by RBR Admin
Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service ([email protected])
This Day in Track & Field–October 23
1954—The Soviet Union’s (and Ukraine’s) Vladimir Kuts ran 13:51.2 in Prague to regain the World Record in the 5000-meters. Kuts had run 13:56.6 on August 29, only to lose the record to Great Britain’s Chris Chataway, who ran 13:51.8 on October 13.
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Kuts
1955-Hungary’s Sándor Iharos ran 13:40.6 for 5000-meters in Budapest to regain the World Record from Vladimir Kuts, who had run 13:46.8 the previous month.
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5000_metres_world_record_progression
13:51.2 Vladimir Kuts (URS) 10-23-1954 Prague, Czechoslovakia
13:50.8 Sandor Iharos (HUN) 09-10-1955 Budapest, Hungary
13:46.8 Vladimir Kuts (URS) 09-18-1955 Belgrade, Yugoslavia
13:40.6 Sandor Iharos (HUN) 10-23-1955 Budapest, Hungary
13:36.8 Gordon Pirie (GBR) 06-19-1956 Bergen, Norway
13:35.0 Vladimir Kuts (URS) 10-13-1957 Rome, Italy
Iharos’s performance capped a remarkable year for Hungarian runners who set or equaled 10 World Records at 8 different distances! And László Tábori ran 3:59.0 for the mile to become the 3rd man to break 4-minutes in the event.
Sports Illustrated’s David Mayer offers an in-depth look at this memorable season and the man who coached all of the runners, Mihály Iglói, in the article linked below.
Career Stats: http://thegreatdistancerunners.de/SandorIharos.html
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1955/11/21/hungary-becomes-a-great-powerin-track
1955-A Year of Records
May 14 3000-Meters 7:55.6 Sándor Iharos Budapest, Hungary
May 30 2-miles 8:33.4 Sándor Iharos London, England
July 28 1500-meters 3:40.8 Sándor Iharos Helsinki, Finland
September 6 1500-meters 3:40.8 László Tábori Oslo, Norway
September 105000-meters13:50.8Sándor IharosBudapest, Hungary
September 21 1000-meters 2:19.0 István Rózsavölgyi Tata, Hungary
September 29 4×1500 15:14.8 Budapest, Hungary (Broke own WR)
Ferenc Mikes 3:52.0, László Tábori 3:46.6, István Rózsavölgyi 3:48.4, Sándor Iharos 3:47.8
October 2 2000-meters 5:02.2 István Rózsavölgyi Budapest, Hungary
October 23 3-miles 13:14.2 Sándor Iharos Budapest, Hungary (en route to 5000m)
October 23 5000-meters 13:40.6 Sándor Iharos Budapest, Hungary
WR Progressions
1000: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1000_metres_world_record_progression
1500: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1500_metres_world_record_progression
3000: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_3000_metres_world_record_progression
1977—Bill Rodgers (2:11:28) and 42-year old Miki Gorman (2:43:10) were repeat winners at the 8th NY City Marathon (the 2nd covering all 5 boroughs). Rodgers, who would win here by almost 2-1/2 minutes, would win in NY again the next two years. Finishing 2nd to Gorman was Kim Merritt (2:46:10), who had set an American Record of 2:37:57 in Eugene a month earlier.
The men’s field was one of the strongest ever, featuring 4 of the 6 top finishers at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, and 6 of the 9 fastest marathoners in history.
4,823 runners started the race, making it the largest marathon in the world at the time. A crowd estimated at almost 800,000 turned out to watch what has become an iconic event in the Big Apple.
Other notable finishers in the men’s race:
2.Jerome Drayton (CAN/2:13:53)—6th in Montreal, #6 on the all-time list
3.Chris Stewart (GBR/2:13:56)—3rd for the 2nd year in a row
5.Garry Bjorklund (2:15:16)—1976 Olympian—10,000, battled Rodgers for the lead for more than 3 miles late in the race
6.Randy Thomas (2:15:51)—former women’s coach at Boston College
8.Kenny Moore (2:16:28)—4th at the 1972 Olympics
10.Don Kardong (2:17:04)—4th in Montreal
12.Tom Fleming (2:17:11)—winner in NY in 1973 and 1975
13.Ian Thompson (GBR/2:17:47)…#2 on the all-time list
17.Lasse Viren (FIN/2:19:35)—5th in Montreal after winning his 2nd Olympic double in the 5,000 and 10,000
18.Ron Hill (GBR/2:20:01)–#3 on the all-time list
32.Norb Sander (2:25:11)—winner of the 5th NY City Marathon
DNF(ankle injury)-Frank Shorter—1972 Olympic champion, silver medalist in 1976
Starters/Finishers: 4,823/3,626; Men: 4,563/3,442, Women: 260/184
Results: https://results.nyrr.org/event/771023/finishers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_New_York_City_Marathon
Highlights: https://digital.hagley.org/FILM_1995300_FC249_02
Pre-Race:
1977—Held on the same day as the NYC race, the first all-women’s Marathon held in the U.S. took place in St.Paul, Minnesota. The race served as the U.S. Championship and was won by Leal-Ann Reinhart in 2:46:34.
This was during a period when the International Runners Committee, spearheaded by Jaqi Hansen, a 2-time World Record setter in the marathon, was lobbying to have distance races for women added to the Olympic program. An injury prevented Hansen from running here, but she was able to cheer for Reinhart, her training partner, from the press truck.
Doing their part for the cause were race director Alex Boies and Jim Ferstle, who were instrumental in bringing the Championship to St.Paul.
Hansen stressed “the importance of staging all-women races in our quest for recognition, until we were established in terms of championships and awards on an equal status with men’s racing programs”.
Sarah Barker wrote about the 40th Anniversary of the race in this article for the Star-Tribune(scroll down):
https://www.jacquelinehansen.com/2022/06/18/a-day-in-the-life-of-jim-ferstle/
Past U.S. Champions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Marathon_Championships#Women%27s_results
The Women’s Marathon Movement:
https://www.jacquelinehansen.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/M+B-xx-16-1w_pix-Hansen.pdf
Leal-Ann Reinhart
1983—In one of the most dramatic finishes in the event’s history, New Zealand’s Rod Dixon chased down Great Britain’s Geoff Smith to win the NY City Marathon on a rainy day in his debut at the distance.
Trailing by 2-1/2 minutes after 20-miles, Dixon, the bronze medalist in the 1500-meters at the 1972 Olympics, methodically ate into Smith’s lead, running the tangents to make up a yard or two at every possible opportunity. He finally went into the lead with less than ¼-mile to go and won in 2:08:59, while Smith, who was an All-American at Providence, hung on for 2nd place (2:09:08) before collapsing at the finish line.
Dixon’s win was the first in NY by a non-American and began a streak that lasted until Meb Keflezighi won the race in 2009.
Norway’s Grete Waitz ran 2:27:00 to win the women’s race for the 5th time. She would eventually wind up as a 9-time winner in NY.
The Race After The Race
Former Duke coach Norm Ogilvie, a pretty decent runner in his day, describes his role in a race that began shortly after Rod Dixon crossed the finish line:
“In 1983, the NFL Today was a 30 minute pregame show that aired nationally on CBS. I was a 24 year old researcher on the show, which primarily involved calling direct to NFL Press Boxes and getting information directly from the team’s press steward on any number of details from the game so the show could provide updates from around the league into markets airing other games. There was no internet, no NFL Redzone Channel, and much info was still gathered by phone and scribbled down by researchers…accuracy was vital. The job also included other important duties, such as getting Brent Musberger’s sandwich order, and following the whims of the Director and Producer. Then one Monday, during the weekly planning meeting for the next week’s coverage, I was asked by one producer, who knew I was a runner, to weigh in on possible NYC Marathon coverage. ABC Sports was covering it Live coast to coast from 10:30am to 1:00pm. Still, many expected that ABC would lose a significant portion of their audience when the two NFL Pre-Game shows would air on CBS and NBC, respectively, at 12:30pm. I was asked if I could physically run over a videotape, plucked directly from the recorder, that would be located at the Tavern On The Green restaurant right at the Central Park finish line of the 26.2 mile race. And if I was willing to do the job, could I get it to the CBS studios at the Broadcast Center on 57th St. and 11th Avenue in time to get the tape of the finish on our air prior to 12:59pm, when we would send our viewers out to their respective stadiums for 1:00pm NFL kickoffs. “I can promise you I can run the tape to you from Tavern On The Green (almost exactly 2 miles) in under 10:00, but that will only be good enough if the race winner goes 2:10 or faster. ‘Can you promise me that’? Of course they couldn’t, so it was agreed that despite the risk, it was worth taking if CBS could scoop NBC, located slightly further away at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. As we know now, Rod Dixon’s dramatic come-from-behind win over Geoff Smith, where he raised his arms in triumph and ecstasy, was one of the great finishes in major marathon history. But it was highly probable that more viewers first saw the incredible drama of that finish not on ABC’s fantastic live coverage with Jim McKay and Marty Liqouri on the call, but about twelve minutes later on tape delay on the NFL Today, which had a wider audience.
I had to run close to nine minutes flat over the nearly 2M over NYC streets, through traffic, dodging cabs and cars to run the most efficient tangents, and even then we barely got the tape cued up on time. It aired again during the various halftime shows to probably even more eyeballs an hour and a half later. I felt proud of my effort, but was actually heckled by the Director for wearing running gear on the NFL Today set, which had its’ own dress code, even for lowly researchers. The internet, cheap satellite time and the advent of all-sports channels such as ESPN have made those kinds of TV production stories a thing of the past, but in the words of legendary CBS News Anchorman Walter Cronkite ‘That’s the way it was’ back in 1983.”
Other Notable Finishers
Men: 3.Ron Tabb (2:10:46), 4.John Tuttle (2:10:51)…6.Gidamis Shahanga (Tanzania/2:11:05), 7.Rudy Chapa (2:11:13)…12.Pat Petersen (2:12:06), 13.Kirk Pfeffer (2:12:20)…18.Tony Sandoval (2:13:21).
Women: 2.Laura Fogli (Italy/2:31:49), 3.Priscilla Welch (England/2:32:31)…5.Nancy Ditz (2:35:31), 6.Christa Vahlensieck (Germany/2:35:59)…12.Julie Shea (2:39:02).
Top 25: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_New_York_City_Marathon
NY Times Coverage:
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/24/sports/dixon-and-mrs-waitz-win-in-new-york-marathon.html
Dixon Looks Back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llfcZUyTJGA
Waitz: https://www.nyrr.org/about-us/nyrr-hall-of-fame/grete-waitz
Past Winners: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_winners_of_the_New_York_City_Marathon
Videos
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phxnt4u1ZXY
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5KUYzTjnuE
Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctXt4G-TeLw
Born On This Day*
Samuel Tefera-Ethiopia 26 (1999) 2-time World Indoor Champion-1500m (2018/18 at the time, 2022-Beat Jakob
Ingebrigtsen), 2024-7th
Set a World Indoor Record of 3:31.04 for 1500-meters in Birmingham, England, in 2019 (since boken)
Considered by some to be a potential Olympic medalist, he was eliminated in the first round in Tokyo
Semi-finalist at the 2022 World Championships and 2024 Olympics
PBs: 1:48.40 (2019), 3:30.71 (2021), 3:31.04i (2019/#2 All-Time), 3:49.45, 7:31.86i (2025),
12:53.44 (2025);
WR: www.runnerstribe.com/latest-news/video-samuel-tefera-3-31-04-1500m-indoor-wr-birmingham-2019/
2018 WIC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFQMMFD239I
2022 WIC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpvn0E8c_rY
https://worldathletics.org/athletes/ethiopia/samuel-tefera-14797484
https://www.worldathletics.org/news/series/samuel-tefera-running
2025 U.S. Indoor Champion-3000m
Silver medalist at the 2024 World Indoor Championships
7th at the 2024 Olympics, 5th at the 2025 World Championships
2019 Pan-American Games Champion
Ran 4:16.35 for the mile in Monaco on July 21, 2023 to break Mary Slaney’s 38-year old American Record of
4:16.71;
Finalist at the 2019 World Championships (12th); semi-finalist in 2023
13th at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials
All-American at Arkansas—2nd in the 1500 at the 2017 and 2018 NCAA Championships
NCAA Mile(i)-2015 (8th), 2017 (6th), 2018 (3rd)
Started their collegiate career at Oregon (2015)
PBs: 1:58.23 (2025), 2:34.09i (2024/O.T./#7 All-Time U.S.-ind/out), 3:55.33 (2024/#2 All-Time U.S.),
4:02.32i (2024), 4:16.35 (2023/AR), 4:23.50i (2025), 8:32.52i (2025), 9:15.80/2m (2024); 2025 SB: 3:55.94
https://runningmagazine.ca/the-scene/elite-u-s-runner-nikki-hiltz-comes-out-as-transgender/
College Stats: https://www.tfrrs.org/athletes/5462821/Arkansas/Hiltz_Nikki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikki_Hiltz
https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/roster/nikki-hiltz-2/
Post AR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyk-OGsMGrU
Nia Ali 37 (1988) 2019 World Champion—100m-Hurdles; 2017-8th
As the defending champion, she had a bye into the 2022 Worlds, but was eliminated in the first round
after hitting the 9th hurdle; 8th at the 2023 World Championships
2016 Olympic silver medalist-100m-hurdles…part of the American sweep in Rio.
2023 U.S. Champion-100m-Hurdles;
2-time World Indoor Champion-60m-hurdles (2014, 2016);
2-time U.S. Indoor Champion-60m-Hurdles (2013, 2014)
2011 NCAA Champion(USC);
PBs: 7.80i (2014), 12.30 (2023/#16 All-Time, #6 All-Time U.S.); 2025 SBs: 8.42, 13.01
Daughter Yuri, was born in June, 2018. Son Titus was born on May 8, 2015.
They were with her during her victory lap after she won the gold medal at the 2019
World Championships. Given the uncertainty of the Tokyo Olympics taking place, she and her partner,
Canadian sprinter Andre DeGrasse, decided to try for another child, and a 2nd son was born in May,
2021 (the first child was from a previous relationship). DeGrasse would win 3 medals in Tokyo—gold
in the 200, bronze in the 100 and 4×100. With no regrets after missing the Olympics in Tokyo, she almost made
it to Paris in 2024, finishing 4th at the U.S. Trials!
Advocate for female athletes who are able to keep their career going while raising a family
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nia_Ali
http://www.olympedia.org/athletes/132044
2019 WC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtibu_VJb9Y
2016 World Indoors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmB_pzJMkC8
Rio Tribute Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op3xu8GkWsE
Today Show: www.today.com/news/us-hurdlers-celebrate-olympic-medal-sweep-we-prayed-t101976
(For Subscribers): https://trackandfieldnews.com/nia-alis-turn-for-a-victory-lap/
Shelly Steely 63 (1962) 1992 U.S. Olympian—3000 (7th); 14th at the 1991 World Championships
1991 U.S. Champion-3000m; 1992 U.S. Indoor Champion—3000m
All-American at Florida: NCAA-1984 (3000-3rd), 1984i (Mile-3rd), 1985i (Mile-4th)
15th at the 1985 World X-Country Championships—helped the U.S. win the team title
1998 U.S. Champion-25k
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelly_Steely
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77975
Miklós Németh–Hungary 79 (1946) 1976 Olympic gold medalist-Javelin (1968-qual., 1972-7th, 1980-8th)
Set a World Record of 310-4 (94.58) with the “old” implement in the 1976 Olympic final
Father Imre was the 1948 Olympic gold medalist in the Hammer
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/71247; Wiki Bio
Deceased
Agnes Tirop-Kenya 25 (1995-Oct.13,2021) 2015 World X-Country Champion
2-time bronze medalist on the 10,000-Meters at the World Championships(2017,2019)
4th in the 5000-Meters at the Tokyo Olympics
Ran 30:01 for 10k on the road on September 12, 2021, to set a World Record for a “women-only” race.
PBs: 8:22.92 (2020), 14:20.68 (2019), 30:25.20 (2019)
Stabbed to death by her husband on October 13, 2021
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/13/sport/agnes-tirop-kenya-stabbing-spt-intl/index.html
https://worldathletics.org/news/news/agnes-tirop-obituary
Race Results Weekly: https://www.flotrack.org/articles/7173858-kenyan-star-tirop-found-dead-in-her-home
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Tirop
https://worldathletics.org/news/report/agnes-tirop-world-10km-record-herzogenaurach
