by RBR Admin
Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com)
This Day in Track & Field–June 2
1916–Aware that Ted Meredith had set a World Record of 47.4 for 440-yards just a week earlier, the University of Chicago’s Henry “Binga” Dismond went after the new mark at the Western Intercollegiates in Evanston, Illinois.
Normally one to run with the competition, Dismond raced the clock this time and equalled Meredith’s time. However, since the track was measured 18-inches from the curb, and not the newly accepted (by the AAU and IAAF) norm of 12-inches, his mark was never ratified. Dismond went on to serve in the Army during World War I and enjoyed a long career as a physician in Harlem. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2594046/(Click on “Complete Article”)
Competing at the same meet, future Hall-of-Famer Robert Simpson (Missouri) won the 120y-Hurdles in 14.6, tying his best that he had run the week before at the Missouri Valley Conference meet. Neither mark was ratified as a World Record. Simpson’s brother-in-law was Earl “Tommy” Thomson, the 1920 Olympic gold medalist in the 110-meter hurdles.
1933—Jesse Owens (East Tech,OH) set a National High School Record of 24-11 ¼ (7.60) In the Long Jump at the Senate League Championships in Cleveland,Ohio. The previous mark of 24-10 (7.57) was set earlier in the season by Winfield “Skinny” Whipple (Arkadelphia, Ar). Owens also won the 100-yard dash in 9.7
1957–Just two days after he became America’s first sub-4 minute miler, Don Bowden lost his U.S. High School Record in the 1/2-mile (1:52.3) to Fordham Prep’s Tom Carroll, who ran 1:50.6 at the NY Catholic League Championships (CHSAA), which were held at Downing Stadium on Randall’s Island.
NY Times (For NY Times subscribers)
1960—Sharing the pace with László Tábori, his Santa Clara Valley Youth Village teammate, Jim Beatty pulled away on the last lap to win the 5000-meters in 13:51.7 at the Compton Relays in California (described by Sports Illustrated as the “best meet of the year”) to smash Max Truex’s American Record of 14:03.6.
The Mile featured Australia’s Herb Elliott, the World Record holder in the event (3:54.5). Slowed by a leg injury, Elliott still won the race in 3:59.2, followed by Jim Grelle in 4:00.1. Elliott would go on to win the 1500-meters at the Rome Olympics later in the year, setting a World Record of 3:35.6.
Sports Illustrated Vault:
https://vault.si.com/vault/1960/06/13/beatty-stays-with-it
1972—Two Olympic-Champions-to-be were winners at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon (June 1-3). Bowling Green junior Dave Wottle won the 1500-Meters in 3:39.7 while wearing a cap (“…it keeps the hair out of my eyes”), just as he would a few months later while winning the gold medal in the 800-meters at the Munich Olympics (and absent-mindedly kept it on during the victory ceremony).
USC freshman Randy Williams won the Long Jump with a wind-aided mark of 26-8 ¼ (8.13) and ran the lead-off leg on the winning 440y-relay. He went on to win gold in the LJ in Munich.
UCLA senior John Smith, who won the 400-Meters in 44.5 and anchored the Bruins to a win in the Mile Relay, might have been the 3rd Olympic Champion to come out of this meet, but a hamstring injury suffered in a pre-Olympic meet led to his pulling up in the final of the 400 in Munich.
Oregon junior Steve Prefontaine, pressured most of the way by Penn State’s Greg Fredericks (13:34.0), set a Meet Record of 13:31.4 in the 5000-Meters. He would finish 4th in the Olympic 5000.
Oregon State freshman Tom Woods won the High Jump with a clearance of 7-3 ¼ (2.22/Meet Record). 3rd was another freshman, UCLA’s Dwight Stones (7-2/2.185?), who would win the bronze medal in Munich.
UCLA won the team title by 33 points over L.A. rival USC (82-49).
Results: https://or.milesplit.com/meets/191281/results/344596/formatted#.Xrx1ny-ZPp4
1978—As mentioned yesterday. UCLA sophomore Greg Foster won the 110-Meter Hurdles at the NCAA Championships in Eugene (June 1-3), running 13.22 to set American and Collegiate Records. 2nd with a World Junior Record of 13.27 was Maryland freshman Renaldo Nehemiah.
There were plenty of other highlights in one of the best NCAA meets in history.
The 1500 was loaded with future stars (see below), with UC-Irvine’s Steve Scott (3:37.58) winning a fast race over East Tennessee’s Ray Flynn (3:37.66), Wisconsin’s Steve Lacy (3:37.78), Villanova’s Don Paige (3:38.86) and Sydney Maree (3:39.06), and Oregon’s Matt Centrowitz (3:39.29).
Washington State sophomore Henry Rono ran away from UTEP’s James Munyala (8:24.0-hand), the 3-time defending champion, to win the Steeplechase and set the still-standing Meet Record of 8:12.39 (breaking his own MR of 8:18.63, set in his heat!). He also set a Meet Record of 13:21.8 in his heat of the 5000, but didn’t run the final, which was won by Oregon’s Rudy Chapa (13:35.3).
USC’s Clancy Edwards set two Meet Records, winning the 100 (10.07) on Friday over Texas A&M’s Curtis Dickey (10.11), and Auburn’s Harvey Glance (10.19), and the 200 (20.16) the next day (6-3). He also ran the 3rd leg on the Trojans’ “winning” 4×100 relay team (6-3). However, Billy Mullins, who ran the 2nd leg, was later declared scholastically ineligible and the team was stripped of its title. Mullins had earlier edged Auburn’s Willie Smith in the 400 (6-3), with both being timed in 45.33, but he also lost that title. Finally, the Trojans were stripped of the team title, leaving UCLA and UTEP as co-champions.
Here is a deeper look at the star-studded 1500-meters:
1.Steve Scott (UC-Irvine-Sr) 3:37.58…set American Records in the 1500(3:31.96/’81, 3:31.76/’85) and the mile
(3:47.69/’82). Mile record lasted for 25-years (Alan Webb-3:46.91/07)
2.Ray Flynn (East Tennessee State-Sr) 3:37.68…set the Irish Mile record of 3:49.77 in 1982…currently the Director
of the Millrose Games and an athlete rep.
3.Steve Lacy (Wisconsin)-Sr 3:37.78…2-time Olympian (1980-1500, 1984-5000/10th)…ran 3:33.99(1500) and
3:54.84(mile) in 1980
4.Don Paige (Villanova-So) 3:38.86…won the NCAA 800-1500 double in 1979…won the 800 in 1980
Ranked #1 in the world in the 800 in 1980….had bests of 1:44.29 (’83) and 3:54.19(’82)
5.Sydney Maree (Villanova-Fr) 3:39.06…won the NCAA 5000 in 1979, the 1500 in 1980 and 1981/set a Collegiate
Record of 3:35.30 that lasted until New Mexico’s Josh Kerr ran 3:35.01 in 2018. Set a World Record of
3:31.24 for 1500-meters in 1983. Set an American Record of 13:01.15 in 1985. Wound up with bests of
3:29.77(’85/AR at the time) and 3:48.83 (’81)
6.Matt Centrowitz (Oregon-Sr) 3:39.29…Set an American Record of 13:12.91 for 5000-meters in 1982. 2-time
Olympian (1976-1500, 1980-5000). Ran 3:54.94 for the mile in 1982.
Results: https://or.milesplit.com/meets/189278/results/342321/formatted#.XrxTRy-ZPp4
(Distance Finals): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EwxhxwwuTU
1984—An East German lineup of Gesine Walther (49.9), Sabine Busch (48.9), Dagmar Beubauer (49.4), and Marita Koch (47.7) set a World Record of 3:15.92 in the Women’s 4×400 relay in Erfurt, Germany. The mark is still #4 on the All-Time List.
http://www.alltime-athletics.com/w4x400ok.htm
1988—UCLA senior Kevin Young won his 2nd title in the Men’s 400-Meter Hurdles and set a Collegiate Record of 47.85 at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon (June 1-4).
A 2nd CR was set by Villanova’s Vicki Huber, winner of the Women’s 3000-meters in 8:47.35. That’s still the fastest time run by a collegian outdoors.
And a 3rd CR was set by Mississippi State senior Lorenzo Daniel, who won the 200 in 19.87. Baylor sophomore Michael Johnson was a DNF. (Full report on the meet tomorrow)
‘Each year I came in with the fastest time and I disappointed everybody, including myself,’ said Daniel, who placed eighth in the event (in 1987). ‘It was mostly because I was thinking about what the other guys were going to do. This year, I forgot about that. I just felt like I was going to run a good time and not worry about any one else.”
1989—Junior Hollis Conway (Southwestern Louisiana) won the High Jump at the NCAA Championships in Provo, Utah (May 31-June 3), with a clearance of 7-9 ¾ (2.38) to break the American Record of 7-9 ¼ (2.37), which had been shared by Jerome Carter and Thomas McCants. Conway, who won the silver medal at the previous year’s Olympics in Seoul (he would win bronze in 1992) would raise the record to 7-10 (2.39) the following month.
Finishing 2nd at 7-5 ¼ (2.27) was Texas State junior Charles Austin, who would break Conway’s record with a jump of 7-10 ½ (2.40) in 1991 and then win Olympic gold in 1996.
There were also a couple of gold medalists from the Seoul Olympics on display, with Virginia sophomore Paul Ereng (1:47.50) winning his 2nd straight NCAA title in the 800 (6-2), and Peter Rono finishing a close 2nd in the 1500-meters to Kip Cheruiyot (7th in Seoul), his teammate at Mt.St.Mary’s (3:42.06-3:42.09). Arkansas’ Joe Falcon, the defending champion in the 1500, was in contention when he fell early in the race.
Taking advantage of Provo’s friendly altitude was LSU senior Dawn Sowell, who set Collegiate Records in the Women’s 100 (10.78) and 200 (22.04/6-2/both since broken). She also ran the 2nd leg on the Tigers’ 4×100 team that set a since-broken Collegiate Record of 42.50.
On Friday (6-2), three junior long jumpers also enjoyed Provo’s thin air as they produced some great marks, with Ohio State’s Joe Greene winning with a wind-aided mark of 27-7 ¼ (8.41) over Houston’s Leroy Burrell (27-5 ½ [8.37/meet record]) and LSU’s Llewellyn Starks (26-10[8.18]).
There were a number of athletes who were completing or continuing winning streaks.
Villanova senior Vicki Huber won her 3rd straight NCAA title in the 3000-meters (6-2/9:06.96). Huber had finished 6th in the Olympic 3000 in 1988.
Wisconsin junior Suzy Favor (4:15.83) won the 3rd of her four titles in the 1500-meters.
Arkansas junior Edrick Floréal, currently the head coach at Texas, won the 2nd of his three titles in the Triple Jump (56-8 ¾ [17.29]).
Texas sophomore Patrik Bodén, another 3-peater-to-be, won the first of his three titles in the Javelin (6-2) with a throw of 255-4 (77.82).
Houston senior Jolanda Jones, winner of the heptathlon in 1986 and 1987 (redshirt in 1988), won her specialty for the 3rdtime with a score of 6022 points.
LSU swept the team titles, the women almost doubling runnerup UCLA’s score (86-47), while the men won by only two points over Texas A&M (53-51).
Results: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I_cV3okgqGDESL0_2S4HMWA8hqnp90nG/view
Also
Men: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1989.pdf
Women: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1989w.pdf
1995—UCLA senior John Godina was a double winner at the NCAA Championships (May 31-June 3) in Knoxville, Tennessee, winning his 2nd title in the Discus (202-4[61.67?]) on the 1st day of competition (5-31) and his 1st in the Shot Put on Saturday, setting a Collegiate Record of 72-2 ¼ (22.00). Godina had finished 7th, 2nd, and 3rd in the Shot the 3 previous years, with Georgia’s Brent Noon winning each time. His bid for a 4th title ended with a 2nd-place finish here
(68-9 ¾[20.97). Ironically, another Bruin, John Brenner, also ended a 3-year winning streak in the Shot Put, beating SMU’s Michael Carter at the 1984 NCAA Championships. Oh-and he had also previously won the Discus!
Godina went on to win the 1st of his 3 World Championships titles in Gothenburg, Sweden, later in the season, and won Olympic silver the following year in Atlanta.
George Mason’s Diane Guthrie-Gresham set the current Collegiate Record of 6,527 points in the Heptathlon. The native of Jamaica also finished 2nd in the Long Jump (6-2/22-1/4[6.71]).
USC’s Balázs Kiss won the 3rd of his 4 NCAA titles in the Hammer Throw (5-31) with a toss of 261-3 (79.62). He would win Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996.
D’Andre Hill won the 100 (11.11), finished 6th in the 200, and anchored LSU to a win the 4×100 (43.10) to lead the Tigers to its 9th(!) consecutive Women’s team title. The Tigers would win again the next two years. Arkansas won their 4th straight Men’s title, beating UCLA, 61-1 ½ to 55. The Razorbacks would extend their winning streak to 8 in the next 4 years.
In other highlights:
UCLA junior Ato Boldon won the Men’s 200 (20.24), but his hopes for a double-dash win ended early when he was disqualified the day before for a false-start in the semi-final round of the 100-meters. Boldon said at the time, “I’ve never false-started in a competition–and I still haven’t”. While he indeed never left his blocks, he did “twitch” when he noticed movement in the lane next to his, resulting in his disqualification. He gained some redemption the following year by winning the NCAA 100 and setting a Div.I record of 9.92. And he also won bronze medals in the 100 & 200 at the Atlanta Olympics!
Michigan sophomore Kevin Sullivan (3:37.57) won a fast 1500 over Eastern Michigan’s Paul McMullen (3:38.74). Arkansas’ Graham Hood, the defending champion, had to withdraw from the final with an injury.
Just as he did at the ACC Championships, North Carolina’s Ken Harnden, a senior from Zimbabwe, beat Georgia Tech’s Octavius Terry to win the Men’s 400-Meter Hurdles (48.72-49.25). Harnden, now a coach at Auburn, went on to finish 6th at the World Championships later in the season.
UCLA sophomore Amy Acuff set a Meet Record of 6-5 (1.96) in the Women’s High Jump, Tennessee’s own Lawrence Johnson (18-8 ¼ [5.70]) won the 1st of his 2 titles in the Men’s Pole Vault, and Miami’s Gillian Russell (12.99) won her 3rd title in the Women’s 100-meter hurdles.
Results:
Men: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/1995.pdf
Women: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1995w.pdf
Also: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IqYM_ETTZ67c_NPrL-sjNbVkwUEUOSUG/view
2000–Future stars were on display at the NCAA Championships, which were held at Duke. The final day (6-3) saw wins from Florida’s Bernard Williams (100/2000 Olympic silver-200), Clemson’s Shawn Crawford (200/2004 Olympic gold-200), Auburn’s Avard Moncur (400/2001 World Champion), South Carolina’s Terrence Trammell (110h/2 Olympic silvers), Colorado’s Kara Wheeler-Goucher (3000, a day after winning the 5000/silver medalist in the 10k at the 2007 Worlds),
and the one-and-only Gabe Jennings of Stanford (1500).
The day before (6-2), USC’s Felix Sánchez, the 2004 and 2012 Olympic Champion-to-be, won the 400-hurdles and Alabama’s Tim Broe won the Steeplechase (Tennessee’s Anthony Famiglietti was 4th). UCLA senior Seilala Sua won her 4th title in the Discus (6-1) and her 2nd in the Shot Put(6-2), giving her a total of 6 Outdoor NCAA titles. Brad Hauser won the 5,000 (6-3) and 10,000 (6-1) to lead Stanford to the Men’s team title, its’ first in 66 years! His twin brother Brent finished 4th in both events.
Results
Women: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2000w.pdf
Men: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2000.pdf
Sua: http://www.ustfccca.org/ncaa-100/seilala-sua-ucla-discus-shot-put-ncaa-championships-six-titles
NCAA History
Past Team Champions
Men: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_Men%27s_Outdoor_Track_and_Field_Championships
Women: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_Women%27s_Outdoor_Track_and_Field_Championships
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/
2006-The live TV coverage of the Reebok Grand Prix had ended, and many fans had already left Icahn Stadium on NY’s Randall’s Island when the Women’s 5000-Meters began. Those who stayed were treated to a World Record by Ethiopia’s Meseret Defar, who won the race in 14:24.53, barely under the previous mark of 14:24.68, which was set by Turkey’s Elvan Abeylegesse in 2004.
Finishing 2nd in the Men’s 200 to Wallace Spearmon(20.09) was 19-year old Usain Bolt (20.25).
IAAF Report: https://www.worldathletics.org/news/news/meseret-defar-runs-5000m-world-record-in-new
Results: http://www.flashresults.com/2006_Meets/outdoor/reebok/
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5000_metres_world_record_progression
2011—Gunnar Nixon set the current National H.S. Record of 8035 points for the Decathlon (H.S. events) at the Great Southwest Classic in Albuquerque.
(10.89, 24-5½/7.45w, 49-11/15.21, 7-½/2.15,49.66 [4143], 14.16, 142-1/43.32, 14-11/4.55, 175-5/53.46, 5:01.74 [3892])
2023 Music City Track Carnival-Nashville, TN, Jun 2,3
As mentioned yesterday, KC Lightfoot cleared 19-11 (6.07) in the Pole Vault on the first day of competition, breaking the American Record of 19-10 ½ (6.06) that was set by Sam Kendricks in 2019.
18-year old Shawnti Jackson, a senior at South Granville (NC) H.S., won the Open Women’s 100-Meters on Saturday and set a National H.S. Record of 10.89! The previous record of 10.94 was set by Briana Williams (Northeast, FL) in 2019. Jackson was coached ny her dad, Bershawn “Batman”, one of the world’s best 400-meter hurdlers during his career. She is now at Arkansas.
https://live.pttiming.com/?mid=5696
Video: 100(w/interview): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5PVOqXMhGI
Born On This Day*
Alison dos Santos—Brazil 25 (2000) 2022 World Champion-400m Hurdles; 2019-7th, 2022-5th
2-time Olympic bronze medalist-2021, 2024
2019 Pan American Games Champion
2-time South American Champion-2018, 2019
One of the “Big 3” in the event, along with Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin
Currently a “Racer” with Grand Slam Track
PBs: 44.53 (2025), 46.29 (2022/#3 All-Time)
From Wikipedia: “As a 10-month-old, a domestic accident left him with third-degree oil burns on his head and
characteristic scars. While he was at his grandmother Geni’s house one day, she warmed up a pan of hot oil to fry
fish. He accidentally struck the handle of the pan and it flipped over, spilling hot oil all over him. His grandmother
tried to stop him but was also hurt in the process.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alison_dos_Santos
https://worldathletics.org/athletes/brazil/alison-dos-santos-14755064
2022 WC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgte-gRnDow
GST: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKDPW0QBTjZ/?hl=en
Josh Hembrough 37 (1988) 2-time Big-10 Champion—110-meter hurdles (Purdue/2008,2009); PB: 13.79 (’08)
Set the current U.S. National H.S. Record of 7.30 for the 42” 55-meter hurdles in 2007
Profoundly deaf, he wore a cochlear implant so he could hear the starter…He brushes off any
suggestion that deafness is a handicap in track. “Not to me,” he insisted. “Before a race, I
let the official know he’s got to be very firm with his commands so I can hear him. With
the implant, I can hear the commands ‘take your marks’ and ‘set.’ Then I listen for the
gun.”
https://archive.dyestat.com/3us/6out/NikeOutdoorNats/ProfileJoshHembrough.html
https://www.deaflympics.com/athletes/joshua-hembrough
Yelena Isinbaeva–Russia 43 (1982) 2-time Olympic gold medalist—Pole Vault (2004,2008)…2012-bronze
3-time World Champion (2005, 2007, 2013)
4-time World Indoor Champion (2004, 2006, 2008, 2012/2003-silver)
2006 European Champion (2002-silver), 2005 European Indoor Champion
Missed out on the 2016 Olympics after Russia was banned because of numerous doping
violations
Set 17 World Records, including the current standard of 16-7 ¼ (5.06);
Also set 13 World Indoor Records
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yelena_Isinbayeva
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/88456
Videos:
2004 OG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVdOB4nA7eI
2008 OG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2_45r2ULBM
2008 OG(Complete event!):
https://olympics.com/en/video/women-s-pole-vault-final-beijing-2008-great-olympic-moments
WR Progression:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_pole_vault_world_record_progression
(Indoors):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_pole_vault_indoor_world_record_progression
(2023): https://theins.ru/en/news/263497
Connie Price-Smith 63 (1962) 4-time U.S. Olympian (’88,’92,’96-5th,’00);
11-time U.S. Champion (’88,’90,’92-’00)
8-time U.S. Indoor Champion (’91-’93,’96,’98,’00-’02)
Head coach at Ole Miss; Was the head U.S. Women’s coach at the Rio Olympics
PBs: 62-8 3/4i (19.12/’95); 64-3 ¾ (19.60/’94)
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77941
http://www.olemisssports.com/sports/c-track/mtt/connie_price_smith_974659.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Price-Smith
Mark Plaatjes-USA/South Africa 64 (1961) 1993 World Champion-Marathon
6th at the 1993 Boston Marathon
Winner of the 1991 Los Angeles Marathon
Missed out on the 1984 and 1988 Olympics because his native South Africa was barred due to its policy of
apartheid. Sought asylum in the United States, but didn’t become a U.S. citizen in time to compete at
the 1992 Olympics.
Currently a Physical Therapist in Boulder, Colorado
PBs: 1:02:14 (1983), 2:08:58 (1985)
(other sources show his DOB as June 1)
