by RBR Admin
Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service ([email protected])
This Day in Track & Field–August 16
1920–Using his patented finish-line leap, American Charley Paddock edged teammate Morris Kirksey to win the 100-meters at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, with both being timed in 10.8. Kirksey might have lost the gold medal when he glanced to his right just as Paddock crossed the finish line. Great Britain’s Harry Edward edged American Jackson Scholz to take the bronze medal(estimated time of 10.9 for both). Loren Murchison, the winner at the U.S. Trials, was left in the blocks after thinking that a recall gun was about to be fired, and wound up last in the 6-man field.
Unhappy with the living quarters on the ship that was carrying the U.S. team across the Atlantic to Antwerp, Paddock led the “Mutiny on the Matoika”, gathering signatures from his fellow athletes on a petition that asked for more suitable conditions when they arrived in the host city. A noble gesture, but the athletes’ plea apparently fell on deaf ears, with Paddock winding up renting his own apartment so he could better prepare for the Games.
Paddock went on to win the silver medal in the 200 in Antwerp, and ran the lead-off leg on the U.S. team that won the 4×100 relay. He competed in two more Olympics, winning the silver medal in the 200 in 1924.
After befriending Hollywood’s Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., on the trip to the 1924 Games in Paris, Paddock had a brief acting career. He enlisted in the Marines when World War II broke out, serving as a Morale Officer, and was killed in a plane crash in Alaska in 1943 while serving in that capacity.
It was a medal sweep for the U.S. in the 400-Meter Hurdles, with winner Frank Loomis setting a World Record of 54.0. Winning silver and bronze were John Norton (54.6e), who had set a WR of 54.2 for the slightly longer 440-yards event at the Western Trials earlier in the year, and August Desch (54.7e).
Finland’s Eero Lehtonen won the 1st of his 2 gold medals in the 5-event Pentathlon, while teammate Hugo Lahtinen won the bronze. Winning the silver medal was American Everett Bradley.
Medalists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1920_Summer_Olympics
Great video feature on Paddock(includes the Olympic final): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU7Ei5IbIAw
Paddock: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_Paddock
Kirksey: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Kirksey
1980—While the first full World Championships wouldn’t take place until 1983, the IAAF decided to offer World titles in two women’s events that weren’t part of the 1980 Olympic schedule.
Held in Sittard in the Netherlands, the 3000-meters was won by West Germany’s Brigit Friedmann in 8:48.05. 2nd & 3rd were Sweden’s Karoline Nemetz (8:50.22) and Norway’s Ingrid Kristiansen (8:58.8).
It was an East German 1-3 sweep in the 400-meter hurdles: Bärbel Broschat (54.55), Ellen Neumann (54.56), Petra Pfaff (55.84). Finishing 5th was Esther Mahr, who set an American Record of 56.81.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_World_Championships_in_Athletics
1985–Mary Decker ran 1:56.90 in Bern, Switzerland, to improve her own American Record (1:57.60) in the 800-meters.
1987—Dealing with shifting winds, Carl Lewis had one of the greatest long-jump series in history at the Pan-American Games in Indianapolis. He had a legal jump of 28-8 ½ (8.745) and wind-aided jumps of 28-8 1/2 and two at 28-5 ¾ (8.68).
Medalists: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1987_Pan_American_Games
1989–Roger Kingdom won the 110-meter hurdles in 12.92 in Zürich to break Renaldo Nehemiah’s 8-year old American and World Record of 12.93. Kingdom, who won his 2nd Olympic gold the previous year, beat a star-studded field that included his fellow medalists from Seoul, Great Britain’s Colin Jackson (13.12) and Tonie Campbell (13.23). 4th was Jack Pierce (13.24) and 5th was Greg Foster (13.26). Kingdom was mobbed by his fellow hurdlers when the official time was posted!
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHA2rWbIvJs
Hall of Fame Bio(2005): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/roger-kingdom
1993–Gail Devers, the 1992 Olympic sprint champion, won the 100-meters at the World Championships in Stuttgart in a photo-finish over Jamaica’s Merlene Ottey, with both runners clocked in 10.82. 3rd was Gwen Torrence (10.89). Devers would later win the 100-meter hurdles with an American Record time of 12.46.
Adding a World Championships gold to the one he earned at the previous year’s Olympics, Mike Conley won the Men’s Triple Jump with a leap of 58-7 ¼ (17.86). Winning silver and bronze were Russia’s Leonid Voloshin
(57-11 [17/65]) and Great Britain’s Jonathan Edwards (57-2 ¾ [17.44]).
Unlike most championship distance races that become tactical affairs, the Men’s 5000-meters was a quick one, won by 18-year old Kenyan Ismael Kirui in 13:02.75. He broke his own World Junior Record of 13:06.50 and the Championships Record of 13:14.45.
A close 2nd to Kirui was another youngster, 20-year old Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie (13:03.17), who was not yet the legend he would soon become (although he would win the first of his four World 10k titles later in these Championships). 3rd was Ethiopia’s Fita Bayisa (13:05.40).
Coming from behind in the 5th round, Czech Jan Železný threw 282-1 (85.98) to win the first of his three World titles in the Men’s Javelin (also won in 1995 and 2001). 2nd & 3rd were Finland’s Kimmo Kinnunen (278-2 [84.78]) and Great Britain’s Mick Hill (272-2 [82.96]).
The Women’s 3000-meters was swept by three members of “Ma’s Army”, China’s Qu Yunxia (8:28.71), Zhang Linli (8:29.25), and Zhang Linong (8:31.95). Despite a slow early pace, all three smashed the previous Championship Record of 8:34.62, set by Mary Decker in Helsinki in 1983. Finishing a frustrated 4th was Ireland’s Sonia O’Sullivan (8:33.38). Qu Yunxia ran an amazing 4:06 for her final 1500-meters!
It wouldn’t be long before questions arose about the success of the Chinese women who were coached by Ma Junren (see links).
Medalists/Results: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_World_Championships_in_Athletics
Athletics Weekly Recap:
https://athleticsweekly.com/london-2017/iaaf-world-championships-history-stuttgart-1993-65250/
Rise and Fall of Ma’s Army:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/sep/07/sydney.sport1
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2001/jul/24/athletics.duncanmackay1
1995—Coming just 3 days after the completion of the World Championships in Gothenburg, athletes arrived in Zürich in fine form, ready to compete at a high level at the legendary Weltklasse meet. And that they did, producing two World Records and a host of other fine performances.
Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie, the World Champ at 10,000-meters, regained the World Record in the 5000-meters by running an amazing 12:44.39, more than 10 seconds under the old mark of 12:55.30.
Kenya’s Moses Kiptanui, the previous 5k record holder, came away from the meet with a consolation prize of a new World Record in the Steeplechase, becoming the first man to break 8-minutes with his winning time of 7:59.18.
Both Geb and Kiptanui picked up bonuses of $50,000 and a kilo of gold for their WR efforts.
Algeria’s Noureddine Morceli almost gave the rabid Weltklasse fans a 3rd WR, winning the Mile in 3:45.19, just .8s short of his global standard of 3:44.39!
The Women’s 400-Meter hurdles featured the 3 medalists from the Worlds, including Americans Kim Batten (gold) and Tonja Buford (silver), both of whom had bettered the WR in Gothenburg, and France’s Marie-José Pérec, the World Champion at 400-Meters. Buford (52.90) had the upper hand this time, winning in 52.90 over Pérec (53.21), Jamaica’s Deon Hemmings (53.57/3rd at Worlds), and Batten (54.41).
It’s a shame that the Men’s 800 was split into 2 sections. Johnny Gray won the 1st in 1:43.36, with 4 other men breaking 1:44. Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer was even quicker in the 2nd, running 1:42.87 to match his personal best.
Other notable winners included: Michael Johnson (400/43.88), Sergey Bubka (PV/19-4 ¼ [5.90]), Lars Riedel (DT/221-0 [67.36]), Maria Mutola (800-1:55.93), and Sonia O’Sullivan (3000/8:27.67).
Videos
5000 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=falH2esJepA
steeple https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC1-fS8YzwY
WR Progression(5k): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5000_metres
WR Progression(steeple): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steeplechase_(athletics)
LetsRun’s Jonathan Gault and World Athletics celebrated the 25th anniversary of this magical night in 2020.
https://www.worldathletics.org/heritage/news/moses-kiptanui-steeplechase-eight-minutes
2002—Morocco’s Brahim Boulami won the Steeplechase in Zürich in 7:53.17, ostensibly breaking his own World Record of 7:55.28, but it was soon announced that a urine sample that had been taken the day before the race tested positive for EPO. Boulami, claiming innocence, challenged the 2-year ban handed down by the IAAF, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport(CAS) upheld the ruling. Boulami returned to competition in 2004 and would finish 4th at the 2005 World Championships.
Race Report: http://www.iaaf.org/news/news/boulami-storms-zurich-with-world-steeplechase-1
Ban Upheld: http://www.eurosport.com/athletics/boulami-banned-for-2-years_sto509719/story.shtml
2008–The Championship portion of the Usain Bolt era officially begins. Starting his celebration 10-meters before the finish line, he wins the Men’s 100-meters at the Beijing Olympics in 9.69 to break his own World Record of 9.72 that was set in NY earlier in the year.
Finishing 2-3 were U.S. collegians Richard Thompson (LSU/Trinidad&Tobago-9.89) and Walter Dix (Florida State/USA-9.91). Dix had won the 200, Thompson the 100 (with Dix 4th), at the NCAA Championships in June.
New Zealand’s Val Vili-Adams (67-5 ½ [20.56]) won the 2nd of her eventual six consecutive global titles in the Women’s Shot Put. (OG-2008,2012, WC-2007-2009-2011-2013). 2nd was Cuba’s Misleydis González (63-11 ¾ [19.50]) and 3rd was China’s Gong Lijiao (63.0[19.20]).
Ukraine’s Natalia Dobrynska (6633) won the Heptathlon over American Hyleas Fountain (6619) and Great Britain’s Kelly Sotherton (6517). Ukraine’s Liudmyla Blonska and Russia’s Tatyana Chernova had finished 2-3, but both were retroactively disqualified for doping violations. It was the 2nd Olympic bronze for Sotherton, who originally finished 5th.
Medalists in the Men’s 20k-Walk were Russia’s Valeriy Borchin (1:19:01), Ecuador’s Jefferson Pérez (1:19.15), the 1996 Olympic champion, and Australia’s Jared Tallent (1:19.42), who would win the silver medal in the 50k event 6 days later.
Medalists/Results: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_2008_Summer_Olympics
M100: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-urnlaJpOA
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/2008/08/25/faster-than-fast
2009–A year to the day after winning Olympic gold in Beijing, Usain Bolt took the World Record in the Men’s 100-Meters to another level with his winning time of 9.58 at the World Championships in Berlin. Easing up before the finish when he ran 9.69 in Beijing, Bolt went full blast though the finish line this time.
Tyson Gay was a distant 2nd, but still lowered his American Record to 9.71, while Bolt’s Jamaican teammate Asafa Powell won the bronze medal in 9.84.
New Zealand’s Val Vili-Adams (67-3/4 [20.44m]) won the 2nd of her four World titles in the Women’s Shot Put. Winning silver and bronze were Germany’s Nadine Kleinert (66-3 ¼ [20.20]) and China’s Gong Lijiao (64-7 ¼ [19.69])
Great Britain’s Jessica Ennis won the Heptathlon with a score of 6,731 points. Finishing 2-3 were Germany’s Jennifer Oeser (6493) and Poland’s Kamila Chudzik (6471). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_World_Championships_in_Athletics_–_Women%27s_heptathlon
Medalists in the Women’s 20k Walk were Ireland’s Olive Loughnane (1:28:58), China’s Liu Hong (1:29:10), and Russia’s Anisya Kirdyapkina (1:30:09). Russia’s Olga Kaniskina was the original “winner”, but was later stripped of her title due to a doping violation.
Medalists/Results: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_World_Championships_in_Athletics
Videos:
M100: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WeSDohv5Tw&feature=player_embedded
WSP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuWQyOcERNw
SI Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/2009/08/31/bolt-strikes-twice
T&F News’ Coverage: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Bolt-Berlin-WRs.pdf
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_100_metres_world_record_progression
NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/sports/global/17track.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
2013—Allyson Felix, coming off a 3-gold medal performance (200, both relays) at the London Olympics, was hoping to win her 4thWorld title at 200-meters in Moscow, but she pulled up with a hamstring injury midway through the race.
But even a healthy Felix might have had trouble beating Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who completed her sprint double with a convincing win over the Ivory Coast’s Murielle Ahouré (22.11-22.37). Finishing 3rd was Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare (22.32). 4thwas the Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller-Uibo (22.74).
Matching his Olympic double was Great Britain’s Mo Farah (13:26.98), who won the tactical Men’s 5000-Meters over Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet (13:27.26), and Kenya’s Isiah Koech (13:27.26). (Farah had earlier won the 10,000).
In contention with a lap to go, 38-year old Bernard Lagat couldn’t match the final sprint of the others and wound up 6th (13:29.24). This turned out to be the last hurrah for Lagat at the World Championships, since he failed to make the U.S. team that competed at the 2015 Worlds in Beijing. He would make his 5th Olympic team (in the 5000) in 2016, his final year competing at the elite level on the track.
Germany’s gentle giant, David Storl (6-6 ¼/1.99), won the silver medal in the Men’s Shot Put in London, but moved up to gold here, winning his 2nd World title with a toss of 71-3 ½(21.73m). 2nd was favored Ryan Whiting(70-9 ¼ [21.57]) and 3rd was Canada’s Dylan Armstrong(70-1/4[21.34]).
Stung by an upset loss to the Bahamas at the London Olympics, the U.S. got back to its winning ways in the Men’s 4×400, with 400 winner LaShawn Meritt finishing off the win (2:58.71) with a 44.8 split. It was a close race until the 3rd leg, when Arman Hall extended the U.S. lead to at least 10-meters with a “modest” 44.9 split. Running the 1st two legs for the U.S. were David Verburg (45.0) and Tony McQuay (44.0).
Meanwhile, it was a great battle for 2nd place, with 5 teams in contention as the anchor leg began. Javon Francis brought Jamaica (2:59.88) from 5th to 2nd with a great 44.1 leg, finishing just ahead of Russia (2:59.90). Great Britain (3:00.88) finished 4thand 5th was Belgium (3:01.02), with the three Borlée brothers (Jonathan, Kevin, Dylan) running the 1st three legs.
In 2017, Russia was stripped of the bronze medals because their lead-off man, Maksim Dyldin, was sanctioned for failing a doping re-test of his sample from the Beijing Olympics. Great Britain was moved up to 3rd place. (The Russian women, the “winners” of the 4×400 the following day, were also stripped of their gold medals for similar reasons).
Poland’s Anita Anita Włodarczyk (257-5 [78.46]), the 2012 Olympic Champion, won the 2nd of her 4 World titles in the Women’s Hammer. Finishing 2-3 were China’s Zhang Wienxiu (247-11 [75.58]) and Wang Zheng (245-9 [74.90]).
Russia’s Aleksandr Menkov delighted the home crowd by winning the Men’s Long Jump with a leap of 28-1 (8.56). The Netherlands’ Ignisious Gaisah finished 2nd with a National Record of 27-2 ½ (8.29), and a close 3rd was Mexico’s Luis Rivera (27-1 ¾ [8.27]).
Dwight Phillips, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist and 4-time World Champion, had originally planned to retire after the 2012 season, but a serious Achilles injury kept him on the sidelines for most of the year.
Wanting to end his career while still an active competitor, he stayed in shape for another year, knowing that he had a bye into his 7th World Championships as the defending champion
Far from top form, he still managed to advance out of the qualifying round in Moscow with a season’s best jump of 26-1, but only finished 11th in the final.
He would compete one more time in Zürich later in the month before bidding farewell to a marvelous career.
Medalists/Results: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_World_Championships_in_Athletics
IAAF Coverage:
Goodbye Dwight: http://www.iaaf.org/news/feature/goodbye-dwight-and-thank-you
Videos: W200 MLJ M4x400 M5000(finish) M5000(Full race)
2016—Competing in the morning session at the Rio Olympics, Christian Taylor (58-7 ¼ [17.86]) defended his title in the Men’s Triple Jump, beating arch-rival and fellow former Florida Gator Will Claye (58-3 ¼ (17.76). 3rd was China’s Dong Bin (57-8 ¼ [17.58]).
Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba (4:10.27), the World Record holder in the event, was beaten by Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon (4:08.92) in a tactical Women’s 1500-meters, while Jenny Simpson (4:10.53) closed well to win the bronze medal, just ahead of American Record holder Shannon Rowbury (4:11.05). Simpson, the winner of three World Championship medals in the event, became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal (1500).
Said Simpson, “I just remember my coaches gave me a mantra coming into the race, and it’s their wisdom and my fitness that really was what excelled tonight. Their mantra for me was, ‘position the first two laps, and the second two laps become a predator.’ I think that they know what brings out the best in me and I’ve had races where I have gone to the front and been a protagonist in the race and really made something happen. Given my training and elements of the year for me, they knew that I would be in the best position if I was in a position to see the medals and run them down…. They said, whenever somebody jumps to the front, go with them, look at where the medals are, and go get ‘em. My last 300 meters is the best demonstration of their wisdom and me executing what they told me to do.”
Canada’s Derek Drouin (7-9 ¾ [2.38]) followed up his High Jump win at the 2015 World Championships by winning Olympic gold over Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim (7-8 ¾ [2.36]) and Ukraine’s Bohdan Bondarenko (7-7 ¾ [2.33]). Drouin won five NCAA titles while at Indiana.
Jamaica’s Omar McLeod (13.05), the 2015 NCAA Champion while at Arkansas, won the 110-meter hurdles over Spain’s Orlando Ortega (13.17), a native of Cuba. 3rd was France’s Dimitri Bascou (13.24) and 5th was American Devon Allen (13.31).
Croatia’s Sandra Perković (227-0 [69.21]) repeated as the Olympic Champion in the Women’s Discus. She would win her 2nd World title the following year in London. Winning silver and bronze were France’s Mélina Robert-Michon (218-11 [66.73]) and Cuba’s Denia Caballero (214-4[65.34]).
Medalists/Results: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_2016_Summer_Olympics
IAAF Coverage Olympedia Reports
Videos: Men’s TJ Women’s 1500 Men’s HJ Men’s 110h
Born On This Day*
Christian Okoye—Nigeria 64 (1961) 8-time NAIA Champion at Azusa Pacific
Shot Put (1986), Discus (1983-1986), Hammer (1984); 35-pound Weight Throw (1985, 1987)
PBs: Discus: 212-4 (64.72 [1985]), Hammer: 219-1 (66.92 [1986])
The “Nigerian Nightmare” was the 1989 NFL rushing leader (1,480 yards)…played 6 seasons with the Kansas
City Chiefs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Okoye
NFL Stats: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/O/OkoyCh00.htm
A Bruiser From Azusa (Sports Illustrated)
Hasely Crawford—Trinidad & Tobago 75 (1950) Became a national hero after winning the gold medal in the 100-
meters at the 1976 Olympics (out of lane 1). A plane, a stamp, and a stadium in Port of Spain bear his
name.
1975 NCAA Champion—100y (Eastern Michigan); 1975 NCAA Indoor Champion—60y;
PB(100m): 10.06 (1976)
Competed in 4 Olympics
1972—100 (DNF-injured), 1976—100 (Gold), 200 (8th), 1980—100 (2nd round), 4×100 (heat), 1984—100 (2nd round)
The Mighty Sparrow recorded a song about his win—(Hasely Crawford) “Like a Bullet”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8SU_kRNDKU
OG Documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-cGqEtGVRU
https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/sports/hasley-crawford/
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/76913
Sheila Lerwill-Great Britain 97 (1928) 1952 Olympic silver medalist—High Jump
1950 European Champion
Set a World Record of 5-7 ½ (1.72) in 1951
At 97, she’s the oldest living female Olympic medalist.
Inducted into England’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/68707
https://oldestolympians.sdsu.edu
https://www.englandathletics.org/team-england/hall-of-fame/2013-inductees/
Photo: https://www.streathamsociety.org.uk/blogs–posts/sheila-lerwill
