by RBR Admin
This Day in Track & Field–August 14
1909–American Ralph Rose won the AAU title in the Shot Put with a (pre-IAAF) World Record toss of 50-3 1/8 (15.31?).
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_shot_put_world_record_progression
1949–Fortune Gordien raised his American and World Records in the Discus to 186-11 (56.97) in Hämeenlinna, Finland.
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_discus_world_record_progression
1953—Mal Whitfield ran 1:48.0 in Copenhagen to break his own American Record of 1:48.6 in the 800.
1982—Dave Volz vaulted 18-10 ¼ (5.75) in Nice to break his own American Record of 18-9 ½ (5.73)
1983—It was a busy schedule on the final day of action at the inaugural World Championships in Helsinki.
Eamonn Coghlan had become a legend on the U.S. indoor circuit, but had suffered much criticism back home in Ireland after finishing 4th in the 1500-meters at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal and 4th in the 5000 at the 1980 Games in Moscow. But all was forgiven after he won the 5000 meters here in Helsinki.
Intent on doing well at the last two Olympics, Coghlan stayed away from the pageantry of the Opening Ceremony. But he was determined to enjoy his experience at the inaugural World Championships and proudly served as the flag-bearer as the Irish team marched in the parade of nations in Helsinki.
Coghlan had gone through some tough times leading up to the Worlds. Jumbo Elliott, his coach at Villanova, passed away in 1981, and Gerry Farnan, his long-time coach in Ireland, died a year later. Injuries kept him out of action for all of 1982, and then, in February, 1983, his father, who came from Ireland to be with his son for the U.S. indoor season, died in his sleep at Coghlan’s home in Rye,NY.
Fully recovered from his 1982 injuries, Coghlan entered 1983 in great form, as evidenced by his 3:49.78 indoor mile record at the Meadowlands. But his last race before Helsinki left him filled with doubt. Weakened by a cold, he finished 4th in a high-profile mile that was won by Steve Scott over Sebastian Coe.
As he returned home to Dublin, he worried that he wouldn’t be at full strength for the Worlds, where he would step up to the 5000. For the first time, he visited the grave of Farnan, the man who always knew the right thing to say to get him motivated for his next race. Coghlan saw the epitaph on his old coach’s tombstone, which read:
“Don’t quit when you are beaten
Fight back to an even more glorious victory
Not only in competition, but also in life”
Coghlan wrote in his book, “Chairman of the Boards, Master of the Mile”, “I thought, ‘That’s exactly what Gerry was teaching us kids when we were growing up. Don’t quit, fight, fight, fight. It was an emotional moment. I bent down on my knees, said a prayer, as if I was directly talking to him and then plucked up a handful of grass from the grave and stuck it in my wallet’. You’ll be with me all the way, I whispered.”
Coghlan was content to stay off the lead during the early stages of the slow-paced race, but was in perfect position as the bell lap approached. He first moved into 2nd, past Germany’s Thomas Wessinghage, the man he had feared most coming into the race, then set his sights on the Soviet Union’s Dmitriy Dmitriyev, who was 5-6 meters in front.
Coghlan caught up to Dmitriyev on the backstretch, but held off moving past him, determined to wait for the right moment to unleash his kick. Coghlan drew even with Dmitriyev as they were coming off the final turn, took a quick peek at his rival, and thought to himself, “I’ve got him”. Brimming with confidence, a smiling Coghlan raised his clenched fists as he took the lead, confident that the win was his. He crossed the line in 13:28.53 as the valiant Dmitriyev slipped to 4th behind Germany’s Werner Schildauer (13:30.20) and Finland’s own Martti Vainio (13:30.34). Finishing 5th was American Doug Padilla (13:32.08).
While some questioned Coghlan’s gesture at the head of the stretch, he explained, “It wasn’t arrogance. It wasn’t cockiness. It wasn’t with any disrespect for (Dimtriyev). It was because here, having finished 4th twice, now I’m going to become the World Champion”. U2 was in the middle of a concert back home in Ireland, and lead singer Bono announced Coghlan’s victory to the crowd!
Mary Decker, winner of the 3000 earlier, completed her great double by winning the1500-meters. Decker had the lead at the bell, but was followed closely by the Soviet Union’s Zamira Zaytseva. As they entered the final turn, Zaytseva took the lead, cutting in maybe a little too soon on Decker. Zaytseva quickly opened a 5-meter lead, but the determined Decker ran her down and won in 4:00.90 as the straining Zaytseva fell to the ground and rolled across the finish line in 2nd (4:01.19). She was followed by teammates Yekaterina Podkopayava(4:02.25) and Ravilya Agletdinova-Kotovich(4:02.67).
After the qualifying round for the Men’s Pole Vault had been canceled twice by heavy rain, officials were forced to schedule a 27-man final!
There was no rain when the event finally got underway, but there were swirling winds that the vaulters had to deal with. Emerging as the winner after seven hours of competition was the virtually unknown Sergey Bubka, a 19-year old from Ukraine, who was the only man to clear 18-8 ¼ (5.70). This was the first of six World titles for Bubka, who, of course, went on to become the greatest vaulter in history (of course, Mondo Duplantis might have something to say about that before his career is over!). 2nd was Bubka’s teammate, Konstantin Volkov, and 3rd was Bulgaria’s Atanas Tarev–both cleared 18-4 ½ (5.60).
Cordner Nelson wrote in Track and Field News that the Men’s 1500 was “…the most ridiculously tactical championship race ever run”! Taking advantage of the slow pace (65-seconds for the first 400), was Great Britain’s Steve Cram, who ran a 52-flat last lap to finish off his win in 3:41.59.
Next across the line were favored Steve Scott (3:41.87), Morocco’s Said Aouita (3:42.02), and Great Britain’s Steve Ovett (3:42.34).
Calvin Smith (20.14) won the first of his two World titles in the Men’s 200-meters. Elliott Quow (20.41) was 2nd, followed by World Record holder Pietro Mennea (20.51).
18-year old Heike Daute (Drechsler) of East Germany won the Women’s Long Jump (23-10 3/4w [7.27]), while Carol Lewis won the bronze medal with a leap of 23-1 1/4w (7.04). Daute-Drechsler went on to win a 2nd World title 10 years later in 1993, and also was the gold medalist at the 1992 and 2000 Olympics. Winning the silver medal here was Romania’s Anișoara Cușmir-Stanciu (23-5 ½ [7.15]).
The U.S. was trailing the Soviet Union in the Men’s 4×400 relay when 3rd leg Willie Smith got close to Nikolay Chernyetskiy with 150-meters to go before the final exchange. Too close, apparently, since there was some slight contact and Smith went down.
As he tried to get up, Great Britain’s Todd Bennett ran into him, causing him to fall again and lose the baton. By the time Smith recovered, any chance for a medal was long gone. The Soviets continued on unchallenged, winning in 3:00.79, followed by West Germany (3:01.83) and Great Britain (3:03.53).
Australia’s Rob DeCastella won the Men’s Marathon (2:10:03) over Ethiopia’s Kedebe Balcha (2:10:27) and East Germany’s Waldemar Cierpinski (2:10:37), the 1976 & 1980 Olympic Champion.
East Germany’s Marita Koch won the Women’s 200 (22.13) over Jamaica’s Merlene Ottey (22.19) and Great Britain’s Kathy Smallwood-Cook (22.37). 4th was Florence Griffith-Joyner (22.46).
Winner of the Men’s Discus was Czech Imrich Bugár (222-2 [67.72]). Finishing 2-3 were Cuba’s Luis Delís (221-0 [67.36]) and Czech Gejza Valent (216-9[66.08]).
The Women’s 4×400 was won by East Germany (3:19.73), followed by Czechoslovakia (3:20.32) and the Soviet Union (3:21.16).
Decker’s double-win earned her Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year award.
https://vault.si.com/vault/1983/12/26/she-runs-and-we-are-lifted
Medalists: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_World_Championships_in_Athletics
A Look Back:
https://www.runnersworld.com/advanced/a20852481/remembering-the-1983-helsinki-world-championships/
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1983/08/22/putting-it-all-on-the-line
“Chairman of the Boards, Master of the Mile”- http://tinyurl.com/2uehro8
Videos
M5000 Last Lap W1500 W4x400 M4x400 MMar-Finish W200 M200
Off The Track
You never know who you’re going to run into at the airport after a track meet
Konstantin Volkov, Sergey Bubka, and me, proving I really was a redhead back in the day! (I was able to get Bubka to autograph the photo a few years later)
NBC had assembled a T&F production/announcing team in 1978/1979 in preparation for its coverage of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. When the U.S. boycotted those Games, NBC only sent a small crew, since the network’s hours of coverage would be greatly reduced. While many of those early hires, myself included, were disappointed at missing the Olympics, we were able to work on other T&F broadcasts and were grateful to finally get the opportunity to work on a “big” event–these inaugural World Championships…Bruce Jenner was supposed to be in Helsinki as part of the announcing team, but stayed home to be with his wife, who was about to give birth!….NBC supplemented its U.S.-based crew with some British personnel, some of whom brought cricket gear to Finland. They challenged the Yanks to a match, and, of course, kicked our butts! (or did they? I ran into Graeme, a British cameraman, at the Tokyo Olympics and he says the Yanks won!)
1989–Four members of the Naval Academy’s x-country team were killed in an auto accident shortly after they had arrived at their pre-season camp in Pennsylvania. Read Liam Boylan-Pett’s touching story about the tragedy:
Four Midshipmen Gone: https://lopemagazine.com/2019/10/23/navy-academy-cross-country-1989-al-cantello-ncaa-xc/
1993—New American citizen Mark Plaatjes, who fled South Africa’s apartheid policy, won the Men’s Marathon on the opening day of the 4th World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. 2nd and 3rd were Namibia’s Luketz Swartbooi (2:14:11) and the Netherlands’ Bert Van Vlaanderen (2:15:12).
Plaatjes has been a long-time physical therapist in Boulder. He competed at the University of Georgia in 1982 and 1983 before returning home to South Africa. He then returned to the U.S. for good in 1988.
Medalists in the Women’s 10k-Walk were Finland’s Sari Essayah (42:59), Italy’s Ileana Salvador (43:08), and Spain’s Encarna Granados (43:21).
The IAAF was offering a brand new Mercedes to each of the winners in Stuttgart, but no cash, much to the consternation of some elite athletes, notably Noureddine Morceli, the defending champion in the 1500 meters. See the NY Times link below for more on the subject.
Medalists/Results: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_World_Championships_in_Athletics
Money Issue:
Sports Illustrated Vault:
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/20/magazine/mark-plaatjes.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_World_Championships_in_Athletics_–_Men’s_Marathon
Wiki Bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Plaatjes
https://inmotionrunning.com/team_member/mark-plaatjes/
1996—Daniel Komen, who failed to make the Kenyan Olympic team, won the 5000-Meters in Zürich in 12:45.09, falling just short of the World Record of 12:44.39 that was set at this meet the previous year by Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie, who finished 2nd here in 12:52.70. 3rd was Paul Tergat (12:54.72), who finished 2nd to Gebrselassie in the 10,000-Meters at the Atlanta Olympics, and 5th was Bob Kennedy, who ran 12:58.21 to break his own 5-week old American Record of 12:58.75.
Geb was within a meter of the lead with 200-Meters to go, but he couldn’t respond when the tall Komen sprinted away for the win. It was the 2nd time within a week that Komen just missed setting a World Record, having run 7:25.16 for 3000-Meters in Monaco, falling just short of Noureddine Morceli’s mark of 7:25.11. Komen would soon get a World Record when he ran a sensational 7:20.67 for 3000-Meters in Rieti, Italy, on September 1!
Russia’s Svetlana Masterkova, a double gold medalist in Atlanta (800,1500), ran 4:12.56 to smash the World Record for the Women’s Mile. Romania’s Paula Ivan set the previous mark of 4:15.61 in 1989.
Videos
Mile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqdMvpBuNGs
5k-Highlight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzox8TroeFA
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile_run_world_record_progression.
2005–Cuba’s Osleidys Menéndez won the gold medal in the Women’s Javelin on the final day of competition at the World Championships in Helsinki and improved her World Record to 235-3 (71.70m) on her first throw. 2nd was Germany’s Christina Obergföll, who set a European Record of 229-9 (70.03), and 3rd was her teammate, Steffi Nerius (216-5 [65.96]). In addition to the $60,000 she won for her 1st-place finish, Menéndez also collected $100,000 bonus for setting a WR!
Menéndez recently (2022) left Cuba and hopes to settle in the U.S.
In a tactical Men’s 5000-meters, Australia’s Craig “Buster” Mottram prevented an East African sweep by winning the bronze medal in 13:32.96. Finishing 1-2 were Kenya’s Benjamin Limo (13:32.55) and Ethiopia’s Sileshi Sihine (13:32.81). 4th was Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, the defending champion (13:33.04) who became a legendary marathoner.
Great Britain’s Paula Radcliffe won the Women’s Marathon in 2:20:57 (Championship Record). She was followed by Kenya’s Catherine Ndereba (2:22:01) and Romania’s Constantina Dita (2:23:19).
A U.S. lineup of Andrew Rock (44.3), Derrick Brew (44.7), Darold Williamson (44.4), and Jeremy Wariner (43.5), the 400 Champion, won the Men’s 4×400 in 2:56.91. The Americans were pressed the entire race by the Bahamas, which finished 2nd in 2:57.32, followed by Jamaica (2:58.07).
Medalists in other events
Men’s High Jump: Ukraine’s Yuriy Krimarenko (7-7 ¼ [2.32]), Cuba’s Victor Moya (7-6 [2.29]), Russia’s Yaroslav Rybakov (7-6 [2.29])…
7 men cleared 7-6!
Men’s 800: Bahrain’s Rashid Ramzi (1:44.24/also won the 1500), Russia’s Yuriy Borazkovsky(1:44.51), Kenya’s William Yiampoy
(1:44.55)
Women’s 1500: Russia’s Tatyana Tomashova (4:00.35) and Olga Yegorova (4:01.46), France’s Bouchra Ghézielle (4:02.45)
Women’s 4×400: Russia (3:20.95), Jamaica (3:23.29), Great Britain (3:24.44)…4.Poland 3:24.49 (U.S. DQ’d in heat)
WR Progression: http://www.apulanta.fi/matti/yu/wrprogr_Women.html#Javelin_throw
Videos: Men’s 4×400 Men’s 5000 Women’s 4×400 Men’s 800 Women’s Marathon(Finish) Women’s Javelin
2013—Ireland’s Robert Heffernan (3:37:56) won the 50k-Walk, the day’s only final, at the World Championships in Moscow. He became the first Irishman to win a World title since Eamonn Coghlan won the Men’s 5000 in 1983. 2nd and 3rd were Australia’s Jared Tallent (3:40:03) and Ukraine’s Ihor Hlavan (3:40:39).
Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH1UuXRuWIY
https://www.worldathletics.org/news/feature/work-rest-and-play-robert-heffernan
2016—The Men’s 400-Meters at the Rio Olympics would offer a rematch of the three medalists from the previous year’s World Championships in Beijing, a race which saw three men break 44-seconds in the same race for the first time in history.
South Africa’s Wayde van Niekirk (43.48) won that race, followed by American LaShawn Merritt (43.65) and Grenada’s Kirani James (43.78).
It was felt that any one of those three, who had accounted for the last six global titles, was a potential gold medalist in Rio (Merritt—2008 OG, 2009 & 2013 WC; James—2011 WC, 2012 OG; van Niekirk-2015 WC).
Merritt (5) and James (6), running side-by-side, were virtually even coming off the final turn, but they were about a meter behind van Niekirk, who was running “blind” out of lane 8. Fans held their breath as they anticipated a dramatic stretch drive by the three giants of the event. But the drama belonged solely in van Niekirk’s hands (and feet) as he ran away from his two rivals in the homestretch and crossed the finish line in a jaw-dropping 43.03 to smash Michael Johnson’s World Record of 43.18! James won the consolation prize, edging Merritt for the silver medal (43.76-43.85).
Even Usain Bolt, watching the race on a monitor as he prepared to enter the stadium for the Men’s 100-Meters, was impressed!
Bolt’s journey to legendary status began 8 years earlier when he won the 100 at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He joined Carl Lewis as a 2-time Olympic 100-meter champ with his win in London in 2012, and became the first 3-time winner with his victory here in Rio (9.81) over Justin Gatlin (9.89) and Canada’s Andre DeGrasse (9.91).
2-time World Champion Caterine Ibargüen (Colombia) won her 3rd straight global title in the Women’s Triple Jump (49-9 ¼ [15.17]), while Keturah Orji just missed a medal, finishing 4th with an American Record jump of 48-3 ¼ (14.71). Winning silver and bronze were Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas(49-1 ¾[14.98]) and Kazakhstan’s Olga Rypakova (48-4 ½ [14.74]). Rojas has dominated the event ever since, winning World titles in 2017, 2019, and 2022, as well as winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. And, she’s the World Record holder!
Kenya’s Jemima Sumgong won the Women’s Marathon in 2:24:04, followed by Bahrain’s Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa (2:24:13) and Ethiopia’s Mare Dibaba (2:24:30). The U.S. got top-10 finishes from Shalane Flanagan (6th/2:25:26), Desiree Linden (7th/2:26:08), and Amy Cragg (9th/2:28:25).
Medalists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_2016_Summer_Olympics
Additional Reports: https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxi-olympic-games-7093747/news
Videos
M400: https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/video/detail/men-s-400m-sprint-final-rio-2016-replays/
M100: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gUW1JikaxQ
Born On This Day*
Aretha Hill-Thurmond 49 (1976) 4-time U.S. Olympian-Discus (2008-9th/’96, ’04, ’12)
Competed in 5 World Championships (2009-10th/’99, ’03, ’05, ’11)
4-time U.S. Champion (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008); PB: 216-1 (65.86/2004)
4-time NCAA Finalist (Washington)—1995 (7th), 1996 (3rd), 1997 (4th), 1998 (2nd)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aretha_Thurmond
https://gohuskies.com/news/2016/5/24/210975629
Chris Nelloms 54 (1971) 1993 NCAA Champion—200m (Ohio State)
2-time NCAA Indoor Champion—200m (1993, 1994)
1994 U.S. Indoor Champion
T&F News Male H.S. Athlete of the Year in 1990 (Dunbar-Dayton,OH)…was the #1 prep in the 200
(20.47), 400 (45.36/8 fastest time of the year), 110-hurdles (13.30/#7 All-Time)
Survived a random shooting in 1992
Currently serving a lengthy prison sentence for crimes committed against one of his daughters. He
maintains his innocence, while his daughter stands by her accusations.
PBs: 20.23 (1993), 45.36 (1990)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Nelloms
Life In Prison (2006):
Dave Patrick 79 (1946) 2-time NCAA Champion (Villanova)—1966 (mile), 1968 (1500)
2-time NCAA Indoor Champion—880y (1967, 1968)…beat Jim Ryun in 1967 and set a World Indoor
Record of 1:48.9
1968 IC4A Champion-mile (3:56.8).
Winner of 7 Penn Relays watches: 1966/2-mile, DMR, 1967/4-mile, DMR, 1968/2-mile, SMR, DMR
PBs: 1:46.90 (1968), 3:39.9 (1968), 3:56.8(1968)
Won the 1500-meters at the 1968 “Semi”-Olympic Trials in Los Angeles. Patrick and his coach, Jumbo
Elliott, working under the impression that he was on the U.S. team, began preparing for the Mexico
City Olympics. When they arrived in Lake Tahoe for the final Trials, they learned that the L.A. win
meant nothing and that only the top-3 finishers in Tahoe would be on the team! His Olympic dream
ended when he finished 4th in the final behind Jim Ryun, Marty Liquori, his former teammate at
Villanova, and Tom Von Ruden.
On a personal note, Patrick’s “Semi” win in L.A. led to my winning T&F News’ prediction contest,
earning a trip to the Mexico City Olympics! Patrick would later tell me (good-naturedly), “At least
someone got something out of that race”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prm-OFs3DIU
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1967/03/20/first-blood-of-a-classic-duel
http://villanovarunning.blogspot.com/2010/01/dave-patrick-and-1968-olympic-trials.html
https://vault.si.com/vault/1967/03/13/faster-and-better-and-still-only-no-2
https://vault.si.com/vault/1968/06/03/a-real-shot-at-mexico-city
The Dave Patrick Saga
For many years, friends and former teammates (as well as Villanova coach Marcus O’Sullivan) had been pushing to get Dave Patrick official recognition as a U.S. Olympian. Things came together at the 2008 Penn Relays, when Patrick was surprised at a Villanova reception that he thought was being held to honor the 1968 Wildcat team. Here’s how he remembers that night:
“I had been working for weeks on a multi-media presentation at Penn to honor the Villanova team (Larry James — Honorary Carnival Referee), Frank Murphy, Wall of Fame at Penn) and in general the entire team. I had a couple videos in the presentation including the mile relay that Larry ran 43.9y and with that Villanova won their record 5th Championship of America. I had been working for weeks to get everyone there from all over the country (four guys came from Ireland, Des McCormack, Frank Murphy, Ian Hamilton and Eamonn Coghlan).
After making some remarks before and after the presentation I was followed by Marcus O’Sullivan who stated that he got a kick out of watching me plan my own reception and I did not ever know it. Then he invited up Steve Simmons, Payton Jordan (flew all the way over from West Coast) who were joined by John Carlos, Tom Farrell, Larry James, Erv Hall, Russ Hodge, Norm Tate and Don Bragg, etc.
Steve Simmons and Payton Jordan said they were here to correct the injustice that was done 40 years ago and make me an official member of the 1968 US Olympic team. Wow, I was really caught by surprise. They presented me with the Olympic flag and all the Olympic apparel and gave me two tickets to the Olympic trials in Eugene”!
And here’s what Marcus O’Sullivan wrote about the night and the events that led up it for the Villanova newsletter.
An Evening to Remember
by Marcus O’Sullivan
As the story goes, and there is enough documentation to confirm this, it had been officially established that whoever won the trials in LA would be automatically selected for the 1968 Olympics, leaving the remainder of the team to be assembled after completing the second trial in Lake Tahoe.
Such an unorthodox way to have an Olympic Trials emerged out of the fact that the USOC wanted to have the trials in a spectator filled location, and LA was the obvious choice where they could capitalize on the heightened publicity. However, it met resistance as experts stressed that the team would be strongest if it were selected in a location that mirrored the altitude environment of Mexico City. Consequently, Lake Tahoe, being at a high enough altitude, was the suggested choice. A compromise was made and an agreement was publicized that the winner at sea level in LA would gain automatic selection and the next two spots would be decided at the second trial in Lake Tahoe. Dave Patrick won the (1500-meters at the LA Trials), and therefore became an automatic selection to the US Olympic Team.
However, days before the 2nd trial was to be run, the goal posts somehow managed to be moved by what looked later like a manipulation of circumstances by shrewd lobbyists. There and then it was decided that all 3 Olympic 1500m spots would go to the top 3 place getters in Lake Tahoe. When the dust settled, it was clear that Dave Patrick was indirectly, albeit arguably, maneuvered off the Olympic Team when he finished 4th in Lake Tahoe.
Life could never quite be the same for Dave. Jim Murray, then Sports Information Director for Villanova, took the call from Jumbo. “Jim, I think I have just witnessed a wedding and funeral all at once”, said Mr. Elliott, as he referred to Marty Liquori, his nineteen year old freshman making the team and Dave Patrick being ousted from the same team. As they crossed the finish line, the best and the worst situation was revealed to Jumbo.
Some years ago and in his attempt to explain the situation, Jack Daniels, who was the altitude training co-coordinator (for the U.S. team) posed to me a simple question, “If you were told you had made the team in LA, what would you do then in terms of training?” My reply to Jack was simple, “I would train for the Olympics”. In other words, Tahoe was not his focus and in actual fact to have finished fourth was a great performance in proving fitness.
“Exactly”, exclaimed Jack, “and that is what Dave Patrick did”. Only to be penalized for his good intentions.
This is the way it stayed for many years until a number of years ago while over a very long breakfast with Marty Liquori, he convinced me to take up the plight of trying to have Dave recognized. After hearing a number of variations of the story, it was very obvious that Dave was indeed the victim of unfortunate administrative circumstances. Once the wrong was done, it seemed too much of an ordeal to then go back and change the rules again.
During the Villanova Olympic Gala in 2004, many of the Villanova Alum, as well as the athletic department, were unaware of how the story went and so during the preparations Villanova’s Athletic Director, Vince Nicastro, and the organizing committee decided that the least it could do was to recognize one of our own and the accomplishment he had achieved. I knew it was falling short of the real thing, but I was determined to recognize a wrong done to Dave Patrick and in essence to let him know how we truly felt about him.
And then four years later, the seemingly impossible happened. Larry James and Steve Simmons, who was the U.S. team leader for the 1992 Olympic Games, through a collaboration of sorts, managed to do the unthinkable – to finally have Dave Patrick recognized as the Olympian he always was in the eyes of many. It was to be a surprise, so Steve called me and asked if there would be an appropriate time to do the ceremony with some of his classmates present. I immediately thought of the Penn Relays and the 1968 reunion that Dave Patrick was organizing. I suggested to Dave that the Track and Field program host a cocktail hour on Friday evening of the Penn Relays, and Dave thought it would be a nice gesture.
Dave was putting a montage show together for the class of ’68 and he thought it would be a great opportunity to recognize Larry James for being the Honorary Referee at the Penn Relays. Little did he know the real reason Larry, Steve and I wanted to have this cocktail hour. The scene was set!
What an evening it turned out to be. The gathering was large at the Sheraton with many of the Villanova 1968 team present. The 1966 National Cross Country Championship winning team was all together for the first time in many years. It included Tom Donnelly, Ian Hamilton, Frank Murphy, Jack O’Leary, Charlie Messenger and Dave.
An Irish contingent traveled from Ireland which included 1983 World Champion, Eamonn Coghlan and his wife, Yvonne. Frank Murphy. European 1500 meter silver medalist was also present to be inducted into the Penn Relays Wall of Fame. They were joined by John Hartnett, who ran 3:54.7 for the mile in 1974.
Payton Jordan, who was the coach of the 1968 Olympic Team, nibbled on appetizers and mingled through the crowd, never giving away the reason he was there but told Dave that he was always fond of the Villanova Boys and wanted to be a part of the gathering. Dave accepted this very plausible excuse and proceeded to get his visual collage started.
The 17 minute video was terrific and shortly after was followed with a few words from Frank Murphy and Larry James. As I was coming to the podium in what appeared to wrap up the evening, I then revealed why this gathering was assembled. Steve Simmons along with Payton Jordan made their way to the podium to carry out the sanctioned ceremony that would finally recognize the Olympian status of Dave Patrick. It was emotional and truly a surprise to Dave and his wife, Michelle, who also was unaware of this secretly orchestrated event. In a letter sent to me by Payton, you can tell how much love and affection he still has for the Olympic Team of 1968 and articulated it well shortly after the ceremony when he wrote,
“It was a deep honor to be with the Villanova athletes and the supporters of the Villanova track and field team. It was time to recognize your great champion and Olympian, Dave Patrick. He was and always will be a member of our 1968 United States Olympic Team! ”
John Carlos, bronze medalist(200) at the Games, was on hand to say a few words and expressed his memories of the hurt he remembers in Dave’s eyes during the Tahoe race. Such a great improv speaker, he was able to capture the low and high of Dave’s life with regard to this one event.
To see so many people there to support this evening was both heartwarming and awe-inspiring. Everyone was able to reflect on all the accomplishments of both the Villanova 1968 team and US Olympic team of Mexico City.
A very special thanks to Larry James and Steve Simmons who made this evening possible. Thanks for the effort in taking the time to put the record straight.
Congratulations, Dave!
Deceased
Marty Glickman 83 (1917-Jan.3, 2001) Legendary NY sportscaster
Much has been made over the years about the decision not to run Jewish runners Glickman and Sam Stoller, who finished 5th and 6th in
the 100 at the U.S. Trials, in the 4×100, the implication being that U.S. officials didn’t want to “offend” their Nazi hosts in Berlin.
Others have argued that it made sense to run the fastest men available. Jesse Owens, tired from his already-busy schedule(he had
won the 100, 200, and Long Jump), reportedly asked U.S. coach Lawson Robertson to leave Glickman and Stoller on the team, but
was told (in no uncertain terms) the decision was final.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marty_Glickman
http://www.americansportscastersonline.com/glickman.html
https://hof.nysbroadcasters.org/radio/marty-glickman/
ESPN Transcript–Bob Costas and Marv Albert talk about Glickman, their broadcasting mentor: http://espn.go.com/page2/tvlistings/show41transcript.html
