the 16-minute barrier at the Penn Relays.

Burleson was inducted into the U.S. Hall of Fame in December, 2010. https://www.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=45597&do=news&news_id=204607

1962–There was another record performance on the same day on the other side of the country. Running at home in a dual meet against the Quantico Marines, Villanova’s Frank Budd, who had set a World Record in the 100-yard dash (9.2) the previous year, ran 20-flat to tie Dave Sime’s World Record for 220-Yards on a straightaway. Budd also won the 100y in 9.3 to match Sime’s fastest 1-day double.

1973—19-year old Steve Williams ran 9.1 at the West Coast Relays in Fresno, California, to join Bob Hayes, Harry Jerome, Jim Hines, Charlie Greene, and John Carlos as a World Record holder at 100-yards.

The 6’-3” (1.90+) Williams, who was ranked among the top-5 in the world in the 100-meters by Track & Field News from 1973-1978 (#1 in ’73 and ’75, and #1 in the 200 in ‘73), was inducted into the National Hall of Fame in 2013.

https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/steve-williams

1973—With Rick Wohlhuter contributing a 1:44.8 anchor, the University of Chicago Track Club (UCTC), set a World Record of 7:10.4 in the 2-mile relay at the Martin Luther King International Freedom Games in Durham,NC. Preceding Wohlhuter were Tom Bach (1:50.5), Ken Sparks (1:47.1), and Lowell Paul (1:48.0).

Rick Wolhuter, photo from Track & Field News, June 1974

1984–World Record holder Joan Benoit (Samuelson) won the first U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials for women (2:31:04) in, appropriately enough, Olympia, Washington, only 2-1/2 weeks after undergoing knee surgery. Joining her on the U.S. team were Julie Brown (2:31:41) and Julie Isphording (2:32:26). 16-year old Cathy Schiro, a junior at Dover(NH) H.S., finished 9th, setting a  prep record of 2:34:24. Benoit would go on to win the inaugural Olympic Marathon for women in L.A. later in the year

Joan Benoit (Samuelson) won the 1983 Boston Marathon in 2:22.43 WR, shown here with Mark Bossardet to her left, photo from Boston Athletic Association

Other notable finishers(and some of their accomplishments):

  1.  Lisa Rainsberger (2:33:10): winner—Boston (1985), Chicago (1988,1989), also 4th at the 1988 and 1992 Trials
  2.  Margaret Groos (2:33:38): former World Indoor Record holder—5000m
  3.  Nancy Ditz (2:33:58): 1988 Olympian
  4.  Patti Catalano (2:36:13): 4-time winner of the Honolulu Marathon; member of the National Distance Running Hall of

                                                Fame

  1.  Jenny Spangler (2:40:18): 1996 Olympian
  2.  Kim Merritt (2:43:31): Winner—New York (1975), Boston (1976)

            Placing 168th in 3:00:28 was Jaqi Hansen, the woman who led the fight to have the Women’s Marathon added to the Olympic program! For Hansen, who set two World Records in the Marathon in the mid-1970s, it was her 4th marathon in as many months.

            A celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the race was held in Olympia in 2024, with many of the original participants in attendance.

https://www.chronline.com/stories/olympia-sport-look-back-on-trailblazing-1984-womens-olympic-marathon-trials,341331

https://www.facebook.com/OlympiaTrialsLegacy/

Results: http://www.marathonguide.com/news/exclusives/USAWomenOlympicTrials_2008/USAOlympicMarathonTrialsHistory.cfm

Kenny Moore’s Sports Illustrated story: https://vault.si.com/vault/1984/05/21/a-joyous-journey-for-joan

T&F News Cover(June): https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/1984_06.jpg

1985 SI Article: https://vault.si.com/vault/1985/03/04/her-life-is-in-apple-pie-order

Joan Benoit Samuelson, Emily Sisson, Fiona O’Keeffe, Dakota Lindwurm, U.S. Olympic Team Marathon Trials
Orlando, Florida
February 3, 2024, photo by Kevin Morris

2002–Tennessee sophomore Justin Gatlin set a Collegiate Record of 19.86 for 200-Meters at the SEC Championships in Starkville,Mississippi. The previous record of 19.87 was co-held by Mississippi State’s Lorenzo Daniel (1988) and Florida’s John Capel (1999). Gatlin also won the 100 (10.11) and ran the 2nd leg on the winning 4×100 relay (38.66).

Gatlin’s 19.86 is still =#8 on the All-Time College list.

https://trackandfieldnews.com/tfn-lists/collegiate-all-time-list-men/

2006—Gatlin  ran 9.77 for 100-meters in Doha to ostensibly equal Asafa Powell’s World Record, but the mark was never ratified due to his subsequent 4-year suspension.

https://www.worldathletics.org/news/news/gatlins-time-corrected-to-977-equals-100m-w

http://people.com/sports/olympic-runner-justin-gatlins-troubled-history/

https://www.worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/justin-gatlin-176453

2017—Texas A&M senior Lindon Victor  scored 8539 points at the SEC Championships in Columbia, South Carolina, to better his own Collegiate Record of 8472, set earlier in the season, but there was too much wind assistance in the relevant events for the score to be accepted as a new record.

(10.64(+3.6), 24-1½/7.35(+2.1), 49-9¾/15.18, 6-8¾/2.05, 48.74 [4365],

14.45(+1.8), 181‑2/55.22, 15-5/4.70, 226-3/68.97, 4:55.91 [4174]);

2018—Tori Franklin set an American Record of 48-8  ¼ (14.84) in the Triple Jump in Baie-Mahault, Guadaloupe. The previous mark of 48-3  ¼ (14.71) was set by Keturah Orji in 2016. Franklin also had a 2nd mark of 48-6 (14.78) that was better than Orji’s AR. Orji would regain the record when she jumped 48-11  ½ (14.92) in April, 2021.

 

Born On This Day*

Andy Downin  52 (1973)  2001 U.S. Champion—1500-meters… Most of the pre-meet attention centered on prep Alan

             Webb, who had recently broken Jim Ryun’s H.S. Mile Record, but it was Downin who surprised everyone with his

             come-from-behind win. (Webb finished 5th)

         All-American at Georgetown—5th in the 1500 at the 1996 NCAA Championships

         PBs-3:36.70 (2001), 3:56.25 (2001)

         Co-Founder of the Millenium Mile (with brother Matt and John Mortimer)

         Senior Manager – Global Running Marketing-New Balance

         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wyj2foMZQiU

         https://mstca.org/hall-of-fame/athletes/49

         http://www.millenniumrunning.com/millenniummile/history

Lisa Martin-Ondieki—Australia  65 (1960)—1988 Olympic silver medalist—Marathon (7th in 1984/DNF-1992, 1996)

         2-time Commonwealth Games Champion (1986,1990)

         Winner 1992 NY City Marathon; PBs: 31:11.72 (’92), 2:23:51 (1988)

         Former 400-meter hurdler

         Athletics-Australia Hall of Fame

       https://www.athletics.com.au/hall-of-fame-directory/lisa-ondieki/

         Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Martin

         http://www.time-to-run.com/marathon/athletes/women/lisa-ondieki

         https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/64547

Tom Byers  70 (1955) 1974 U.S. Junior and Senior Champion—1500m (2nd to New Zealand’s Rod Dixon at the

            Senior Championships); PBs: 3:35.75, 3:50.84 (1982)

         All-American at Ohio State—3rd in the 1000-meters at the 1976 NCAA Indoor Championships

         Surprise winner at 1500-meters in Oslo in 1981 after the rest of the world-class field (Ovett, Walker, Scott, Cram)

              let him get too far ahead. Turns out the chase pack was given Byers’ splits as their own (1:54.9, 2:53.0), so they

              thought he was going out at an insane pace and would come back to them. By the time they realized what was

               happening, it was too late, Byers winning in 3:39.01, while Ovett’s strong finish brought him in a close 2nd in

               3:39.53.

               https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Byers_(athlete)

               T&F News Interview: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/tom_byers.pdf

               https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/honors/hall-of-fame-inductees/tom-byers/49

               https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1686710904693297

               The Pacemaker That Beat the Best (Includes race video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7TQUuB53Wg

               https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/27/sports/byers-beats-ovett-in-1500.html

Renate Stecher—Germany  75 (1950)—6-time Olympic medalist

         Gold—1972 (100,200), 1976  (4×100)

         Silver—1972 (4×100), 1976 (100)

         Bronze—1976 (200)

         Former World Record holder in the 100 (11.07/1972) and 200 (22.40/’72, 22.38/’73)

         Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renate_Stecher

         https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69705

         Videos:

         www.bing.com/videos/search?q=%22renate+stecher%22&qpvt=%22ranata+stecher%22&FORM=VDRE

         WR Progressions

         100: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_100_metres_world_record_progression

         200: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_200_metres_world_record_progression

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