by Larry Eder
Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com)
This Day in Track & Field-June 8
1912–Hall-of-Famer Abel Kiviat set the first recognized World Record (by the IAAF) in the Men’s 1500, running 3:52.8 in front of 20,000 fans at the U.S. Eastern Olympic Trials at Harvard. Same for Dartmouth’s Marc Wright, who cleared 13-2 ¼ (4.02) in the Pole Vault. Later in the year, Kiviat and Wright went on to win silver medals in their respective events at the Olympics in Stockholm.
While Kiviat’s mark was the first official record for the distance, he had previously lowered the 1500 best twice during the previous two weeks, running 3:59.2 on May 26 to better Great Britain’s Harold Wilson’s mark of 3:59.8, then ran 3:56.8 on June 2.
Willie Kramer, a 3-time U.S. X-Country Champion (1909, 1911, 1912) set American Records for 6-miles (30:43.4) and 10,000-meters (31:43.6).
Kiviat’s HOF Bio: https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/abel-kiviat
From the IAAF’s Progression of World Records(order info). http://www.iaaf.org/about-iaaf/publications
WR Progressions:
10,000: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1500_metres_world_record_progression
Pole Vault: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_pole_vault_world_record_progression
Jeff Benjamin on Kiviat: www.silive.com/northshore/index.ssf/2012/05/kiviats_magic_revisited_on_100.html
1929—Ohio State junior George Simpson became the first man to run 9.4 for 100-Yards at the NCAA Championships at Stagg Field in Chicago. The mark was accepted as a Collegiate Record, but not as an American or World Record, since the starting blocks used hadn’t yet been accepted as a legal piece of equipment. The AAU eventually ratified the time in 1944. (From the Progression of IAAF World Records). Simpson also won the 220y (straight-20.8/MR) to help Ohio State win the team title.
He finished 2nd in the 100y at the 1928 and 1930 NCAA Championships, and was 2nd and 1st, respectively, in the 220y in 1928 and 1930.
Simpson won the silver medal in the 200-meters at the 1932 Olympics after finishing 4th in the 100
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1929.pdf
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/79045
1936—18-year old Helen Stephens, a senior at Fulton(MO) H.S., ran 11.6 for 100-Meters in Kansas City(MO) to break her 2-year old American Record of 11.9. The multi-talented Stephens, who excelled in many sports, went on to win gold medals at the Berlin Olympics in the 100-Meters and the 4×100 Relay.
Historic Missourians: https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/stephens-helen/
1946—Bob Fitch, using the “Minnesota Whip”, a throwing technique he developed, set a World Record of 180-2 ¾ (54.93) in the Discus at the Minnesota AAU Championships in Minneapolis. Finishing 2nd was his training partner, Fortune Gordien, who threw 161-4 (49.17).
Fitch won the 1942 NCAA title while a senior at Minnesota and was a 2-time U.S. Champion (1942,1946).
Gordien, another Minnesota grad, went on to have a Hall-of-Fame career, winning three NCAA (1946-1948) and 6 U.S. (1947-1950,1953-1954) titles, setting four World Records, and winning two Olympic medals (bronze-1948, silver-1956).
Wiki Bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Fitch
Minnesota Hall of Fame:
Fitch: https://gophersports.com/sports/2018/5/21/sports-m-club-spec-rel-hof-fitch-html
Gordien: https://gophersports.com/news/2007/9/6/Fortune_Gordien
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_discus_throw_world_record_progression
1957–In his final preparation for the NCAA Championships, Villanova’s Ron Delany, who won Olympic gold in the 1500 6 months earlier in Melbourne, won the Mile at the Meet of Champions in Houston in 4:05.4, then came back 45 minutes later to beat Tom Courtney, winner of the 800 at the Melbourne Olympics, in the 1/2-mile (1:48.4-1:48.5). It was the greatest 1-day double in history at the time.
1962–Jim Beatty won the 2-Mile in 8:29.7 (ratified as 8:29.8) at the Southern Pacific AAU meet at Occidental College to break the World Record of 8:30.0, which was set by New Zealand’s Murray Halberg in 1961. Trailing Beatty were Jim Grelle (8:36.0) and Bob Schul (8:57.3).
1974—Doug Brown (8:36.0) and Ron Addison (8:36.8) finished 1-2 in the Steeplechase to lead Stan Huntsman’s Tennessee Vols to a narrow 60-56 win over UCLA for the team title at the NCAA Div.I Championships in Austin, Texas.
Another major contributor to Tennessee’s win was freshman Reggie Jones, who won a close 100-Yard dash over San Diego State sophomore Steve Williams (9.18-9.20) and finished 2nd in the 220 to Fisk’s James Gilkes (19.9-20.0).
UCLA freshman Jerry Herndon won the Long Jump over USC’s Randy Williams, the 1972 Olympic Champion (26-6 1/4 to 26-4w).
Huntsman, who moved from Knoxville to Austin after the 1985 season to take over as the Texas coach, was inducted into the U.S. Hall of Fame in 2004. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 84.
Huntsman HOF Bio: https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/stan-huntsman
NY Times Obituary: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/sports/olympics/stan-huntsman-dead.html?_r=0
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1974.pdf
NCAA History: https://trackandfieldnews.com/historical-results/a-history-of-the-ncaa-championships-1921-2018/
On The Road
I was in the 2nd year of my life as a “track bum”, and had driven my orange Karmann Ghia a couple of weeks earlier from Queens,NY, to Pittsburgh to take in the IC4A Championships, moved on to the combined Div.II/III Championships in Charleston, IL, then headed to Austin for the NCAA Div.I meet.
When I arrived, I parked my car right outside my motel room, but it was gone when I awoke the next morning! And then I saw its new location. Parked on a slope, and with the emergency brake obviously not engaged, the car had rolled halfway into the roadway below. Thank God no one (or car) was passing by at the time. The rest of my stay in Austin was all uphill (pun intended!) after that incident.
Not surprisingly, the folks in Austin were great hosts to the out-of-towners who had come to their fair city. One well-to-do Texas alum, a track fan, threw a barbeque for coaches, officials, and journalists.
Driving with T&F News co-founder Cordner Nelson and a few others, we finally came across the entrance to the host’s ranch. It was a scene straight out of the TV show Dallas. After riding for what seemed like an eternity, we realized we were driving on the owner’s private runway, with a helicopter pad off to the side!
We then dined on rattlesnake (“tastes like chicken”) and other exotic delicacies, looked in awe at the huge indoor swimming pool, and had an overall great time.
Austin also provided the setting for one of the most repeated quotes associated with the sport. It wasn’t a flattering one, but it always brings a smile to the face of anyone who hears it.
A group of us were sitting around a hotel pool, eating pizza and enjoying liquid refreshments, when Jones Ramsey, the football-oriented Sports Information Director at Texas, was heard muttering, “The only sport I hate worse than track is field”!
There was also a side-trip to The Alamo and tales of a coach doing something disrespectful to an image of the Star of Texas, but that’s a story for another time. All-in-all, a memorable trip and Austin remains one of my favorite cities to visit.
The next step on my journey was a drive back East to Gainesville, Florida, for the U.S. Junior Championships. More on that next week.
My beloved Ghia!
1974—Running in the Hayward Field Restoration Meet in Eugene, the meet that would bear his name following his tragic death the following year, Steve Prefontaine set an American Record of 12:51.4 for 3-Miles. The previous mark of 12:53.0, set by Gerry Lindgren, had stood since 1966.
Additional American Records were set by Francie Larrieu in the Mile (4:33.1), Joni Huntley in the High Jump (6-3/4 [1.85]), and Debbie Quartier in the 5000 (16:46.2), but the top mark of the day was provided by Rick Wohlhuter, who ran 1:44.1 to break his own World Record (1:44.6/1973) in the 880y. Unfortunately, no time was taken at 800-meters, but his winning time was intrinsically superior to Marcelo Fiascanaro’s World Record of 1:43.7 for the slightly shorter distance.
Hall of Fame Bio(Wohlhuter): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/rick-wohlhuter
SI Feature: https://vault.si.com/vault/1976/02/16/wohlhuters-better-half
1983–East Germany’s Marlies Göhr won the 100-meters in Berlin in 10.81 to break her own World Record of 10.88, which she first ran in 1977 (as Marlies Oelsner) and again in 1982.
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_100_metres_world_record_progression
1985—Willie Banks improved his 4-year old American Record (57-7 1/2 [17.56]) in the Triple Jump to 57-11 3/4 (17.67) in the L.A. Coliseum.
1987 Jim Howard jumped 7-8 ¾ (2.36) in Rehlingen, Germany, to better his American Record in the High Jump by ½-inch.
1995–Kenya’s Moses Kiptanui ran 12:55.30 in Rome to break Haile Gebrselassie’s year-old World Record in the 5000-Meters (12:56.96).
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3000_metres_steeplechase_world_record_progression
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Kiptanui
1996–Ron Dayne (Overbrook,NJ) threw 216-11 (66.12) to win the Discus at the Golden West Inv. in Sacramento. Dayne set a NCAA career rushing record, amassing 6,397 yards during his four years at Wisconsin (1996-1999/record broken in 2016). Dayne went on to play in the NFL with the NY Giants (and others). Dayne is still #10 on the all-time prep Discus list.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DaynRo00.htm
NCAA Rushing Leaders: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_Division_I_FBS_career_rushing_yards_leaders
2004–Just 8 days after taking down countryman Haile Gebrselassie’s World Record in the 5000, Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele did it again in the 10,000, running 26:20.31 in Ostrava to better Haile’s 6-year old mark of 26:22.75. Bekele would lower the record to 26:17.53 the following year.
Stacy Dragila won the Women’s Pole Vault and set the final American Record of her career: 15-10 (4.83)
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1500_metres_world_record_progression
2008—Brad Walker jumped 19-9 ¾ (6.04) at the Nike Prefontaine Classic to break Jeff Hartwig’s 8-year old American Record of 19-9 ½ (6.03) in the Pole Vault. The 40-year old Hartwig, tied for 4th here (18-4 ½ [5.60]), gave a big hug to his successor.
In an early-morning 10,000, Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele took a shot at his World Record of 26:17.53, but had to settle for a still-impressive time of 26:25.97. While he didn’t get the WR he was after, Bekele still crushed the Hayward Field Record of 27:29.90 that was set by Henry Rono in 1982!
Mozambique’s Maria Mutola, who lived in nearby Springfield, won the Women’s 800 in 1:59.24. It was her 16th consecutive win at Pre at various distances!
With temporary seating in place for the upcoming U.S. Olympic Trials, the meet set an attendance record of 14,221.
From Track & Field News
2013–Collegiate Records were set at the NCAA Championships in Eugene (June 5-8) by Clemson’s Brianna Rollins (McNeal) in the 100-Meter Hurdles (12.39) and by Stanford’s Kori Carter in the 400-hurdles (6-7/53.21). Carter (12.79) also finished 2nd to Rollins in the shorter race. Rollins (gold) was one of many athletes at the meet who would medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
In a battle of 2012 Olympic medalists, Indiana’s Derek Drouin (bronze/7-8[2.34]) won the Men’s High Jump over
Kansas State’s Erik Kynard (silver/7-7 [2.31]). The two reversed their finish order from 2012. (Drouin won gold in Rio, while Kynard’s 2012 silver was later upgraded to gold).
Oregon’s English Gardner (Rio gold-4×100) won the Women’s 100 (6-7) in 10.97.
LSU’s Kimberlyn Duncan won her 3rd straight title in the 200-Meters (22.04).
The Men’s 200 was won by Texas A&M’s Ameer Webb (20.10) over Ole Miss’s Isiah Young (20.18).
Illinois’ Ashley Spencer (Rio-bronze/400h) won the Women’s 400 (6-7/50.28) over Georgia freshman Shaunae Miller (50.70), who won gold in the 400 in Rio (for the Bahamas). She would win her 2nd Olympic title in the 400 in Tokyo in 2021.
Texas sophomore Ryan Crouser (Rio-gold) won the Men’s Shot Put (66-7 ¾ [6-6/20.31]); LSU’s (and Jamaica’s) Natoya Goule (2:00.06) won the Women’s 800 over Oregon’s Laura Roesler (2:00.98); Oklahoma’s Tia Brooks (62-1/2 [18.91]) won her 4th title in the Women’s Shot Put (2013i/2012—indoors/outdoors). Crouser would win a 3rd Olympic gold in Paris in 2024 and is the current World Indoor and Outdoor Record holder.
Texas A&M appeared to have a lock on the Men’s team title as they went to the starting line for the meet’s final event, the 4×400 Relay. The Aggies, who had run a season-leading 3:02.38 in the qualifying round, only had to finish 7th or higher to clinch the title.
Well, the old cliche, “That’s why they run the races”, came into play once again, as A&M’s leadoff man, Ricky Babineaux, dropped the baton just as he entered the exchange zone. He was near the lead at the time, but lost almost four seconds while retrieving the stick and finally handing off to Aldrich Bailey (46.9). Carlyle Roudette (46.0) and Deon Lendore (45.0) ran valiantly as they tried to catch at least one team, but they had too much ground to make up and the team wound up scoring just one point for its 8th-place finish.
It wasn’t a total loss for A&M, which wound up in a tie for the team title with Florida, which scored 10 points for its win in the 4×4 (3:01.34). Kansas won the Women’s team title (its first
Results:
Men: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2013.pdf
Women: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2013w.pdf
http://www.flashresults.com/2013_Meets/outdoor/06-05-NCAA/live/
2013—Junior Mary Cain (Bronxville,NY) set a National H.S. Record of 15:45.46 for 5000-Meters at the Portland (OR) Track Festival (she finished 6th in the race). Cain had earlier set National Records in the 800 (1:59.51) and 1500 (4:04.62).
https://www.runnersworld.com/races-places/a20815515/mary-cain-breaks-national-hs-5000-meter-record/
2017—Tennessee junior Christian Coleman set a Collegiate Record of 9.82 in the semi-final round at the NCAA Championships in Eugene. He would win the 100 final (10.04 into a 2.1 headwind) and the 200 (20.25/-3.1) two days later.
Arizona State’s Maggie Ewen set a Collegiate Record of 240-7 (73.32) in the Women’s Hammer Throw.
Men’s recap on June 9, Women on June 10
Video(100): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwgjQWoe19I
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2017.pdf
2018–Despite wet and cool conditions, 4 Collegiate Records were set during the Men’s portion of the NCAA Championships in Eugene.
4×100–Guided by coaches Leroy Burrell and assistant Carl Lewis, Houston won this event (for the 2nd year in a row) in 38.17 to break TCU’s previous CR of 38.23, set in 1989. Handling the baton for the Cougars were John Lewis, Elijah Hall, Mario Burke, and Cameron Burrell (Leroy’s son). Burrell and Hall would come back less than an hour later to finish 1-2, respectively, in the 100-meters (10.13-10.17).
https://twitter.com/flotrack/status/1079136834658160640
400–It was a battle of sophomores, with USC’s Michael Norman pulling away from the Auburn duo of Akeem Bloomfield (43.94) and Nathon Allen (44.13) in the homestretch to win in 43.61 to break the year-old mark of 43.70, set by Texas A&M’s Fred Kerley. Norman’s coach, Quincy Watts, held the CR (44.00) before Kerley! Norman also broke the Hayward Field Record of 43.74, set by Michael Johnson in 1993.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezw3ymbzAYc
400 Hurdles–USC junior Rai Benjamin ran a stunning 47.02 to smash the previous mark of 47.56, set by Florida’s Kerron Clement in 2005. His time put him into a tie with the legendary Edwin Moses as the 2nd-fastest perfomer in history (at the time-Qatar’s Abderrahmane Samba would run 46.98 later in the month).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj11zLz_jnI
4×400—USC got its 3rd Collegiate Record of the day from Ricky Morgan (45.9), Benjamin (43.6), Zach Shinnick (45.9), and Norman (43.6), who combined to run 2:59.00. LSU set the previous mark of 2:59.59 in 2005.
Georgia won the team title over Florida, 52-42.
Results
Finals: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2018.pdf
Complete: https://www.flashresults.com/2018_Meets/Outdoor/06-09_NCAAEugene/
2018—Gwendolyn Berry won the Women’s Hammer in Chorzów, Poland with a throw of 255-2 (77.78), breaking DeAnna Price’s American Record of 254-9 (77.65) that was set earlier in the year. Price would regain the Record two weeks later with a throw of 256-3 (78.12). She set the current record of 263-6 (80.31) at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials.
2019—Temperatures reached into the high 90s on the final day of the NCAA Championships in Austin,Texas, which was devoted to the remaining women’s finals.
The star of the show was LSU frosh Sha’Carri Richardson, who won the 100 in 10.75, breaking the 30-year old Collegiate Record of 10.78 that was set in 1989 by another LSU Tiger-Dawn Sowell.
Richardson came close to pulling off the sprint double, but was edged in the 200 by USC’s Angie Annelus (22.16-22.17/#s 4-5 All-Time College at the time). Both of Richardson’s times bettered the existing World Junior Records, but weren’t ratified since the NCAA’s drug-testing policy doesn’t conform to that of World Athletics. The 10.75 was ratified as an American Junior Record.
Richardson started off her busy day by anchoring LSU to a 2nd-place finish behind USC in the 4×100 (42.21-42.29/Annelus ran the 2nd leg for USC). She would turn pro soon after the meet and, after a rocky start to her professional career, would win the 100-meters at the 2023 World Championships and the silver medal at the 2024 Olympics (gold in the 4×100).
Boise State junior Allie Ostrander won her 3rd title in the Steeplechase (9:37.73) and soon announced she was turning pro.
The 1500 was fast, with Oklahoma State junior Sinclaire Johnson setting a Meet Record of 4:05.98, with Oregon junior Jessica Hull close behind in 4:06.27. They moved into the #2 & #4 positions (at the time) on the All-Time College list (Div.I)
Arkansas, the 2019 Indoor Champion, won its 2nd Outdoor team title in the last 4 years, thanks in part to individual wins by sophomore Janeek Brown, who ran 12.40 in the 100-Meter Hurdles, just .01s off the Collegiate Record, and senior Tori Hoggard (nee Weeks), competing in her final NCAA meet, who won her first title in the Pole Vault (14-11 ½ [4.56]). Her twin sister Lexi, who tied for 9th here, was a 4-time NCAA Champion in the PV (Indoor-’16,’18,’19), Outdoor-’16).
It was the 45th NCAA team title for the Razorbacks (Men&Women), and the women celebrated (as usual) with the traditional “Wooo Pig Sooie” chant during the victory ceremony. The proper way to perform the chant is described here!
LetsRun Coverage: https://www.letsrun.com/events/2019-ncaa-outdoor-track-field-championships/
Results: https://www.flashresults.com/2019_Meets/Outdoor/06-05_NCAAOTF-Austin/
Finals: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019w.pdf
Recap: http://www.ustfccca.org/2019/06/featured/meet-recap-2019-ncaa-di-outdoor-tf-championships
Video(1500): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMvdFzZdkUo
Arkansas:
https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/arkansas-brings-title-no-45-to-the-track-capital-of-the-world/
https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/the-story-behind-arkansas-ncaa-outdoor-championship
Video Highlights: https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/highlights-from-arkansas-45th-ncaa-title-run/
2021—Letesenbet Gidey set a World Record of 29:01.03 for 10,000-Meters at the Ethiopian Olympic Trials in Hengelo, Netherlands, just 2 days after Sifan Hassan had set the previous mark of 29:06.82 on the same track!
https://worldathletics.org/news/report/letesenbet-gidey-world-10000m-record-hengelo
Full Race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75NrdG6HMkY
2023—Competing on his home track in Austin at the NCAA Championships, Texas’ Leo Neugebauer produced one of the greatest collegiate performances in history, winning the Decathlon with a score of 8836 points. He not only set a Collegiate Record, he also broke the German Record of 8832 that was set by Jürgen Hingsen back in 1986, and he moved to #8 on the All-Time list (at the time)! (He would improve the CR to 8961 at the 2024 NCAA Championships and would win the silver medal at the 2024 Olympics)
Neugebauer was locked in a titanic duel with Georgia’s Kyle Garland after Day One, but gradually pulled away after setting three of his five individual event PBs on Day Two. Garland’s total of 8630 points would have been good enough to win at every previous NCAA Championship!
One of the first people to congratulate Neugebauer was former Longhorn Trey Hardee, a 2-time World Champion in the Decathlon (2009, 2011). “That means the world to me”, said Neugebauer in his post-event interview. “He’s been the guy…being able to pull this off in front of another great Longhorn that means the world to me. He’s been the guy I’ve been looking up to for a long time since I’ve been here because he’s been the man here at the university and just like having him around me, just that energy, that vibe, this helps me wanting to be better and better and just having him back like supporting myself and no matter what I do this is the greatest feeling in the world”.
10.61, 25-2 1⁄2 ( 7.68), 53-4 1⁄2 (16.27), 6-8 1⁄4 (2.04), 47.08 [4591], 14.10, 180-8 (55.06), 17-1 (5.21), 188-6 (57.45), 4:48.00
Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r712wi29WlE
https://texassports.com/sports/track-and-field/roster/leo-neugebauer/11839
https://worldathletics.org/news/report/ncaa-championships-neugebauer-wilson
https://trackandfieldnews.com/ncaa-mens-decathlon-neugebauer-slays-cr/
2024—Five collegiate records were set as the women closed out the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon (June 6, 8)
•400/4×400-Nickisha Price, a senior from Jamaica, ran 48.89 and was followed across the finish line by Arkansas
teammates Kaylyn Brown (49.13), Amber Anning (49.59), and Rosey Effiong (49.72) to complete an
unprecedented 1-4 sweep. The 4 would come together in the meet’s final event, the 4×400 relay, and would
win in 3:17.96. That’s a CR that will likely last a very long time. (Only 3 countries have ever run faster)
(Anning 50.52, Effiong 49.21, Pryce 49.19, Brown 49.04).
•5000-Florida’s Parker Valby ended her collegiate career in fine style, running 14:52.18 two days after winning the
10,000 (31:46.09)
•Steeplechase-Alabama’s Doris Lemngole: 9:15.24
•Javelin-Nebraska’s Rhema Otabor: 210-7 (64.19)
Other Highlights
Ole Miss’s McKenzie Long was a triple winner (100-10.82w, 200-21.83/#2 All-Time College, 4×100/2nd leg-42.34)
Texas senior Ackelia Smith won the Long (22-3 ½[6.79]) and Triple Jumps (47-7 ¾ [14.52]).
Three women cleared 6-5 ½ (1.97/Olympic qualifying standard) in the High Jump, with Georgia’s Elena Kulichenko and Illinois’ Rose Yeboah sharing the title, and Texas Tech’s Temitope Adeshina finishing 3rd.
South Carolina freshman Jameesia Ford finished 2nd in the 200 with a time of 22.08, breaking the American Junior
Record that she previously shared with Allyson Felix!
Oregon’s Jaida Ross (64-2 ½ [19.57]) won the Shot Put and would go on to finish 4th at the Paris Olympics. Other Olympic finalists-to-be were Florida’s Grace Stark (12.47), the winner of the 100m-hurdles, who would finish 5th in Paris, and Stanford’s Juliette Whittaker (1:59.61), who beat teammate Roisin Willis (2:00.17) to win the 800 and finished 7th in the Olympic final!
Arkansas edged Florida by 4 points (63-59) to win the team title, giving Razorback women’s coach Chris Johnson a sweep of NCAA Championships during the 2024 indoor and outdoor seasons in his first year as the head of the program. Arkansas bettered Florida by five points (55-50) for the NCAA Indoor title in March.
Results: https://flashresults.ncaa.com/Outdoor/2024/index.htm
(Great photo of the 400): https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/razorbacks-complete-mission-sweep-2024-ncaa-titles/
Videos: 400 4×400 5000 Steeple 200 4×100 Javelin High Jump
McKenzie Long-Thinking of Her Mom:
https://www.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=44531&do=news&news_id=669107
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/
Born On This Day*
Athing Mu 23 (2002) 2021 Olympic gold medalist-800, 4×400; 2022 World Champion-800m (held off GBR’s Kelly
Hodgkinson, the silver medalist in Tokyo, in a stirring stretch duel); Bronze medalist at the 2023 World
Championships, behind Kenya’s Mary Moraa and Hodgkinson…3 weeks later, she was a winner at the Prefontaine
Classic over a field that included Moraa and Hodgkinson—ran 1:54.97 to break her own American Record of
1:55.04; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHgk_g6mijI
Would have been one of the favorites at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, but she fell in the final at the U.S. Trials!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro4MJT0HsCs
Coached by Bobby Kersee
It remains to be seen how the 2025 season plays out—she’s only run two 1500 races this year-4:21.18, 4:10.70-
ostensibly to gain more experience in crowded races
2-time U.S. Champion—800m (2021, 2022); 2nd in the 1500 at the 2023 U.S. Championships
Had a sensational 2021 season:
Jan. 23—Texas A&M frosh set a Collegiate Indoor Record of 1:25.80 for 600-Meters
Feb.27—won the SEC 800 in 1:58.40 to set a World Junior Indoor Record—just missed Ajee’ Wilson’s American
Indoor Record of 1:58.29
March 13—beaten to the pole at the break, she finished 2nd in the NCAA 400, but bounced back to run a great 49.5
anchor on the winning team in the 4×400 relay
April 17—Ran 1:57.73 for 800-meters in Waco,TX, setting new Collegiate and American Junior Records
May 29—Set a Collegiate (and American Junior/Under-20) Record of 49.68 in the 400 at the NCAA West Regional
June 12—Won the NCAA 400 in 49.57 to better her College & American Junior records and anchored Texas A&M to a
CR of 3:22.34 in the 4×400 Relay. Her split of 48.8 is the fastest ever run by a collegian.
These would be her last races as a collegian.
June 27—Won the 800 at the U.S. Olympic Trials with a personal best time of 1:56.07
August 3—Won Olympic gold in Tokyo and ran 1:55.21 to break Ajee’ Wilson’s AR of 1:55.61. First American Olympic
champion in the event since Madeline Manning won in 1968
August 7—Ran a 48.3 anchor leg to finish off a U.S.win in the 4×400 in Tokyo
August 21—Won the 800 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene and improved her AR to 1:55.04
The latest runner from New Jersey to excel in the Women’s 800
Joetta Clark—4-time U.S. Olympian and Hall-of-Famer
Hazel Clark—3-time U.S. Olympian and 3-time NCAA Champion
Ajee’ Wilson—2022 World Indoor Champion…Former American Record holder, bronze medalist at the 2019 World
Championships
16 at the time, Mu was the surprise winner at 600-meters at the 2019 U.S. Indoor Championships—beat Raevyn
Rogers and ran a sensational time of 1:23.57 to set an American Record…and she wasn’t far off the World
Record of 1:23.44!
Set a National High School Indoor Record of 1:10.22 for 500-meters in 2020
5th in the 800 at the 2019 U.S. Outdoor Championships—ran 2:01.17 as a H.S. Junior
Born in New Jersey to Sudanese parents
Battled Covid during 2022
PBs:
400-49.57 (’21/#10 All-Time U.S.), 50.52i (’21/#9 A-T U.S.),
600-1:22.74 (‘22/#5 A-T World/#2 U.S.),1:23.57i (’19/NR, #3 A-T World),
800-1:54.97 (’23/NR/#9 A-T World), has 5 of the 6 fastest times in U.S. History
1:58.40i (‘21/#2 A-T U.S.),
1500/Mile—4:03.44 (’23)/4:37.99 (’22)
College PBs (all ’21): 49.57 #8 A-T), 50.52i (#10 A-T), 1:25.80i (#3 A-T), 1:57.73 (CR), 1:58.40i (CR)
H.S. PBs: 37.36i (‘20/#9 A-T), 51.98 (‘19), 52.55i (‘19/#5 A-T), 1:10.22i (‘20/HSR), 1:23.57i (’19/HSR),
2:01.17 (‘19/#9 A-T), 2:03.98i (‘19/#10 A-T), 2:44.43i (#8 A-T),
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/2506190
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athing_Mu
https://www.teamusa.org/usa-track-and-field/athletes/Athing-Mu
https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/athletics-american-mu-wins-gold-womens-800m-2021-08-03/
Videos:
’23 Pre ’23 WC ’22 WC Tokyo Tokyo 4×400 2021 Pre 1:57.73CR
That 600
Last Lap: www.letsrun.com/news/2019/02/video-of-athing-mus-american-record-at-600-while-in-high-school/
Post Race Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glrNHrCmRuo
DeAnna Price 32 (1993) 2019 World Champion—1st American woman to win a global title in the Hammer
Winner at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials—improved her American Record to 263-6 (80.31/#2 All-Time)
Considered a potential medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, but ankle and hip injuries held her to an 8th-place
finish…11th at the 2024 Olympics
2-time NCAA Champion—Hammer (Southern Illinois/2015,2016)
2023 Pan-American Games Champion
2016 U.S. Olympian (8th)…9th at the 2017 World Championships (2015/qual.round)
3-time U.S. Champion (2018, 2019, 2021)
Set an American Record of 85-4 1/2i (26.02) in the 20-pound Weight Throw in 2023.
College Best : 238-5 (72.66/#2-All-Time[at the time/now #9])
2025 SB: 257-7 (78.51)
Coached by her husband—James Lambert
2019 WC:
Winning Throw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Sdrnzxx634
Final: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR0CUNrsoCs
Butch Reynolds 61 (1964) 1988 Olympic gold medalist—4×400 (silver-400m)
Former World Record holder—43.29 (1988)
2-time silver medalist in the 400 at the World Championships(’93,’95/bronze-’97)
2-time World Champion—4×400 (1993,1995)
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_Reynolds
Involved in a contentious legal battle in 1992 after testing positive for a performance-enhancing
Drug(Nandrolone) in 1990.
Chronology (for subscribers): http://articles.latimes.com/1992-06-21/sports/sp-1475_1_reynolds-case
Sports Illustrated Vault NY Times
Deceased
Willie Davenport 59 (1943-June 17, 2002) 4-time Olympian in the 110-hurdles—won gold in 1968, bronze in 1976, and
was 4th in 1972.
Member of the U.S. bobsled team at the 1980 Olympics—Along with Jeff Hadley, another member of the bobsled
team, they were the 1st African-Americans to compete at the Winter Olympics.
Overcame a serious knee injury in 1975 to make his 4th Summer Olympic team in 1976.
Tied the World Record of 13.2 in 1969
4-tme U.S. Champion—110m-hurdles (’65-’67, ’69)
5-time U.S. Indoor Champion—60y-hurdles (’66,’67, ’69-’71)
https://vault.si.com/vault/1969/03/17/the-woes-of-wee-willie-wisp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Davenport
Lloyd “Bud” Winter 76 (1909-Dec.6, 1985) Hall-of-Fame coach at San Jose State/Speed City
http://www.ustfccca.org/awards/bud-winter-ustfccca-special-inductee
https://www.amazon.com/Bud-Winter/e/B001H6WQR6%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
3-Part Bio
