This Day in Track & Field, May 23, Dutch Warmerdam breaks own WR in PV (1942), Daley Thompson breaks own WR in Decathlon (1982), compiled and edited by Walt Murphy

Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service  ([email protected])

This Day in Track & Field–May 23

1942—Dutch Warmerdam broke his own World Record in the Pole Vault by clearing 15-7  ¾ (4.77) at the inaugural “Northern California Relays” in  Modesto, California. This would be the last WR set in the event with a bamboo pole and would last until Bob Gutowski cleared 15-8  ¼ (4.78) in 1957 with an aluminum pole.

Warmerdam’s previous official World Record was 15-5  ¾ (4.72), while a later clearance of 15-6  7/8 (4.74) was never

ratified for administrative reasons. “Dutch” originally thought he had cleared 15-8 in Modesto, but the remeasurement, after an official accidentally knocked the bar off, showed the height to be 15-7  ¾.

Once the event was over, fans reportedly stormed the field to congratulate Warmerdam and broke apart the crossbar to take home pieces as souvenirs!

WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_pole_vault_world_record_progression

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-05-04-sp-932-story.html

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDjy8OGjrp8

1964—Dyrol Burleson (4:00.2) edged Tom O’Hara (4:00.3) in an exciting Mile at the California Relays in Modesto, but the big news was the 3^rd-place finish of 17-year old Jim Ryun, a junior at Wichita East(KS) H.S., who got closer to the 4-minute barrier with his clocking of 4:01.7. Ryun had set the previous H.S. Record of 4:06.4 at the Kansas state meet the previous week.

In the pre-internet age, when results from other parts of the country weren’t instantly available, senior Gerry Lindgren (Rogers.WA) had every reason to believe he was the new high school record holder, since he had run a solo 4:06.0 on the same day at the Washington state meet in Pullman!

Ralph Boston won the Long Jump with a leap of 27-2  ½ (8.29), breaking his own American Record of 27-2 (8.28). It was the 4^th of his eventual 7 ARs.

1969—Arizona State sophomore Mark Murro threw the javelin 292-8 (89.21) at the Western Athletic Conference Championships on his home field in Tempe to break Frank Covelli’s American Record  of 284-8 (86.77).

AR Progression(metric): http://trackfield.brinkster.net/RecProg_AllUSA.asp?RecCode=WR&EventCode=MF8&Gender=M&P=F

Metric Conversion: https://www.usatf.org/statistics/calculators/markConversions/

Wiki Bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Murro

1972–It was one of the greatest head-to-head competitions the sport had ever seen, with Bob Seagren, the 1968 Olympic gold medalist, and Sweden’s Kjell Isaksson both clearing 18-4  ¼ (5.59) in the Pole Vault in El Paso, well above Isaksson’s official World Record of 18-2 (5.54). There were conflicting reports about whether or not the vault-only “UTEP Invitation IV” had been sanctioned by the AAU, but the marks were never submitted to the IAAF for ratification (Seagren’s mark was recognized as an American Record).

            The event had been set up for Isaksson’s benefit by UTEP coach Wayne Vandenburg, while Seagren, who wanted to take advantage of the favorable vaulting conditions in El Paso, was a last-minute add to the field.

            Both cleared 18-1/2 (5.50), Seagren on his 3^rd attempt, as he became the first American to clear the 18-foot barrier. With Seagren, who was on the comeback trail after undergoing knee surgery in 1971, jumping first, both  cleared 18-4  ¼ on their 2^nd attempts, with Isaksson getting the win on fewer misses.

            Isaksson was actually disappointed with his performance, since he had cleared 18-9 (5.715?) in a training session leading up to the event!

(From Track & Field News

Isaksson: http://memim.com/kjell-isaksson.html

Seagren-Hall of Fame Bio(1986): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/bob-seagren

Isaksson’s WR(18-2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeBBYSZW7_8

1976—Rosalyn Bryant ran 51.5 at UCLA  to set an American Record in the Women’s 400-meters. Bryant would finish 5^th in the 400 and win a silver medal in the 4×400 relay later in the year at the Montreal Olympics.

https://www.worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/rosalyn-bryant-65264

1982–Great Britain’s Daley Thompson regained the World Record in the Decathlon by scoring 8,704 points (8,730-current tables) in Götzis, Austria. Germany’s Guido Kratschmer had scored 8,649 points (8,667) just a month after Thompson got his first World Record of 8,622 (8,648) in 1980.

WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decathlon_world_record_progression

1999—Kajsa Bergqvist cleared 6-6 (1.98) in the High Jump at the Western Athletic Conference Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado, equaling the Collegiate Record originally set by UCLA’s Amy Acuff in 1995.

2015—Ashland senior Drew Windle won his 6^th consecutive NCAA Div.II title in the 800-meters in Allendale,MI. (Indoors-outdoors, 2013-2015).

The late-closing Windle won the silver medal at the 2018 World Indoor Championships and was a semi-finalist at the 2017 outdoor Worlds in London.

http://citiusmag.com/drew-windle-2017-world-championships/

2020—In another Covid-era event, conducted with little publicity to minimize the number of spectators, senior Leo Daschbach (Highland H.S.,AZ) became the 11^th U.S. prep to join the sub-4 club by running 3:59.54 for the Mile at the Quarantine Clasico  in El Dorado Hills,CA. The 9 runners stayed in lanes through the first turn and a rabbit was used for the first half-mile.

https://www.milesplit.com/articles/280806/leo-daschbach-becomes-11th-high-schooler-to-break-4-in-mile

Full Race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDfzZm32sJQ

Born On This Day*

Salwa Eid Naser-Bahrain 27 (1998)  2019 World Champion-400m—ran 48.14 in the final, the 3^rd-fastest time in history

                and the fastest in the world in 34 years…silver medalist in 2017- beat Allyson Felix and Shaunae Miller-Uibo

         2024 Olympic silver medalist

            2019 Asian Champion—200, 400;

            2015 World Youth Champion

            Born in Nigeria…started competing for Bahrain in 2014

            Was provisionally suspended in June, 2020, for missing three drug tests in a 12-month span, which normally

                 constitutes a one-to-two-year suspension. She was originally cleared of the charges, but that decision was

                 overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after they received appeals from World Athletics and

                 WADA. Her ban began on Feb.19, 2021 and ended on Feb.18, 2023, causing her to miss the 2021 Olympics

                 and 2022 World Championships….ran 49.78 in early June, 2023, but a reported injury kept her out of the

                 World Championships in Budapest.

            PB:48.14 (2019/#3 All-Time); 1:08.34i (2025); 2025 SB: 48.67

            2019 WC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMsZtOrE4YI

            2017 WC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qojT38v0STo

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNqdFaUV2SU

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salwa_Eid_Naser

            Nigerian Exodus: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/10/salwa-eid-naser-tale-two-countries-yemi-olus/

            Missed Drug Tests

            https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2020/10/20/salwa-eid-naser-drug-tests/

            ESPN

            https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1106987/naser-cas-hearing-whereabouts-case

            https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2021/07/01/salwa-eid-naser-doping-ban-400-meters/

Andy Powell  45 (1980)  1999 U.S. Junior Champion—1500,5000; 1999 Pan-Am Jr. Champ.-1500

            Ran 4:02.7 (mile) and 8:50.29i (2-mile) as a senior at Oliver Ames H.S.(MA) in 1999

            Currently the Head Coach at the University of Washington…wife Maurica is the Director of T&F and X-Country at

                 the school.  Couple formerly coached at Oregon.

            https://gohuskies.com/coaches.aspx?rc=4019&path=track

Keith Brantly 63 (1962)—1996 U.S. Olympian-Marathon (28^th)

            1998 U.S. Champion-Marathon (Pittsburgh/Won $100,000!)

            Won 6 additional U.S. titles on the road-10k (1985, 1987, 1989, 1995), 20k (1993), 25k (1995)

            4^th in the 5000-meters at the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials, 4^th in the Marathon in 1992.

            All-American at Florida—NCAA 10k (1983-5^th, 1984-7^th)

            Motivational speaker, online coach

            PBs: 3:41.15 (1991), 7:53.24 (1991), 13:36.88 (1992), 28:10.1h (1987), 2:12:31 (1998)

            https://more.arrs.run/runner/114

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Brantly

            https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78141

Barbara Mueller  92 (1933)  2-time U.S. Champion—Pentathlon (1955,1956)

            1956 U.S. Olympian—80 Meter Hurdles (1^st round)

            https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77922

            Oldest Living Olympians: https://oldestolympians.sdsu.edu

            Looking Back(Might require a subscription):

            https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/ct-sta-vickroy-olympic-hurdler-st-0225-story.html

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Mueller_(athlete)

Deceased

Reggie Pearman  88 (1924-June 8, 2012)   1952 U.S. Olympian—800m (7^th)

            3-time U.S. Champion—440y (1957), 880y/800m (1947/1952)

            1954 U.S. Indoor Champion—600y

            All-American at NYU-NCAA (880y): 1947 (6^th), 1950 (8^th)…1948 (9^th)

            1948 IC4A Champion—440y; 1948 IC4A Indoor Champion—1000y

            6-time Penn Relays Champion—Mile Relay (1947-1949)/Sprint Medley (1947,1949,1950) anchored all 6 teams

            3-time winner at the Millrose Games—600y (1957), 880y (1948, 1951)

            World Records: Mile Relay 3:08.8 (1952), 2-mile relay 7:29.2 (1952)

            Served in the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War. Later joined the Peace Corps (recruited by his

                 friend Charlie Jenkins, the 1956 Olympic gold medalist in the 400 & 4×400 relay).

            https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78884

            https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/16/sports/reggie-pearman-postwar-middle-distance-runner-dies-at-89.html

            Penn Relays Wall of Fame: https://pennrelays.com/honors/hall-of-fame/reggie-pearman/31

            NYU Hall of Fame: https://gonyuathletics.com/honors/hall-of-fame/reggie-pearman/182

            https://www.racingpast.ca/bob-phillips.php?id=63

Ron Larrieu  83 (1937-June 1, 2020) 1964 U.S. Olympian—10,000m (24^th)

            2-time U.S.  X-Country Champion

            Brother of 5-time U.S. Olympian Francie Larrieu

            PB: 28:54.2 (1966)

            https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78679

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Larrieu

            www.runblogrun.com/2020/06/ron-larrieu-an-amazing-american-distance-runner-rest-in-peace-by-mike-fanelli.html

            https://www.mercurynews.com/2009/10/12/larrieu-no-longer-running-from-self/