by RBR Admin
Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com)
This Day in Track & Field–June 19
1924–Finland’s Paavo Nurmi set two World Records in Helsinki, running 3:52.6 for 1500-meters and, 50 minutes later, 14:28.2 for 5000-meters.
https://worldathletics.org/heritage/news/paavo-nurmi-finland-1500m-5000m-world-record-double-1924
WR Progressions:
1500: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1500_metres_world_record_progression#Men_.28Outdoors.29
5000: https://worldathletics.org/records/by-progression/13873
1928—From the Facebook page of the late Mike Fanelli
Famed Welsh poet Dylan Thomas won a schoolboy mile at the age of 12
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10223307203244129&set=a.1178418256407
1937–Competing at the 5th Annual Princeton Invitation, Archie San Romani (4:07.2) was the winner of the Mile in a blanket finish over Don Lash (4:07.2) and Glenn Cunningham (4:07.4). 4th was Italy’s Luigi Beccali (4:09.6), the 1932 Olympic champion at 1500-meters. Winner of the 2-mile in 9:28.2 was Lou Zamperini and the winner of the Pole Vault was Cornelius Warmerdam (14-0 [4.27]).
It can’t be confirmed, but a possible spectator at the meet was Alan Turing, who was working on his Ph.D at Princeton at the time. Turing, the subject of the hit movie “The Imitation Game”, had shown some promise as a runner as a youngster, and it’s not too much of a stretch to think that he might have taken a break from his studies to watch such an event on the Tiger campus.
Thanks to the movie’s success, Turing’s career as a brilliant scientist, his role in deciphering the German Enigma code during World War II, and his tragic end, have become well-known aspects of his life, but few are aware that he became a decent distance runner once the war was over, getting his marathon best down to an impressive 2:46:03!
Read more about Turing’s running career at http://www.nuts.org.uk/trackstats/alanturing.htm
Mile Video: http://tinyurl.com/SanRomaniLash
1937—Pittsburgh sophomore John Woodruff won the 1st of his 3 titles in the 880y and set a Meet Record of 1:50.3 at the NCAA Championships in Berkeley,CA (June 18,19).
Michigan senior Sam Stoller (9.7) won the 100y over Columbia junior Ben Johnson (9.8), who won the 220y (straight) in a blanket finish over Stanford senior Jack Weiershauser and Washington State sophomore Lee Orr (all 3 timed in 21.3).
USC’s “Heavenly Twins”, Bill Sefton (14-8 ¾ [4.49]/Meet Record) and Earle Meadows (14-4 ¾ [4.39]), finished 1-3 in the Pole Vault after sharing the title the previous two years. They also shared the World Record of 14-11 (4.55), which they set in May.
Notre Dame sophomore Greg Rice set a Meet Record of 9:14.2 in the 2-mile and finished 4th in the Mile.
Georgia senior Spec Towns won the 120y-Hurdles in 14.3 (won the 110m-Hurdles in 1936).
USC (62) won the team title over Stanford (50)
NY Times(For subscribers):
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1937/06/20/118975566.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
Footnote
100y winner Sam Stoller, along with Marty Glickman, was at the center of a controversy at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin when they were told at the last minute by Lawson Robertson, the U.S. head coach, that they were being replaced on the 4×100 team. There was speculation at the time (and even today) that they were dropped because they were Jewish and that U.S. officials had bowed to pressure from their German hosts, who didn’t want to suffer the embarrassment of seeing Jewish athletes win medals. Robertson denied the allegations, saying that he just wanted the fastest men on the team (Glickman and Stoller had finished 5th and 6th, respectively, in the 100 at the U.S. Trials). The team that did run won the gold medal and set a World Record. Jesse Owens, who earned his 4th gold medal of the Games as one of the “substitutes” on the team, had reportedly said to Robertson, “Coach, I’ve won my 3 gold medals. I’m tired. I’ve had it. Let Marty and Sam run, they deserve it”. Owens and Stoller had become friends while competing against each other throughout their high school and college careers. Read much more at the links below.
Results:https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1937.pdf
Stoller: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Stoller
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/10/sports/50-years-later-bitter-memories-of-the-berlin-games.html
1948—Host Minnesota (46) outscored USC (41-1 ½) to win its only team title at the NCAA Championships in Minneapolis (June 18,19).
USC junior Mel Patton won the 100 (10.4) and 200 (20.75w) and went on to win Olympic gold in the 200 and 4×100 relay in London later in the year (5th in the 100).
Ohio State Junior Mal Whitfield, winner of the 1st of his two titles in the 800 (1:51.1), would also win Olympic gold in London (and again in 1952).
Another London gold medalist-to-be was San Diego State senior Willie Steele, who won his 2nd NCAA title in the Long Jump (24-11 ¼ [7.60]).
Minnesota’s own Fortune Gordien won his 3rd title in the Discus and would win the bronze medal in London (silver in 1956).
Michigan junior Charles Fonville, who had set a World Record of 58-3/8 (17.68) in April, repeated as the winner of the Shot Put (54-7 [16.635]).
Wisconsin sophomore Don Gehrmann won the 1500-meters in 3:54.3 and would win the Mile the next two years.
Stanford sophomore Bud Held won the 1st of his 3 titles in the Javelin (209-8 [63.90]).
Villanova junior Browning Ross set a Meet Record of 9:25.7 in the 2-mile.
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1948.pdf
NY Times(For subscribers)
Day 2: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1948/06/20/96427590.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1956—Great Britain’s Gordon Pirie ran 13:36.8 in a heavy rain in Bergen, Norway to break Sandor Iharos’s World Record of 13:40.8.
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_3000_metres_world_record_progression
http://www.racingpast.ca/reviews.php?id=13
1965— For the 1st time, 2 schools tied for the team title (Oregon and USC both scored 32 points) at the NCAA Championships, held this year in Berkeley,CA (June 17-19)
Nebraska sophomore Charlie Greene won the 1st of his 3 titles in the 100-yard dash (9.4).
It was an all-senior affair in the 880y, with St.John’s Tom Farrell (1:48.1) winning his 2nd title (800m-1964) over Villanova’s Noel Caroll (1:48.9), Ohio U’s Darnell Mitchell (1:49.2) and Seton Hall’s George Germann (1:49.2). 5th was Oregon sophomore Wade Bell, who would win the 880y in 1967. Farrell finished 5th in the 800 at the previous year’s Olympics in Tokyo and would win the bronze medal in 1968 in Mexico City.
Maryland sophomore Frank Costello won the High Jump (6-11 [2.11]) and would later become the head coach at his alma mater.
San José State (40.5), with sophomore Tommie Smith on the anchor, won the 440y-relay over Nebraska (40.9), which was anchored by Charlie Greene.
Montana junior Doug Brown won the 6-mile on Thursday (6-17) with a Collegiate Record of 27:59.2, then came back two days later to set a Meet Record of 13:40.2 in the 3-mile.
The wildest race of the day was the Mile, where UCLA junior Bob Day set a “suicidal” pace, but still managed to hold on for the win.
Villanova senior Tom Sullivan, the one-time H.S. Record holder, finished 9th and offers an insider’s remembrance of the race:
“The late Bob Day’s splits were 55.3, 1:53.4, and 2:54.7 for the first three laps, much faster than the pace in World Record races!
It was my last college race and I was feeling great and determined to run on the inside of lane 2 behind leaders and kick with them at the gun lap. Unfortunately I picked the “tongue blade” marked #12 which meant I was the furthest from the pole (no curved starting line in those days). There was a tent 110 m from the start, where all 12 of us had to report and wait for about 15 minutes before the race started and then they announced us one by one. We were supposed to run down the straightaway to the starting line. Being the last to be announced I did not want to sprint 110m, so I jogged and walked slowly and the judges were waving their hands and yelling to move faster. I barely put my foot on the line when I heard “set” and gun.
Bob Day sprinted to the lead and the pack thinned out around the turn. By the first 440, Day was already alone 35-40 yards into the turn. I believed I heard 59 for my split. My race plan was done, there was no “pack”, just a single line of eleven runners down the back straightway. By the 880-yard mark, Day was already around the turn with a 1:53.4 split. I believe I ran around 2:01 but was struggling to pick up the pace. At ¾ mi, Day was already in the final straightaway with #2, #3 runners still 25 yards behind him and #4 another 10 yards further back and the rest of the 8 of us still in single line with 5-10yds separating us.
Day held on with a gutsy 67 sec last 440 yard.s, winning in 4:01.8. He succeeded in his plan to take the kick out of (Oregon State’s) Morgan Groth (the 2-time defending champion) and everyone else.
I finished 9th in 4:11.5 (probably ran a 67 sec last 440 myself).
My amateur running career was over as I returned to Chicago to start medical school in two months. It was the best eight years of my life with all good memories and achievements that “we” earned together (my coaches and I).
Bob Day’s passing (in 2012) was sad and much too early. He earned that Gold Medal the old fashion way, without pacers. He was determined, confident, and executed his plan successfully.”
Tom
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1965.pdf
1965–Records were set at the Golden West Inv. by two of the biggest names in the sport. Jim Ryun (Wichita East,KS) set meet records in the Mile (4:04.3) and the 2-mile (9:04.0), and Bob Beamon (Jamaica,NY) bettered his own year-old National Record in the Triple Jump (49-6 [15.085]) with a leap of 50-3 ¼ (15.32).
GW History: http://goldenwestinvitational.org/golden-west-history/
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1965/06/28/a-bunch-of-the-boys-were-whooping-it-up
NY Times(for subscribers): https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/06/20/119076867.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1965—Janell Smith, a senior at Fredonia H.S. in Kansas, lowered her American Records for 440-yards/400-meters by running 54.3 in Beatrice, Nebraska. Smith was a semi-finalist in the 400 at the previous year’s Olympics in Tokyo.
Sports Illustrated Vault(Cover Story): https://vault.si.com/vault/1965/05/10/this-is-the-way-the-girls-go
Kansas Sports Hall of Fame
Induction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNKMf1Bd9ZQ
http://www.parsonssun.com/sports/article_dfd73ad7-c4e4-5a28-91a6-9b064d64899b.html
1969—Villanova’s Erv Hall ran 13.2 In the first round of the 120y-hurdles at the NCAA Championships in Knoxville, Tennessee to equal the World Record. He would win the final the following day in 13.3.
1971—4 future Hall-of-Famers were among the winners at the NCAA Championships in Seattle (June 17-19).
- Villanova seniorMarty Liquori won the Mile for the 3rd year in a row and set a Meet Record of 3:57.6.
- Oregon sophomore
- Steve Prefontaine(13:20.1) won the 2nd of his 4 straight titles in the 3-mile/5000-1972.
- Southern University sophomoreRod Milburnwon the 120y-Hurdles in 13.6. He would win again in 1973, a year
after winning the gold medal at the 1972 Olympics.
- Brigham Young’sRalph Mann(49.6) won the 440y-Hurdles for the 3rd year in a row. He set a World Record of
48.8 while winning the 1970 title and would win the silver medal at the 1972 Olympics.
Another 3-time winner was Kansas senior Karl Salb (66-11 ½ [20.41]) in the Shot Put
Rice sophomore Dave Roberts (17-6 ½ [5.35]) won the 1st of his 3 titles in the Pole Vault.
UCLA junior John Smith won the 440y in 45.3 and ran a 45.1 split on the 3rd leg of the winning Mile Relay. He
would set a World Record of 44.5 for 440-yards the following week at the U.S. Championships.
Sign of the times. Washington’s Cary Feldmann (259-0 [78.94]) won the Javelin, but missing from the competition
was defending champion Bill Skinner, who was dropped from the Tennessee team because he wouldn’t shave his
newly-grown moustache! And a clean-shaven Skinner was on the cover of the 1971 NCAA T&F Guide!
UCLA (52) topped USC (42) for the team title.
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1971.pdf
NCAA History
Past Champions(Through 2022)
Men: http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/track_outdoor_champs_records/2022/D1Men.pdf
Women: http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/track_outdoor_champs_records/2022/D1Women.pdf
USTFCCCA: http://www.ustfccca.org/meets-results/meet-history?series=3369
T&F News
https://trackandfieldnews.com/historical-results/a-history-of-the-ncaa-championships-1921-2018/
1973—Kenya’s Ben Jipcho set a World Record of 8:19.8 in the Steeplechase in Helsinki. The previous mark of 8:20.8 had been set by Sweden’s Anders Gärderud on the same track the previous year.
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steeplechase_(athletics)
1977–Three American Relay Records were set in Bourges, France. Mike Slack (3:45.4), Phil “Tiny” Kane (3:41.5), Steve Lacy (3:49.1), and Mike Manke (3:46.0) combined for a new mark in the Men’s 4×1500 (15:03.0), Evelyn Ashford, Brenda Morehead, Chandra Cheeseborough, and Sandra Howard ran 1:33.3 in the 4×200, and Julie Brown, Sue Latter, Johanna Foreman, and Wendy Knudson ran 8:21.2 in the 4×800. (From T&F News)
1982—Stephanie Hightower won the 100-meter hurdles in 12.86 at the U.S. Championships in Knoxville, Tennessee, equaling Deby LaPlante’s American Record.
(Full report on June 20)
1983—The unquestionable star of the U.S. Championships in Indianapolis (June 17-19), the qualifying meet for the inaugural World Championships in Helsinki, was Carl Lewis.
King Carl won his 3rd straight titles in the 100 and Long Jump, running 10.27 into a strong headwind, and leaping out
to 28-10 ¼ (8.79), the 2nd-longest jump in history (at the time).
His original plan was to stop jumping after the first round so he could rest for the semi and final of the 200. He was that confident that he would jump far enough to secure a place on the World team. But after coming so close to Bob Beamon’s 15-year old World Record of 29-2 ½ (8.90), he decided to take one more jump. It was another great effort,
28-7 (8.71), but that would be it for the day.
Knowing that he was on the U.S. team in his two favorite events, Lewis could now concentrate on the 200. He won his semi-final with a windy 20.15, then put on a show in the final. Taking advantage of the wide turns on the IUPUI track, Lewis was in the lead as the field straightened out for the homestretch, and coasted to the finish, even raising his arms in celebration about 10 meters from the finish. His time? 19.75—an American Record and only .03s off Pietro Mennea’s World Record of 19.72, which was set in the altitude of Mexico City. There was little doubt in anyone’s mind that he would have had the WR if he had run hard through the finish, but Lewis wasn’t dwelling on what could have been. “I’m .01 from the world record in the 100, I’m .03 from the world record in the 200, I’m four inches from the world record in the Long Jump, so there’s terrific suspense. It’s still fun to compete.”
Lewis would be joined on the U.S. team by sister Carol, who won the Women’s Long Jump with a personal best leap of 22-8 (6.91). She became the first American to better 22-feet on all six of her jumps.
Setting the stage for her historic double win in Helsinki, Mary Decker (Slaney) won the 1500 (4:03.50) and 3000 (8:38.36).
Sitting in 6th place as the bar in the High Jump was raised to 7-6 (2.29), Dwight Stones cleared on his first attempt to secure his 6th U.S. title and a berth on the World Championship team.
Other notable winners included Evelyn Ashford (100-11.24, 200-21.88) and Edwin Moses (400h-47.84)
In a change from previous years, international athletes, such as Ireland’s Eamonn Coghlan, were no longer permitted to compete at the U.S. Championships.
Top 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_USA_Outdoor_Track_and_Field_Championships
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1983/06/27/flying-far-and-fast-for-a-fabulous-triple
1983—East Germany’s Ramona Neubert scored 6836 points in Moscow to set her 3rd World Record in the Heptathlon (1981-6716, 1982-6773).
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_heptathlon_world_record_progression
1984–The U.S. Olympic Trials traditionally provide great races and performances, but few could have predicted the outcome of the Men’s 800 at this year’s edition, held at the L.A. Coliseum, which would be the site of that summer’s Olympic Games. Less than three weeks earlier, at the NCAA Championships, Eastern Michigan sophomore Earl Jones had finished 2nd with a PB of 1:45.79, while Villanova junior John Marshall, who had run a personal best of 1:46.45 earlier in the season, didn’t even make the final. Both would play major roles in what turned out to be the greatest 2-lapper in history (at the time).
Jones followed his game-plan perfectly, setting a fast pace of 50.2 through the first 400-meters, with pre-meet favorites Don Paige and James Robinson trailing towards the back of the pack. Jones was still leading as the field came off the final turn, and barely held off Johnny Gray’s late rush as both were credited with an American Record of 1:43.74, breaking Rick Wohlhuter’s 10-year old mark of 1:43.91.
The race for the 3rd and final spot on the U.S. team was as dramatic as they come at the Trials. Marshall, fulfilling the great promise he had shown since his prep days at Plainfield H.S. in New Jersey, was running the race of his life, and his lean at the finish barely gave him the edge over the fast-closing Robinson, while Paige finished a disheartened 5th (1:45.17). Marshall and Robinson were both timed in 1:43.92, marking the first time in history that not only three, but four men had broken 1:44 in the same race.
Jones backed up his stunning performance by winning the bronze medal at the Olympics, but his career was sadly cut short just a couple of years later when he was severely injured in an auto accident.
On the same day at the Trials, Chandra Cheeseborough set an American Record of 49.28 to win the Women’s 400-meters over Valerie Brisco, who would go on to win Olympic gold in the 200, 400, and 4×400 relay (Cheeseborough won silver in the 400, gold in the 4×400).
Others making the U.S. team(and medals won at the Olympics):
Men’s 110-Meter Hurdles: Greg Foster (13.21/silver), Tonie Campbell (13.34), Roger Kingdom (13.36/gold)
Men’s 10k:Paul Cummings(27:59.08), Craig Virgin (28:02.27), Pat Porter (28:03.86)
Men’s Long Jump: Carl Lewis (28-7[8.71]/gold), Larry Myricks (27-3/4[8.25]), Mike McRae (26-9[8.15])
Getting a few hours rest after winning his heat and ¼-final of the 200, Lewis got his winning jump in the 1st round,
then called it quits after a run-through in the 2nd round.
Women’s 800: Kim Gallagher (1:58.50/silver), Ruth Wysocki (1:59.34), Robin Campbell (1:59.77)
Women’s Javelin:Karin Smith (200-9 [61.18]), Lynda Sutfin (190-7 [58.08]), Cathy Sulinsk i(182-6 [55.64])
American Record holder Kate Schmidt, trying to make her 4th Olympic team, couldn’t fully overcome recent injuries
and finished 4th (179-1[54.58]).
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1984/07/02/trials-and-jubilation
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1984.pdf
1996—The Women’s Pole Vault wasn’t yet on the Olympic program, or even an official U.S. Championship event, but Stacy Dragila took advantage of an exhibition vault at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta by setting an American Record of
13-9 ¼ (4.20).
Michael Johnson won the Men’s 400-Meters in 43.44, with Butch Reynolds (43.91) also getting under 44-seconds. Johnson would win gold when he returned to Atlanta for the Olympics.
Johnny Gray (1:44.00) celebrated his 36th birthday by winning the Men’s 800 and was joined on the team by Brandon Rock (1:44.64) and Tony Parrilla (1:44.86), who passed a frustrated Rich Kenah (1:45.20) in the homestretch.
World Record holder Mike Powell went from 6th to 1st with his final leap of 27-6 ½ (8.39) to win the Men’s Long Jump. 2nd was Joe Greene (27-4 1/2w [8.34]) and 3rd was Carl Lewis (27-2 ¾ [8.30], already on the team in the 100. Lewis would win his 4th Olympic gold in the LJ to match Al Oerter’s feat in the Discus. Greene would win the bronze medal.
American Record holder Lance Deal won the Hammer Throw (249-4 [76.00]) and would win the silver medal at the Olympics.
Making the team in the Women’s 400 were Maicel Malone (50.52), Jearl Miles(Clark/50.62), and Kim Graham (50.87). All 3 would win Olympic gold in the 4×400.
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1996.pdf
2012—Russia’s Sergey Morgunov jumped 27-4 ¾ (8.35) at the Russian Junior Championships in Cheboksary to set the current World Junior Record in the Long Jump.
