by RBR Admin
Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com), used with permission.
This Day in Track & Field–May 30
1975 (50th Anniversary)–Steve Prefontaine died when his car overturned as he was returning home from a post-meet party shortly after running his final race at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
From Tom Jordan, the author of “Pre!” and the former director of the Pre Classic: “That I both wrote the book and ended up the director of the Prefontaine Classic sometimes seems almost mildly mystical to me. It’s not like I set out to become the meet director of the Pre Classic. I wrote the book while working at Track & Field News in California in 1977, and didn’t move to Eugene until 1982”.
“When the position came open in 1984, the Oregon Track Club asked me to take over, and I’ve been doing it ever since (he retired after the 2021 meet). That it was a meet named after Steve Prefontaine made it more than just a job. I really did want to see it reflect the impact he had upon my generation, and to have it help keep his memory alive. Thanks to the great support from Nike, we’ve accomplished that.” Interested folks can purchase the 2nd edition of the PRE! book, which has a totally different set of photos than the first volume, from amazon.com http://tinyurl.com/mcq5f4
Related links:
The Pre Chronicles-Taken from the pages of Track & Field News, this 19-part series covers Pre’s career from the beginning to the end. This final installment includes links to the previous 18 chapters:
https://trackandfieldnews.com/the-pre-chronicles-part-19-the-final-lap/
40 Years Later: http://grantland.com/features/steve-prefontaine-death/
Tribute Site: http://myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=Prefontaine_Fredricksberg_Academy_03
“Without Limits”-Behind the Scenes:
http://without-limits.warnerbros.com/cmp/realaudio/main.html
“Fire on the Track”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnFTtodGHvk
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1260355/
50 Years Later
https://www.klcc.org/sports/2025-05-28/steve-prefontaine-his-allure-runs-strong-50-years-later
https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a64673912/steve-prefontaine-the-front-runner/
1896—Georgetown’s Bernie Wefers, a future Hall-of-Famer, won the first of his two IC4A 100-yard dash titles in New York with a time of 9-4/5 to tie the World & American Record that he already shared with others. Wefers, who also won the 220y on this day, won the 100y-220y double three years in a row at the U.S. Championships (1895-1897).
https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/bernie-wefers
1902—Martin Sheridan, another Hall-of-Famer-to-be, set a World Record of 125-3 (38.18) in the Discus in New York.
HOF Bio: https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/martin-sheridan
1908–It doesn’t hold the same place in history as another British barrier-breaker (Roger Bannister), but Harold Wilson was clocked in 3:59.8 in London to become the first man to run 1500-meters in under 4-minutes.
Wilson (not to be confused with the later British Prime Minister of the same name) went on later in the season to win Olympic silver in the 1500. (Won gold in the 3-mile team race). He ran for Hallamshire Harriers, the same club as Seb Coe, who emulated Wilson decades later by breaking the 1500 WR but also winning TWO Olympic 1500s, while Wilson could “only” finish second to American Mel Sheppard in 1908.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_A._Wilson
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69607
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1500_metres_world_record_progression
1911—Dan Ahearn set the first IAAF-recognized World Record in the Triple Jump with a leap of 50-11 (15.52) at Celtic Park in Queens,NY.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Ahearn
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_jump_world_record_progression
1931—USC senior Vic Williams ran 47.4 at the IC4A Championships at Franklin Field in Philadelphia to equal Ben Eastman’s World Record for 440-yards. Williams would win the NCAA title a week later in Chicago.
1943–Holland’s Fanny Blankers-Koen bettered the existing World Record in the Women’s High Jump 3-times at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam, clearing 5-5 ¾ (1.67m) and 5-6 ½ (1.69m) before topping out at 5-7 ¼ (1.71m).
NY Times Obituary: http://tinyurl.com/28kovpa
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women’s_high_jump_world_record_progression
1954-Czech Emil Zátopek set a World Record of 13:57.2 in the 5000 meters at a meet in Colombes, France.
As Pat Butcher writes at the link below, it was a record that had eluded the legendary Zátopek, who almost wasn’t allowed back into France after some comments he made after returning from an earlier trip were construed as criticism of the country!
Two days after setting the 5k record, Zátopek stopped in Brussels on the way home and set the last of his five World Records in the 10,000-meters (28:54.2)!
“But it was the 5000 meters world record that pleased him most, principally because (his wife) Dana had been chiding him about his failure to break it for some considerable time; and had even promised to bow down to him publicly should he break the record. But when she was one of the group that greeted his plane back in Prague, she asked timidly if she might not kow-tow back at home. He insisted that she keep her promise to do it publicly. As he recorded in their autobiography, ‘And so Dana really bowed down in front of me, all the way down to the ground. And because there were so many photographers around, it was in all the newspapers the following day.‘And I have saved the pictures, just in case anyone tells me that I never achieved anything through running’.”
To buy QUICKSILVER – The Mercurial Emil Zátopek, go to:
https://www.amazon.com/Quicksilver-Mercurial-Pat-Butcher-author/dp/0957033222
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5000_metres
https://onceuponatimeinthevest.blogspot.com/2021/01/v-11-n-3-quicksilver-mercurial-emil.html
1959–The University of Texas, with a lineup of Wallace Wilson, Eddie Southern, Hollis Gainey, and Ralph Alspaugh, ran 39.6 at the California Relays in Modesto to break Abilene Christian’s World Record (39.7) in the 440y-relay, which had been set at the same meet the previous year.
1964—St.John’s Tom Farrell (1:49.5) upset Noel Carroll (1:49.6) on his home track at Villlanova to win the 880y at the IC4A Championships.
1968—The Oregon T.C., with a lineup of Roscoe Divine (4:03.2), Wade Bell (4:01.0), Arne Kvalheim (4:03.3), and Dave Wilborn (3:57.5/still in school!), all of whom ran for the University of Oregon, ran 16:05.0 in the 4-mile relay on their home track in Eugene. Their time bettered the World Record of 16:09.0, which was set by the University of Oregon in 1962, but it couldn’t be ratified for the following reason (from the Progression of IAAF World Records):
“…not a bona fide race and therefore not recognized. Originally a race between the University of Oregon and the Oregon T.C. had been planned, but since initially the tempo was protracted, a flash decision was made that the first runner in each case to make the exchange would be assigned to the “World Record” relay team(!) and thus against the rules”.
1969–Australia’s Derek Clayton became the first man to run under 2:09 for the Marathon when he clocked 2:08:33.6 in Antwerp, Belgium. Clayton was also the first man to break the 2:10 barrier when he ran 2:09:36.4 in Fukuoka, Japan, in 1967.
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_world_record_progression
1969—Senior Rod Milburn (Clark-Opelousas,LA) won the 120y-Hurdles at the Houston Meet of Champions in 13.7 to set a National H.S. Record for the 42” barriers. The previous mark of 13.8 was set by Richmond Flowers. Milburn went on to become one of the greatest hurdlers in history, setting World Records and winning the gold medal in the 110-hurdles at the 1972 Olympics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Milburn
1977–It was one of the great days in track, let alone H.S. track. The setting was the Eastern States Championships at St.John’s University in Jamaica,NY, and there were at least three wind gauges handy, all because of one runner–Renaldo Nehemiah, a senior at Scotch Plains-Fanwood(NJ) H.S.
It seemed every weekend produced spectacular multiple performances for the Maryland-bound Nehemiah, whether it be sprints, long jump, highs, intermediates, or relay legs. But even his most optimistic fans had to be shocked by his three races in the 120-yard hurdles on Memorial Day. He started with a 13.0 heat, a new National Record by .2s(The wind was OK). Immediately, officials measured the track, found it to be 2-3/4” short, although the track had been certified by a surveyor. Instead of remeasuring, they just extended the finish line three inches to be on the safe side for the next two rounds. Nehemiah “only” ran a wind-aided 13.1 in the semis, despite hitting a couple of hurdles. He saved his best for last, running 12.9, one of the greatest performances in H.S. history. As Elliott Denman wrote at the time, “It was a utopian performance….on, appropriately, the track on Utopia Parkway..”(From Eastern Track). Nehemiah received some excellent coaching from Jean Poquette during his high school career.
http://hurdlesfirstbeta.com/free-articles/profiles/jean-poquette-guide-great-one/
1980—Louise Ritter added ½-inch to her American Record in the High Jump by clearing 6-4 ¾ (1.95) at the T&F Association/USA Championships in Wichita,Kansas. Ritter would win Olympic gold 8 years later in Seoul and was inducted into the National Hall of Fame in 1995.
https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/louise-ritter
1981—A year to the day after Ritter’s jump, Pam Spencer took the AR away with her clearance of 6-5 ½ (1.96) at the same meet in Wichita. Spencer was a 3-time U.S. Olympian (’76,’80,’84) and a 2-time U.S. Champion (’81,’84).
(Reported at the time as 6-5 ¼, but the correct conversion from 1.96 is 6-5 ½)
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/01/sports/pam-spencer-breaks-high-jump-record.html
1981—Running on his home track at the Jumbo Elliott Memorial, named in honor of the legendary Wildcat coach, Villanova’s Sydney Maree finished 2nd to Steve Scott (3:52.26) in the Men’s Mile, setting an “in-season” Collegiate Record of 3:52.44 (Kansas’ Jim Ryun had set his two World Records of 3:51.3 and 3:51.1 after the NCAA Championships in 1966 and 1967). Next across the line were New Zealand’s John Walker (3:55.89), Craig Masback (3:55.95), Georgetown’s John Gregorek (3:57.10), and former Villanova star Eamonn Coghlan (3:58.57). Maree’s mark is still the Collegiate Outdoor Record
In other highlights, Edwin Moses (48.65) won the 400-Meter Hurdles, Jan Merrill (9:03.71) won the Women’s 3000-Meters over Francie Larrieu (9:05.84), and James Robinson ran a world-leading 1:44.63 in the Men’s 800-Meters.
https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/31/sports/scott-outkicks-maree-in-mile.html?searchResultPosition=1
1981—Nebraska senior Merlene Ottey won the 100 (11.20w) and beat UCLA’s Florence Griffith(Joyner) to win the 200 (22.78-23.11) at the AIAW Championships in Austin, Texas. The native of Jamaica set a Collegiate Record of 11.07 in her 100 semi-final (5-29).
Oregon’s Leann Warren was also a double champion, winning the 800 (2:06.07) over the Tennessee duo of Delisa Walton(Floyd/2:08.37) and Joetta Clark(2:08.79), and the 1500 (4:15.00).
Clark and Walton (51.8-anchor) helped Tennessee set a Collegiate Record in the 4×400 (3:31.70), and Walton (51.1) also anchored the Vols to a CR in the Sprint Medley (1:36.70/5-29).
Tennessee’s win over UCLA in the 4×400 clinched the team title over the Bruins (61-57).
(From T&F News)
1992—Danny Everett was the winner of the Men’s 400-meters in 45.08 at the Bruce Jenner Classic in San Jose, California.
Watching from the sidelines was a frustrated Butch Reynolds, the World Record holder (43.29) in the event, who had hoped to compete in the race.
Reynolds had been hit with a 2-year suspension by the IAAF in November, 1990, for a doping violation, a ruling he had been battling ever since. A judge in Columbus, Ohio, had issued a temporary restraining order against the IAAF that should have allowed Reynolds to compete in San Jose. However, the IAAF took a hard line on the issue, threatening to brand all of the other athletes entered in the meet as “contaminated” if Reynolds were allowed to compete.
With the Barcelona Olympics on the horizon, Meet Director Bert Bonanno, not willing to jeopardize the eligibility of everyone else, reluctantly withdrew Reynolds’ invitation!
The issue would come up again at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June. The U.S. Supreme Court backed up another restraining order, allowing Reynolds to compete. He finished 5th in the 400 final, which would ordinarily have qualified him for the 4×400 pool, but the IAAF banned him from competing at the Olympics.
Reynolds Timeline(pre-Trials/subscription required):
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-06-21-sp-1475-story.html
2009–Tyson Gay, whose 2008 Olympic dreams were cut short by an injury suffered at the U.S. Trials, returned with a vengeance at the Reebok Grand Prix at Icahn Stadium on NY’s Randall’s Island, winning the 200 in 19.58, making him the 3rd-fastest man in history at the time.
Bernard Lagat was edged in the Men’s 5000 by Kenya’s Micah Kogo (13:02.90-13:03.06). Swirling winds kept Lagat from reaching his goal of breaking Bob Kennedy’s American Record of 12:58.21.
Results: https://www.flashresults.com/2009_Meets/outdoor/ReebokGP/index.htm
All-Time List: http://www.alltime-athletics.com/m_200ok.htm
http://www.runblogrun.com/2009/05/reebok-grand-prix-simply-the-best-rgp-ever-by-larry-eder.html
David Monti’s Report: https://www.runnerspace.com/news.php?news_id=5869
2010— Chaunté (Howard) Lowe high-jumped 6-8 ¼ (2.04) in Cottbus, Germany, to break Louise Ritter’s 22-year old American Record of 6-8 (2.03m).
“I’ve been getting more consistent at the heights and I’ve been able to execute my technique a lot better in training,” Lowe told Universal Sports. “Before, I was strong enough and fast enough to get over the bar even if my technique wasn’t that sharp. But, recently we’ve really been hammering down my technique. I knew that it was going to come some day, I just didn’t know what day it would be.”
Lowe would raise the Record to its current height of 6-8 ¾ (2.05) the following month at the U.S. Championships.
The 37-year old (at the time) mother of three had hoped to qualify for her 5th U.S. Olympic team in 2021, despite being diagnosed with breast cancer and having a double mastectomy in 2019 (And a battle with Covid!). However, she could only manage to clear 5-10 ¾ (1.80) in 2021 (She was the bronze medalist at the 2008 Olympics).
https://www.si.com/olympics/2020/05/29/chaunte-lowe-breast-cancer-olympics-tokyo-track-and-field
https://www.worldathletics.org/news/news/204m-us-high-jump-record-for-lowe-in-cottbus-1
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/107100
2014—Galen Rupp ran 26:44.36 on Distance Night at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene to break his own American Record for 10,000 meters.
https://www.letsrun.com/news/2014/05/flash-galen-rupp-runs-2644-36-break-american-record/
2015—Jenny Simpson won the Women’s 1500-meters at the Prefontaine Classic in 4:00.98, while Alexa Efraimson, a senior at Camus H.S.(WA) finished 7th in 4:03.39, breaking Mary Cain’s 2-year old American Junior Record of 4:04.62, which is also the U.S. High School Record. Efraimson didn’t get credit for a new H.S. Record, since she had already signed a professional contract!
Two sections of the Women’s 100-meters produced a sensational set of times. Oregon alum English Gardner won the “B” section over unheralded Elaine Thompson of Jamaica, with both being timed in 10.84. Thompson would go on to win the 100 and 200 at the Rio Olympics in 2016, and repeated those wins at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021!
It was a blanket finish in the seeded section, with Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.81) winning over the Ivory Coast’s Muirelle Ahouré (10.81), American Tori Bowie (10.82), and Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare (10.87). SAFP was the Olympic gold medalist in the 100-Meters in 2008 and 2012.
In a battle of future Hall-of-Famers, Allyson Felix (50.09) won the 400-meters over Sanya Richards-Ross (50.25).
LetsRun Coverage: https://www.letsrun.com/events/2015-prefontaine-classic-eugene-diamond-league-track-and-field/
Results: https://preclassic.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?do=info&event_id=120&year=2015
Concession Stand at the new Hayward Field
Born On This Day*
Margaret Okayo-Lenya 49 (1976) Winner of 4 World Marathon Majors
New York-2001, 2003, Boston-2002, London-2004
PBs: 1:07:23 (2003), 2:22:31 (2003/current NY course record)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Okayo
NYRR Hall of Fame: https://www.nyrr.org/about/hall-of-fame/margaret-okayo
https://worldathletics.org/athletes/kenya/margaret-okayo-14289395
David Mack 64 (1961) 1982 NCAA Champion—800m(Oregon (6th-1980);
PBs:1:14.15/600m (1986/#7 All-Time U.S.), 1:43.35 (1985/#10-All-Time U.S.)
Life took a turn for the worse after becoming a police officer (check the links below).
He was convicted of armed robbery in connection with a bank heist and sentenced to 14 years in prison (released in 2010).
He was also linked to the killing of rapper The Notorius B.I.G., but he’s always maintained he played no role in that crime.
“For now, those chapters of Mack’s life will remain closed. There’s a biography in the works, and Mack might consider giving
his side of the story in the future”. The L.A. native, who left Oregon after his junior year, returned to Hayward Field in
2018 to see his old coach, Bill Dellinger. Read more in this Register Guard article.
http://www.streetgangs.com/police/rampart/091399_mack#sthash.ML8C05Xq.dpbs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Mack_(police_officer)
Allison Roe—New Zealand 69 (1956) Winner of the Boston and New York Marathons in 1981; PB: 2:26:46 (1981)
Inducted into the NY Road Runners(NYRR) Hall of Fame in 2019
Suffered a hamstring injury that ended her running career before having a chance to compete in the first
Olympic Marathon for women in 1984.
Later took up cycling and Triathlons. In 2017, she won a gold medal in mountain biking at the World Masters
Games.
Since 2010, she has championed health and environmental issues as an elected member of Auckland’s
Waitemata District Health Board.
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/page/allison-roe-wins-boston-marathon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZzWXLx83ng
(2012)http://www.runnersworld.com/races/allison-roe-stays-in-shape
https://www.nyrr.org/about/hall-of-fame/allison-roe
Deceased
Gale Sayers 77 (1943-Sep.23, 2020) Former National H.S. Indoor Record holder in the Long Jump (24-10 ½
[7.58/1961/OmahaCentral,NE)
Oh, and he also became one of the greatest players in NFL history!
Brother Roger was a 3-time NAIA sprint champion at Omaha(1962-100y, 1963-100y,220y)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/sports/football/gale-sayers-dead.html
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2015519-the-25-best-rookie-seasons-in-nfl-history
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gale_Sayers
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SayeGa00.htm
https://www.profootballhof.com/players/gale-sayers/
Video Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcll_wwpT6I
Wyndham Halswell—Great Britain 32 (1882-March 31, 1915) 1908 Olympic gold medalist—400 Meters
Won the race in a “walk-over”
From Olympedia:
After setting an Olympic record of 48.4 in the second round, Halswelle was easily the fastest of the qualifiers. In
the final he faced three Americans, John Carpenter, John Taylor, and William Robbins and the race resulted in
possibly the most controversial finish in Olympic track & field history.
Carpenter was drawn on the inside with Halswelle, Robbins, and Taylor outside him in that order, and after
Robbins had been involved in some over-rigorous jockeying for position, Carpenter entered the home straight
with Halswelle at his shoulder. At this point, Carpenter, in order to prevent Halswelle from passing him,
moved progressively farther towards the outside of the track, forcing Halswelle to within 18 inches of the
outside curb. By this time the British officials had seen enough and Dr. Arthur Roscoe Badger, the judge on
the final bend, ran up the track signalling the judges to break the tape. Carpenter crossed the line in an
unofficial 48.4, while Halswelle slowed to a jog.
After a lengthy inquiry on the evening the race, Carpenter was disqualified and the race was ordered to be re-
run two days later, in lanes (then termed strings, as strings separated each lane), but without Carpenter. The
precise statement was, “The judges have decided that the race is void, and order same to be re-run in strings
on Saturday next [25 July], at 12 o’clock. J. C. Carpenter is disqualified.” American officials ordered Robbins
and Taylor not to take part in the re-run and Halswelle ran alone to take the Olympic title.
Was killed in action during WWI
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69104
https://www.olympedia.org/results/56313
