by Larry Eder
Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service ([email protected])
This Day in Track & Field–July 9
1912–Much has been written about the problems the U.S. men have had in the 4×100 relay in international competition, so it seems fitting that things didn’t go well the first time the event was held at the Stockholm Olympics. An American lineup of Ira Courtney, Frank Belote, Clement Wilson, and Carl Cooke won its semi-final race in 42.2 to smash the World Record, but the team was disqualified for a passing violation. Great Britain won the final in 42.4, while Germany, which finished a close 2nd in the same time, was also disqualified for a passing violation. Germany had set the first IAAF-approved World Record of 42.3 in its semi-final the previous day (7-8).
Gaining some revenge for his loss in the “regular” Javelin (7-6), Finland’s Juho Saaristo won the “both hands” version with a combined distance of 358-11 (109.42). His best throw of 200-1 (61.00) was better than Eric Lemming’s winning distance a few days earlier. Lemming finished 4th in this event.
Results: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1912_Summer_Olympics
1948—Barney Ewell (10.33) beat Mel Patton (10.45) to win the 100-meters on the first day of the U.S. Olympic Trials, which were held at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Hurdles specialist Harrison “Bones” Dillard (10.50) edged Ed Conwell (10.53) to gain the 3rd spot on the U.S. team.
The significance of Dillard’s performance took on added importance the next day after he failed to make the team in the 110-hurdles in one of the biggest surprises in Olympic Trials history. Dillard went on to win the gold medal in the 100, the “wrong event”. at the London Olympics later in the year.
Willie Steele won the Long Jump (26-2 [7.97} and went on to win Olympic gold in London.
(Followup on July 10)
Results/Notes: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1948.pdf
1949–Future Hall-of-Famer Fortune Gordien set the first of his four World Records in the Discus with his throw of 185-3 (56.46) in Lisbon, Portugal.
Gordien, a 3-time Olympian (and 2-time medalist: bronze-’48, silver-’56), was a 3-time NCAA Champion while at the University of Minnesota (1946-1948) and led the Gophers to the 1948 NCAA team title (he was also 2nd in the Shot Put that year). He was also a 6-time U.S. Champion in the Discus (1947-50, 1953-1954).
Acting Career: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0329899/
Hall of Fame Bio(1979): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/fortune-gordien
1960–A year after suffering a back injury in a car accident, Rafer Johnson regained the World Record in the Decathlon from the Soviet Union’s Vasiliy Kuznetsov by scoring 8,683 points at the U.S. Championships in Eugene, Oregon (also served as the U.S. Olympic Trials). Johnson went on to win the gold medal at the Rome Olympics later in the year (Kuzentsov won the bronze medal).
Johnson’s Marks
100 10.6
LJ 7.55/24-9 1/4
SP 15.85/52-0
HJ 1.78/5-10
400 48.6
110h 14.5
DT 51.97/170-6
PV 3.97/13-1/4
JT 71.10/233-3
1500 5:09.9
Johnson and Kuznetsov had traded the World Record back and forth since 1955
1950 scoring tables 1984 scoring tables
7985 Johnson 1955 7608
8014 Kuznetsov 1958 7653
8302 Johnson 1958 7789
8357 Kuznetsov 1959 7839
8683 Johnson 1960 7981
Hall of Fame Bio(Charter Member-1974): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/rafer-johnson
https://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016405.html
1960–Wilma Rudolph tied the American Record of 11.5 in the 100m and set a new American Record of 22.9 in the 200 at the U.S. Championships in Corpus Christi, Texas. Rudolph secured her status as a legend in the sport by winning three gold medals at the Rome Olympics later in the year(100,200,4×100).
Hall of Fame Bio(1974-Charter Member): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/wilma-rudolph
Bio Video: http://www.biography.com/people/wilma-rudolph-9466552
https://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016444.html
1972–Steve Prefontaine ran 13:22.8 on the final day of competition at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene to break his own American Record of 13:29.6 that he set in April. Also making the team were George Young (13:29.4) and Len Hilton (13:40.2).
18-year old Dwight Stones won the High Jump (7-3 [2.21]) to become the youngest member of the U.S. team. Joining Stones on the trip to Munich would be Ron Jourdan and Chris Dunn, both of whom also cleared 7-3. World Record holder Pat Matzdorf finished 5th. Stones would win the first of his two Olympic bronze medals in Munich.
Wayne Collett won the 400-meters in 44.1, the fastest ever run at low altitude, beating John Smith (44.3) and Vince Matthews (44.9). Finishing 4th was World Record holder Lee Evans, the 1968 Olympic gold medalist.
Matthews and Collett would finish 1-2 in Munich, with Smith pulling up in the final with an injury.
Thomas Hill and Willie Davenport finished 1-2 in the 110-Meter Hurdles (13.5w for both), with favored Rod Milburn barely grabbing the 3rd spot on the team over Charles Rich, Jerry Wilson, and Tommie Lee White (all 4 ran 13.6w). Milburn would win the gold medal in Munich, with Hill taking the bronze.
The Marathon went through the streets of Eugene before finishing inside Hayward Field, and Frank Shorter and Kenny Moore crossed the finish line together (2:15:57.8) to take the first two spots on the team, while Jeff Galloway (2:20:29.2), who had already qualified for the team in the 10,000, allowed 6’-6” Jack Bacheler (2:20.29.2) to slip by him to take the 3rd berth on the team (Shorter, Bacheler, and Galloway were teammates on the Florida Track Club).
Shorter, of course, won Olympic gold in Munich while Moore, who finished 4th, made a great contribution to the sport with his long tenure as a writer for Sports Illustrated.
Many veteran fans who were at the meet still claim it was the best U.S. Olympic Trials ever.
Results/Notes: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/1972.pdf
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1972/07/17/the-high-and-the-mighty
Shorter Remembers: http://www.runnersworld.com/olympic-trials/frank-shorter-talks-about-the-marathon-trials
Mike Fanelli’s Report: https://trackandfieldnews.com/tracktown-usas-first-trials-turns-50/
Footnote: To counter the “Go Pre” fervor that had gripped Eugene during the Trials, a group of fun-loving conspirators, Pre fans all, unveiled their “Stop Pre” shirts right before the start of the 5000-Meters (Gerry Lindgren had worn one while warming up before the race!). While many fans were upset by the sacrilegious gesture, Pre got the joke and actually wore one of the shirts during his warmdown after the race! 50 years later, copies of the shirt are being sold online and in stores! (Google “Stop Pre” for more images)
1980–With no Olympics to look forward to, thanks to the U.S. boycott, Mac Wilkins, the 1976 gold medalist, took some consolation in moving his American Record in the Discus up to 232-10 (70.98) in Helsinki, Finland. Despite not competing at the Moscow Olympics, Wilkins was still ranked #1 in the world by Track & Field News.
Hall of Fame Bio: https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/mac-wilkins
T&F News Rankings: http://trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/rankings
1982–Mary Decker (Slaney) ran 4:18.08 for the Mile in Paris to better her own 2-week old American Record of 4:21.46. She would later improve the record to 4:16.71 in 1985.
Hall of Fame Bio: https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/mary-slaney-decker
1986–Canada’s Ben Johnson (9.95) won the 100-meters at the inaugural Goodwill Games in Moscow, beating Nigeria’s Chidi Imoh (10.04) and Carl Lewis (10.06).
Medalists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1986_Goodwill_Games
2004—Meb Keflezighi (27:36.49), who had already made the U.S. team in the Marathon in February, qualified in a 2nd event after winning the 10,000-meters on the opening day of the U.S. Olympic Trials (July 9-18) in Sacramento, California. Also making the team for Athens was Abdi Abdirahman (27:55.00) and Dan Browne (28:07.47), who had also made the team in the Marathon. “Meb” would win the silver medal in the Marathon in Athens.
Results/Notes: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/2004.pdf
2011—Since his recent success has been in the Shot Put, it’s easy to forget that Ryan Crouser used to be pretty good in the Discus. It was on this day that the recent Barlow H.S.(OR) grad threw the prep platter (1.62kg/3.58lb) 237-6 (72.40) at the Super Open meet in Portland, Oregon, to set the current U.S. High School Record.
He continued to throw the Discus in college, earning 3 All-American honors while competing as a Texas Longhorn, but hasn’t competed in the event since 2016. He has a best of 209-8 (63.90).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R79Jn9l3ypQ
2016—41-year old Bernard Lagat (13:35.50) surprised even himself by winning a tactical 5000-meters at the U.S. Trials in Eugene to qualify for his 5th Olympic team. Hassan Mead (13:35.70) was 2nd and Paul Chelimo (13:35.92), who would go on to win the silver medal at the Rio Olympics, edged Eric Jenkins (13:35.98) for the 3rd spot on the team.
Lagat could hardly contain his joy as he celebrated in front of an adoring Hayward Field crowd. He had originally hoped to make the U.S. team in the 10,000-meters on July 1, but had to drop out of the race. Some thought that might be his last appearance on the track before turning his attention to the roads, but Lagat obviously felt differently.
“Last year at (the) Prefontaine Classic I was sick and so I did not finish the race and I was really ashamed of it. The other day in the 10K I did not finish the race and I felt the same thing I did at the Prefontaine Classic. But I said I am not going to end running in Eugene that way. This is a track town and I can’t really leave that image on everybody. So this is the image I wanted to leave and I was super excited when I won the race tonight.”
When asked to explain his success at his advanced age (for a runner), Lagat said after the race, “I train with young guys and I don’t believe that I’m old. If you believe that you’re old, you’re going to run like an old man. They push me every single day and at the end of the day, they tell me, ‘Man you make us really feel bad.’ Because I don’t give up. I train hard with them. What you saw today is exactly what we do in Tucson.”
The Men’s 200-meters provided a glimpse of the past, present and future in the event. Veteran Justin Gatlin, who had already qualified for his 3rd Olympic team with his earlier win in the 100-meters, won the quick final over LaShawn Merritt (19.75-19.79), with Ameer Webb (2000) clinching the 3rd place on the team.
Finishing 4-5 were recent high school graduates Noah Lyles, who set a U.S. prep record of 20.09, and Michael Norman, who moved to =3rd on the All-Time H.S. list with his time of 20.14.
Those two are now among the best sprinters in the world. Lyles is the 3-time reigning World Champion at 200-meters and American Record holdeer (and won the gold medal in the 100-meters at the 2024 Olympics), while Norman, who spent two years competing for USC, set a Collegiate Record of 43.61 for 400-meters at the 2018 NCAA Championships after setting an unofficial World Record of 44.52 at the NCAA Indoor Championships. And he won the 400 at the 2022 World Championships.
Former Florida teammates Will Claye (57-11 [17.65]) and Christian Taylor (57-1/4 [17.39]) finished 1-2 in the Men’s Triple Jump, with Chris Benard (56-5 ¾ [17.21]) edging another former Gator, Omar Craddock (56-3 ¾[17.16]), to grab the 3rd spot on the team. The first two positions would be reversed at he Rio Olympics, with Taylor winning gold and Claye the silver.
Making the team was sweet redemption for Claye, who had finished 3rd in the Long Jump earlier in the Trials, but his legal best during the season was 1 centimeter short of the Olympic qualifying standard.
Said Claye, “The long jump situation was definitely an emotional roller coaster. I felt that for a day or two and it definitely put me in a bad place, in all honesty. And it took my family and my friends and all the prayers and text messages and my coach and my agent; they all spoke to me and just tried to clear my mind a bit. I just sat in my room and I couldn’t believe it. I just missed the standard by 1 cm.”
Oregon’s own Devon Allen (13.03), the recent NCAA winner here at Hayward Field, thrilled Duck fans again with a clear win in the 110-meter hurdles. The battle for the next two Olympic berths was brutal, with Ronnie Ash (13.21) and Jeff Porter (13.21) earning the trip to Rio over World Record holder Aries Merritt (13.22) and 2011 World Champion Jason Richardson (13.28). Merritt, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist, missed out on being a 3-time Olympian by a mere .03s, having finished .02s out of 3rd place at the 2004 Trials.
Texas A&M’s Maggie Malone was another NCAA Champion returning to Hayward Field, winning the Women’s Javelin with a throw of (199-7 [60.84]). Also making the team were American Record holder Kara Winger (189-11 [57.90]/her 3rd team), and 4th-placer Brittany Borman (185-8 [56.60]), who made her 2nd team. Runnerup Hannah Carson (190-11 [58.19]) didn’t have an Olympic qualifier. Also returning to the Olympics would be Malone and Winger.
Results/Notes: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2016.pdf
Men’s 5000-Last Lap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNUEO-kjZe4
https://www.si.com/olympics/2016/07/09/bernard-lagat-us-olympic-trials-win-5000-meters-results-video
U.S. Olympic Trials History (Through 2021)
https://trackandfieldnews.com/usa-olympic-trials-history/
U.S. Championships History: https://trackandfieldnews.com/u-s-national-championships-history/
Past U.S. Champions: https://www.flipsnack.com/USATF/usatf-outdoor-champions/full-view.html
2020—In one of the many improvised events that took place during the Covid-shortened 2020 season, the Weltklasse-Zurich Inspiration Games saw athletes competing against each other virtually in different cities around the world.
(Zurich, Bradenton-Florida, Walnut-California, Lisbon, Karlsruhe-Germany, Aubiere-France, Papendal-Netherlands, Karlstad-Sweden)
The athletes appeared on split screens, as engineers did their best to synch up the footage to make it appear as if the athletes were actually riunning against each other. A technical challenge for sure, but fans welcomed the effort during these strange times.
Sprinters faced strong headwinds in California and Florida.
Allyson Felix (16.82), running at Mt.SAC, “won” the women’s 150 over Shaunae Miller-Uibo (17.52), who was in Bradenton,FL. Watching Felix from the sidelines was her young daughter Camryn, who wore a t-shirt that read “Future Olympian”!
Viewers gasped when Noah Lyles crossed the finish line in the 200m in Florida and the clock flashed 18.91 (corrected to 18.90), well under Usain Bolt’s World Record of 19.19. To his credit, Steve Cram, who shared announcing duties with Colin Jackson, immediately exclaimed upon seeing the time, “That cannot be right!”. And, of course, he was right—Lyles’ blocks had been set 15-meters short of where they should have been!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VctqSI-27Zs
W150: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK4QazZvl0M
M200: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBKZFOsTCQY
Born On This Day*
Maurica Carlucci-Powell 45 (1980) Director of T&F and X-Country at the University of Washington. Husband Andy
is the Head Coach, focusing on daily operations
Couple previously coached at Oregon for 13 years. Massachusetts natives competed for Stanford before
embarking on a coaching career.
http://gohuskies.com/news/2018/6/18/track-field-maurica-andy-powell-take-over-uw-track-program.aspx
Kara Goucher 47 (1978) Silver medalist in the 10,000-meters at the 2007 World Championships
2-time U.S. Olympian—2008 (5000-8th,10,000-8th), 2012 (Marathon-10th)
2-time NCAA Champion-Colorado (2000-3000,5000)
PBs:4:05.14 (’06),4:33.19i (’09),8:34.99 (’07), 14:55.02 (’07), 30:55.16, 66:57 (’07/#4 A-T U.S./all
conditions), 2:24:52)
Currently a member of NBC’s broadcast team
Podcast: Nobody Asked Us With Des (Linden) and Kara https://www.youtube.com/@nobodyaskedus
Recently diagnosed with Runner’s Dystonia. She addresses the condition and her TV career in this podcast:
https://aliontherunblog.com/2022/06/09/525-kara-goucher/
https://www.outsideonline.com/2398643/kara-goucher-leadville
Married to Adam Goucher (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Goucher)
Author: The Longest Race
https://www.amazon.com/Longest-Race-Inside-Deception-Running/dp/1982179147
http://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/04/kara-goucher-anti-doping-whistle-blower/
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara_Goucher
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karagoucher/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/karagoucher?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Gulnara Samitova-Galkina-Russia 47 (1978) 2008 Olympic gold medalist—Steeplechase
Bronze medalist at the 2009 World Championships
Also the bronze medalist in the 1500-meters at the 2004 World Indoor Championships
Set 3 World Records in the Steeplechase—9:08.33 (2003), 9:01.49 (2004), 8:58.81 (2008/Olympic final)
Other global placings
OG-2004 (5000-6th), 2008 (5000-11th), 2012 (SC-DNF)
WC-2007 (SC-7th)
PBs: 2:00.29 (2009), 4:01.29 (2004), 4:20.23 (2007), 5:31.03 (2007), 8:41.72i (2004), 14:33.13 (2008),
8:58.81 (2008/#14 All-Time)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulnara_Samitova-Galkina
https://worldathletics.org/athletes/russia/gulnara-galkina-14299161
https://worldathletics.org/news/news/world-record-obliterates-memories-of-osaka-fo
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3000_metres_steeplechase_world_record_progression
Derek Mills 53 (1972) 1996 Olympic gold medalist—4×400; 1995 World Champion—4×400
3-time NCAA Champion (Georgia Tech)—400m (‘94/’91-7th, ’92-3rd,’93-3rd); 4×400 (’92-43.9r,’94-45.1r,’93-
44.0r-3rd); PBs: 45.59i (’95), 44.13 (’95). 2:59.95 (’92)
Wife is former LSU All-American Heather Van Norman…stepson is NFL star Odell Beckham, Jr.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Mills
1992 4×400: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sLHhD5IAWs
NCAA History: trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/archivemenu/13-lists/1028-a-history-of-the-ncaa-championships
Pauline Davis—Bahamas 59 (1966) One of the original “Golden Girls” from the Bahamas
2000 Olympic gold medalist—200,4×100 (1996-Silver,4×100); 4-time Olympian
1999 World Champion—4×100; Silver medalist in the 400 at the 1995 World Championships
1989 NCAA Champion—400m (Alabama); 17-time All-American
Other NCAA Placings: 100 (’86-3rd, ’87-5th,’88-2nd); 200 (’86-3rd,’87-4th,’88-2nd,’89-3rd); 4×100 (’87-3rd);
4×400 (’86-2nd, ’89-8th); Indoors:55 (’86-3rd,’87-5th, ’88-2nd,’89-2nd); 200(’88-1st, ’89-2nd)
PBs: 10.97 (2000),22.38 (2000),49.28 (1996), 41.92 (National Record)
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Davis-Thompson
Belated Gold: http://www.espn.com/olympics/trackandfield/news/story?id=5277604
http://www.bahamasolympiccommittee.org/_m1722/Olympians/Pauline-Davis-Thompson-
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/64988
Deceased
Ben Eastman 91 (1911-Oct.6, 2002) 1932 Olympic silver medalist—400m
1934 U.S. Champion-800m
2-time IC4A Champion-880y (Stanford/1931,1932)
Former World Record holder: 500m, 600y, 800m, 880y, Mile Relay
Inducted into the National Hall of Fame in 2006
http://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78359
https://www.9news.com/article/news/olympian-blazin-ben-eastman-91-dies-of-pneumonia/73-345496729
https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/ben-eastman
https://gostanford.com/honors/stanford-athletics-hall-of-fame/ben-eastman/200
https://www.ebay.com/itm/361986089387
Sim Iness 65 (1930-May 23,1996) 1952 Olympic gold medalist—Discus
2-time NCAA Champion (USC/1952,1953/2nd-1950)
Set a World Record of 190-0 (57.93) in the 1953 NCAA Final.
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78589
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim_Iness
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHv24HzRBto
O.J. Simpson 76 (1947-April 10, 2024) 1967 NCAA Champion (USC)—440y-relay—Set a WR of 38.6 (100y-6th)
(Earl McCullouch, Fred Kuller, O.J. Simpson, Lennox Miller)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson
http://articles.latimes.com/1987-06-17/sports/sp-4512_1_years-ago-today
https://www.si.com/vault/1967/06/26/610079/smoking-performance-at-a-nosmoke-affair
