by RBR AdminWalt Murphy’s News and Results Service ([email protected])
This Day in Track and Field/X-Country–November 24
1956-Abilene Christian’s Bobby Morrow was the early favorite in the Men’s 100 at the Melbourne Olympics after winning at the NCAA and U.S. Championships and the Olympic Trials in June. But it was now five months later and he hadn’t been impressive in pre-Olympic competition. He dispelled any concern about his fitness by winning his three preliminary races in convincing fashion and overcame the cold and a headwind to win the final over teammate Thane Baker (10.62-10.77).
A predicted American sweep was interrupted by Australia’s Hector Hogan, who thrilled the partisan crowd by leading for the first half of the race before finishing 3rd, just ahead of the 3rd American, Ira Murchison (10.77-10.79). Morrow would also win gold medals in the 200 and 4×100 relay and was later picked as Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year.
The Men’s 400-Meter hurdlers had to run semis and the final on the same day, some 2-1/2 hours apart. 18-year old Eddie Southern set an Olympic Record of 50.1 (50.26) to win the first semi-final over teammate Glenn Davis, who had set the World Record of 49.5 at the U.S. Trials in June. The 3rd American, Josh Culbreath, won the 2nd semi in 50.9 but drew lane one in the 6-man final.
Davis overtook Southern to win the gold medal in the final and equalled the brand new Olympic Record of 50.1. Southern easily finished 2nd in 50.8 and Culbreath won a hard-fought battle for 3rd to give the U.S. its first sweep in this event since the 1920 Games in Antwerp. South Africa’s Gert Potgeiter was leading the fast-closing Culbreath before he stumbled over the final hurdle and fell to the track.
Overcoming headwinds that reached as high as 14mps, and a runway that was short and “soft and loose”, the two favorites in the Men’s Long Jump, Americans Greg Bell (7.83/25-8 ¼ [Olympic Record]) and John Bennett (7.68/ 25-2 1/2), came through to win the gold and silver medals, respectively. Finland’s Jorma Valkama (24-6 ½[7.48]) won the bronze medal. The 3rd American, Rafer Johnson, was nursing a bad knee and chose to rest up for the Decathlon.
American Harold Connolly was only 3rd in the Hammer Throw at the U.S. Trials, but entered the Games as one of the favorites after setting a World Record of 224-10 (68.54) in Los Angeles shortly before leaving for Melbourne. The Soviet Union’s (and Belarus’s) Mikhail Krivonosov, the previous record holder, led after 4 rounds with a best of 206-9 (63.03), but Connolly responded with his 5th-round throw of 207-3 (63.19) to take the gold medal. Teammate Al Hall finished 4th, but the 3rd American, Cliff Blair, never got to compete. The U.S. Olympic Committee kicked him off the team for refusing to stop writing newspaper articles! Winner of the bronze medal was the Soviet Union’s (and Russia’s) Anatoliy Samotsvetov (205-3 [62.56]).
Track and Field News reported that Connolly’s career might be near an end, since he was contemplating surgery on his weaker left arm, which was 7” shorter than his right (the result of nerve damage suffered during his birth). Not sure if he went through with the operation, but he continued throwing for many more years, competing in the next three Olympics (’60-8th, ’64-6th, ’68-qual. round) and finishing no lower than 3rd in the World Rankings from 1957-1966 (#1 in 1962). A larger-than-life statue depicting Connolly in the middle of a throw was unveiled in 2006 in his old neighborhood in Brighton,MA (see links below). He met his future wife in Melbourne–Czech Olga Fikotova, the gold medalist in the Women’s Discus.
The medalists in the 50k-walk were New Zealand’s Norman Read (4:30:42.08), the Soviet Union’s (and Russia’s) Yevgeniy Maskinskov (4:32:57.o), and Sweden’s John Ljunggren (4:35:02.0). The top American finisher was Adolf Weinacker in 7th place (5:00:16.0) and teammate Elliott Denman finished 11th. Denman has been one of the premier track and field writers in the U.S. ever since. You can order his “Anthology of the Olympic Games”, a compilation of his newspaper articles, by contacting him at [email protected].
Results: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1956_Summer_Olympics
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1957/01/07/sportsman-of-1956
https://vault.si.com/vault/1956/07/02/bioperse-bobby-morrow
Official Olympic Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDA5BvvtDsM
Connolly:
Photos: http://tinyurl.com/ConnollyPhotos
Obituary: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/20/sports/20connolly.html?_r=0
X-Country
1941–Rhode Island State College, still the only men’s team from New England to do so, won the team title at the 4th NCAA Championships, beating Penn State, 83-110. The answer to the trivia question–”Who is the only Olympic gold medalist to coach a NCAA championship x-country team?” is Rhode Island’s Fred Tootell, the 1924 Olympic Champion in the Hammer Throw!
The individual winner was Indiana junior Fred Wilt, who was inducted into the U.S. Hall of Fame in 1981. Finishing 2nd to Wilt was Notre Dame’s Ollie Hunter, who would win the title the following year, and 3rd was U.Conn’s “Doc” Charley Robbins, who would later run road races for the NY Pioneer Club well into his 80s!
Wilt, who became an FBI agent (along with fellow HOFer Horace Ashenfelter), competed in the 10,000-meters at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics, wrote the popular “How They Train” series of books, and was the Women’s coach at Purdue from 1978-1989. He was also named the winner of the Sullivan Award, given to the nation’s top amateur, in 1950.
29th was Penn State’s Curt Stone, who would become a 3-time U.S. Olympian. See the links below for a 3-part series on Stone that was published prior to the 2012 Olympics in London, the site of his Olympic debut in 1948. The Brooklyn (PA) native finished 6th in the 5000 in 1948 and 20th in the 10,000 in 1952, but didn’t make the 5000 final in 1952 and 1956. He was also a 7-time U.S. Outdoor Champion (3×5000, 2×6-miles, 2×10,000). He passed away on July 30, 2021, at the age of 98.
HOF Bio(Wilt): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/fred-wilt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Wilt
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/1941-men.pdf
(14 teams, 94 finishers)
Stone:
Part 2: http://www.susqcoindy.com/PS/2012/08/01/brooklyn-native-places-on-1948-olympic-stage/
Part 3: http://www.susqcoindy.com/PS/2012/08/08/olympian-keeps-running-beyond-48-games/
1947--North Carolina’s Jack Milne (20:41.1), who had spent the previous 5-years as a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, won the NCAA X-Country title on a day that Time magazine described as “…(not) fit for man, beast or cross-country racers”. Runners had to deal with frigid temperatures and a snow-covered 4-mile Michigan State course.
Milne got some help from the conditions when Ohio Wesleyan’s Quentin Brelsford, the defending champion, slipped and fell on an icy turn while apparently on his way to a 2nd win. He was passed by Milne and Kansas’ Bob Karnes, who then took a wrong turn with a little more than a 1/4-mile to go, allowing Milne to pull away for the win. Said a modest Milne after the race, “I didn’t deserve to win. I had no idea I would win – I just had the breaks”.
Once his running career ended, Milne stayed in the sport as an official and was a recipient of USATF’s Fred Schmertz Officials Award.
2nd to Milne was Penn State’s Horace Ashenfelter (20:45), who would go on to win the gold medal in the Steeplechase at the 1952 Olympics. Brelsford recovered to finish 3rd, while Karnes wound up in 5th place. 7th was Rhode Island’s Robert Black, who would win the NCAA title in 1948 and 1949. 42nd was Wisconsin’s Don Gehrmann, who would finish 7th a year later in the 1500-meters at the London Olympics.
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/1947-men.pdf
(20 teams, 152 finishers)
Jack Milne: http://runningindians.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/jack-h-milne-a-legendary-toms-river-high-school-runner/
1951–Army’s Dick Shea won his 3rd consecutive IC4A title at NY’s Van Cortlandt Park. Shea, a 3-time winner of the Penn Relays 2-mile (1950-1952) and a 2-time IC4A Indoor champion in the 2-mile (1951-1952), was killed in action during the Korean War and was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The outdoor track at West Point bears his name, as does Army’s outdoor invitational.
https://goarmywestpoint.com/honors/hall-of-fame/richard-thomas-shea-jr-/28
Shea Stadium: https://goarmywestpoint.com/sports/2015/3/6/GEN_2014010123.aspx?id=23
https://pennrelays.com/hof.aspx?hof=182
1958–Michigan State’s Forddy Kennedy, 5th in 1957, was the individual winner on his home course and led the Spartans to their 3rd NCAA team title in the last 4 years. Kennedy, born in Scotland, was the first foreign athlete to win the NCAA title.
Other Notable Finishers-5.Billy Mills (Kansas-1964 Olympic gold medalist-10,000m), 7.Pete Close (St.John’s), 55.Cary Weisiger (Duke), 61.Cliff Cushman (Kansas-1960 Olympic silver medalist–400-hurdles!)
Results:
https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/1958-men.pdf
(14 teams, 106 finishers)
1962—Pete McArdle (29:53), a NY bus mechanic from Ireland who had recently become a U.S. citizen, won the U.S. X-Country title in Chicago’s Washington Park. Next across the line in the 10k race were John Gutknecht (29:57) and Max Truex (30:30)
McArdle: https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/27/sports/pete-mcardle-is-dead-at-56-ran-marathon-in-olympics.html
1969–Washington State senior Gerry Lindgren, leading from the gun, won his 3rd NCAA X-Country title at NY’s Van Cortlandt Park. Lindgren’s time of 28:59.2 broke the 6-mile course record of 29:16.8 that was set in 1968 by defending champion Mike Ryan, who was the runnerup here and was also under his old record (29:01), as was the 3rd-placer, Oregon freshman Steve Prefontaine (29:12).
Other notable finishers included Bowling Green’s Dave Wottle (30th) and DePaul’s Dan Candiano (90th), who would later coach at Hammond H.S. in Indiana. In 1975, Candiano produced three sub-9 minute 2-milers: Rudy Chapa (8:51.0), Tim Keough (8:52.8), and Carey Pinkowski (8:56.2), the current Director of the Chicago Marathon. Also: 5.Art Dulong (Holy Cross), 6.Gary Bjorklund (Minnesota), 11.Donal Walsh (Villanova), 12.Sid Sink (Bowling Green), 17.Jerry Richey (Pittsburgh), 24.Oscar Moore (Southern Illinois), 41.Ron Stonitsch (CW Post), 45.Greg Fredericks (Penn State), 59.Jon Anderson (Cornell), 67.Len Hilton (Houston), 71.Byron Dyce (NYU), 73.Marty Liquori (Villanova), 74.Julio Piazza (Penn), 77.Steve Flanagan (Connecticut–Shalane’s dad), 244.Glenn Cunningham,Jr (Kansas).
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/1969-men.pdf
(30 teams, 254 finishers)
1973— A year after winning Olympic gold in the Marathon in Munich, Frank Shorter (29:52.5), who missed most of the 1973 track season due to an injury, fought off Tennessee’s Doug Brown (29:55) to win his 4th straight U.S. X-Country title in Gainesville, Florida.
Lots of “names” followed those two across the finish line-3.Jeff Galloway (30:03), 5.Dick Buerkle, 6.Barry Brown, 7.Jack Bacheler, 8.Marty Liquori, 9.Ed Leddy, 13.Tom Fleming, 14.Byron Dyce , 16.Sid Sink, 17.Pete Squires, 21.Matt Centrowitz, 23.Tracy Smith, 35.Carl Hatfield, 37.Juris Luzins, 45.Charlie Maguire;
Shorter, Galloway, Brown, Bacheler, and Ken Misner (11th) led the Florida T.C. to the team title.
It was not your typical x-country weather, with the temperature reaching into the mid-80s. Apparently falling victim to the hot conditions was Illinois freshman Craig Virgin, who fell 3 times in the late stages of the race before collapsing a final time 200-yards from the finish line. (From T&F News).
A celebration of the 50th anniversary of the FTC’s win was held in Gainesville in January, 2023.
The Women’s championships were held on the same day in Albuquerque, with Francie Larrieu winning in 17:17
(3-miles).
Shorter talks about his connection to Gainesville.
1975–Illinois junior Craig Virgin (28:23.3) and Western Kentucky’s Nick Rose (28:38.8), the defending champion, waged a terrific 2-man battle for most of the race on Penn State’s tough (but fair) course, which Nittany Lion coach Harry Groves called “My Masterpiece”, with Virgin finally breaking away in the last 1/2-mile to earn the NCAA title.
Despite competing without the injured Wilson Waigwa, their #1-runner, Texas El-Paso (UTEP) won the team title over Washington State by a mere 4 points, 88-92.
Other notable finishers-5.Paul Stemmer (Penn State), 6.James Munyala (UTEP), 7.Paul Cummings (BYU), 12.Herb Lindsay (Michigan State), 13.Tony Staynings (Western Kentucky), 14.Josh Kimeto (Washington St.), 15.Curt Alitz (Army), 21.John Treacy (Providence), 29.Greg Meyer (Michigan), 37.Samson Kimobwa (Washington St.), 38.Niall O’Shaughnessy (Arkansas), 56.Steve Lacy (Wisconsin), 60.Pat Davey (Tennessee), 90.Ray Flynn (East Tennessee), 110.George Watts (Tennessee–coach at East Tennessee), 143.Craig Masback (Princeton), 165.Bruce Bickford (Northeastern), 174.Ron Addison (Tennessee), 175.Matt Centrowitz (Oregon), 226.Barry Harwick (Dartmouth—former coach at his alma mater), 227.Vince Cartier (Florida).
Results:
https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/1975-men.pdf
(32 teams, 268 finishers)
Hall of Fame Bio(Virgin): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/craig-virgin
2010 Interview: http://www.garycohenrunning.com/Interviews/Virgin.aspx
1979—For the first time, the U.S. Men’s and Women’s X-Country Championships were held at the same site (Raleigh,NC).
Competing for the Greater Boston T.C., Oregon’s Alberto Salazar (30:28), who had finished 2nd to Washington State’s Henry Rono at the NCAA Championships 5 days earlier, set a fast pace for the opening mile and then pulled away from eventual runnerup Herb Lindsay (30:48) and the rest of the field to win by 20 seconds.
The GBTC, coached by the legendary Bill Squires, also got top-5 finishes from Bob Hodge (3), Dan Dillon (4), and Greg Meyer (5) to easily win the team title.This was a swan song for the group as teammates, with Hodge saying,” It was not the breakup of the Beatles, but, you know, in our little world it was somewhat momentous”.
Virginia’s Margaret Groos (16:54) won the Women’s title over North Carolina State’s Julie Shea (17:03), who had beaten Groos in 4 previous meets, including the AIAW Championships a week earlier.
Other Notable Finishers
Men(10k): 6.Duncan MacDonald, 7.Steve Scott, 8.Steve Plasencia, 9.Jim Stintzi…12.Randy Thomas (GBTC)…20.Matt Centrowitz
Women(5k):3.Jan Merrill, 4.Brenda Webb, 5.Lynn Jennings, 6.Joan Benoit…10.Francie Larrieu, 11.Cindy Bremser, 12.Kathy Mills…17.Betty Jo Springs
Bob Hodge Report: http://www.jackdogwelch.com/?p=33059
1980--With 7 of his eventual 15 NCAA individual titles under his belt, as well as a silver medal in the 10,000-meters at the recent Olympics in Moscow, it was no surprise that UTEP’s Suleiman Nyambui (29:04.0) was the winner at the NCAA
X-Country Championships on a flat course in Wichita, Kansas. Teammate Matthews Motshwarateu finished 2nd (29:06.4), followed by FDU’s Solomon Chebor (29:08.4). James Rotich, also of UTEP, finished 4th (29:13.9) as the Miners won their 3rd-straight team title (5th in the last 6 years)
Nyambui’s incredible 15 NCAA titles
(‘80-XC, ‘79-’82, Indoor Mile, ‘79,’80,’82-Indoor 2-mile, ‘80-’82, 5k, ‘79-’82, 10k)
Other notable finishers-6.Mark Scrutton (Colorado–1982 Champion), 15.Doug Padilla (BYU), 19.Ray Treacy (Providence–coach at his alma mater), 20.Jim Spivey (Indiana), 21.Amos Korir (Villanova), 25.John Gregorek (Georgetown), 26.Chris Fox (Auburn—former (and current) coach at Syracuse), 30.Mike Musyoki (UTEP), 38.Brian Diemer (Michigan-coach at Calvin), 70.Frank O’Mara (Arkansas), 82.Sydney Maree (Villanova), 88.Keith Brantly (Florida), 92.Marcus O’Sullivan (Villanova-coach at his alma mater)
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/1980-men.pdf
(29 teams, 243 finishers)
1997–It was not a good day for favorites in the women’s race at the NCAA Div.I X-Country Championships at Furman University. Brigham Young was the surprise winner of the team title, edging consensus pick Stanford, 100-102.
Stanford was 16 points ahead of BYU after each team’s 4th runner crossed the finish line, with close point-swings happening all over the place. Emily Nay completed BYU’s scoring with her 46th-place finish, then the team had to sweat it out as they waited for Stanford’s 5th scorer to come across the line. It was a real nail-biter as Ann Ramsey finished in 69th place, 4th in a group that was all timed in 17:41, and only a second behind 4 others who were timed in 17:40!
Arizona’s Amy Skieresz (16:39) was picked to win the individual title, but she had to settle for a 2nd-place finish behind Villanova’s Carrie Tollefson (16:29).
BYU coach Patrick Shane had made a promise to his team that he would shave off his mustache should they win, and they were more than happy to hold him to it as each member, along with his wife, Monica, took turns shaving off his facial hair–it was a painful process!
Patrick Shane—Let The Pain Begin!
(Photo included in the attached Word file)
Stanford had better luck on the men’s side as they edged Arkansas to win their 2nd straight team title, 53-56. It was an All-Star battle in the individual race, with UCLA’s Meb Keflezighi (28:54) winning over Michigan’s Kevin Sullivan (29:01), Washington State’s Bernard Lagat (29:05), Colorado’s Adam Goucher (29:05), and Arkansas’ Ryan Wilson (29:10.
Results
Women:
https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/1997-women.pdf
(22 teams, 180 finishers)
Men: https://trackandfieldnews.com/ncaa-cross-country-championships-mens-results/1997-ncaa-cross-country-championships/ (22 teams, 179 finishers)
Other notable finishers:
Women-4.Julia Stamps (Stanford), 5.Katie McGregor (Michigan), 6.Carmen Douma (Villanova), 7.Amy Yoder (Arkansas).
Men-7.Abdi Abdirahman (Arizona), 10.Brad Hauser (Stanford), 17.Brent Hauser (Stanford), 23.Jonathon Riley (Stanford), 40.Tim Broe (Alabama), 54.Matt Downin (Wisconsin), 68.Ryan Shay (Notre Dame), 78.Seneca Lassiter (Arkansas);
2003—Former high school rivals and future Olympic teammates Dathan Ritzenhein (Colorado) and Ryan Hall (Stanford) battled for the individual title at the NCAA Div.I X-Country Championships in Waterloo, Iowa, with “Ritz” coming out on top, 29:14.1-29:15.4. Stanford also got high finishes from Grant Robison (4th), Ian Dobson (5th), and Louis Luchini (6th) as it won its 2nd straight Men’s team title with a low score of 24 points.
North Carolina’s Shalane Flanagan won the Women’s individual title for the 2nd year in a row, while Stanford made it a team sweep by edging Brigham Young, 120-128, for the team title.
Other Notable Finishers
Men:8.Alistair Cragg (Arkansas), 9.Simon Bairu (Wisconsin/2004-2005 champion), 13.Don Sage (Stanford), 15.Chris Solinsky (Wisconsin), 16.Bill Nelson (Colorado), 17.Nate Brannen (Michigan), 18.Nick Willis (Michigan), 20.Richard Kiplagat (Iona), 69.Robert Cheseret (Arizona), 74.Bobby Curtis (Villanova), 143.Dan Huling (Miami-Ohio), 197.Tom Lancashire (Florida State), 241.Darren Brown (Providence);
Women:2.Kim Smith (Providence), 3.Sara Bei-Hall (Stanford), 6.Alicia Craig (Stanford), 10.Johanna Nilsson (Northern Arizona), 15.Renee Metivier (Colorado), 17.Marina Muncan (Villanova), 24.Ari Lambie (Stanford) , 25.Amy Hastings (Arizona State), 31.Erin Donohue (North Carolina), 41.Molly Huddle (Notre Dame), 44.Desi Davila-Linden (Arizona State), 79.Julia Lucas (North Carolina State), 103.Treniere Clement (Georgetown), 107.Sally Meyerhoff (Duke), 133.Tiffany McWilliams (Mississippi State), 135.Anne Shadle (Nebraska), 162.Delilah DiCrescenzo (Columbia), 226.Shannon Rowbury (Duke);
Results
Men: https://trackandfieldnews.com/ncaa-cross-country-championships-mens-results/2003-ncaa-cross-country-championships/ (31 teams, 254 finishers)
Women:
(31 teams, 252 finishers)
Race Results Weekly: https://www.letsrun.com/2003/stanfordncaa.php
https://archive.dyestat.com/3us/college/3xc-ncaa.htm
Stanford Sweep: https://gostanford.com/news/2003/11/24/208086040.aspx
Video(Men): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZkzh4Zi6Bg
2008–Oregon senior Galen Rupp (29:03.2), 2nd in 2007, beat Liberty’s Sam Chelanga (29:08.0) to win the Men’s individual title at the NCAA Div.I X-Country Championships in Terre Haute, and led the Ducks to their 2nd consecutive team win.
Texas Tech senior Sally Kipyego (19:28.1) won the Women’s race, while the University of Washington won its first NCAA team title.
Other Notable Finishers
Men:5.Luke Puskedra (Oregon), .Chris Derrick (Stanford), 13.Andrew Bumbalough (Georgetown), 45.Matthew Centrowitz (Oregon), 47.Bobby Mack (North Carolina State), 53.Ben True (Dartmouth), 68. Ciarán Ó Lionáird (Michigan), 75.Andrew Wheating (Oregon),
Women:2.Susan Kuijken (Florida State-19:34.9), 4.Brie Felnagle (North Carolina), 6.Angela Bizzarri (Illinois), 9.Nicole Bush (Michigan State), Nicole Blood (Oregon), 15.Liz Costello (Princeton), 20.Frances Koons (Villanova), 23.Bridget Franek (Penn State), 24.Nicole Edwards (Michigan), 33.Liz Maloy (Georgetown), 36.Sarah Bowman (Tennessee), 60.Emily Infeld (Georgetown), 80.Kim Conley (UC-Davis), 104.Jackie Areson (Tennessee), 112.Geena Gall (Michigan), 135.Heather Dorniden (Minnesota)
Results
Men: https://trackandfieldnews.com/ncaa-cross-country-championships-mens-results/2008-ncaa-cross-country-championships/ (31 teams, 252 finishers)
Women:
(31 teams, 252 finishers)
https://www.milesplit.com/meets/38678-ncaa-di-cross-country-championships-2008/results#.X7vDbi9h1QI
https://www.letsrun.com/2008/ncaamenrecap1122.php
Historical Links
U.S. Championships: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Cross_Country_Championships
Born On This Day*
Abby Steiner 26 (1999) 3-time NCAA Champion-200m (Kentucky/2021-indoor, 2022-indoor/outdoor)
2022 NCAA Champion-4×400 (48.9/3rd leg)
2022 World Champion-4×100, 4×400
2022 U.S. Champion-200m, 5th at the World Championships in Eugene
4th in the 200 at the 2023 U.S. Championships—last race of the year. Revealed she had been suffering from a bone
spur on her left heel. Eventually underwent corrective surgery.
6th in the 200 at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials
Set an American Indoor Record of 22.09 at the 2022 SEC Championships and an Outdoor Collegiate Record of
21.80 at the 2022 NCAA Championships.
PBs: 7.10i (2022, 10.90 (2022), 22.09iNR//2022/#3 All-Time, also 22.16/#2 performance U.S., =#7 world),
21.77/2022/=#5 All-Time U.S., 35.54i (2023/NR/#3 All-Time, also 35.80/#5 performance U.S., #10 world);
50.59i (2023), 51.58 (2024)
After undergoing a 3rd surgery on her left foot, she’s taking some time off from track to get fully healthy. In the
meantime, she’s now studying exercise science with an eye on earning a Master’s degree.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abby_Steiner
https://www.instagram.com/abby_steiner/?hl=en
2022 U.S. 200: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cijTvD4eccI
https://ukathletics.com/sports/track/roster/player/abby-steiner-2/
Ryan Whiting 39 (1986) 2-time World Indoor Champion (2012,2014)
2013 World Championships—silver medalist (6th-2011); 7th at the 2017 World Championships
6-time NCAA Champion (Arizona State/5-shot put, 1-discus)
2008—Indoor
2009—indoor & outdoor
2010—Indoor & outdoor + Discus
2012 Olympic finalist—Shot Put (9th); 4th at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials
2013 U.S. Champion; 4-time U.S. Indoor Champion (2011,2013,2014,2018)
Ranked #1 in the world in 2013 (2010-8, 2011-6, 2012-3, 2013-1, 2014-4, 2015-7, 2017-9)
Currently an assistant coach at Arizona State, his alma mater
PBs: 73-1 ¼ (22.28/2013); 200-11 (21.11/2008);
Online Coach: https://www.deserthighperformance.com
https://thesundevils.com/news/2022/8/12/track-field-asu-legend-ryan-whiting-named-throws-coach.aspx
Olympedia: https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/126096
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Whiting
Rankings: https://trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/rankings
Shevon Stoddart-Nieto—USA/Jamaica 43 (1982) 2-time Olympian-400-Meter Hurdles (2004,2008/1st round each year)
All-American at South Carolina: NCAA-2002 (6th), 2003 (6th), 2005 (2nd)
PB:54.47 (2005)
Married to Jamie Nieto, a 2-time U.S. Olympic high jumper who was partially paralyzed while trying to perform a
backflip. After extensive rehab, he was able to walk Stoddart down the aisle at their wedding.
Sang on the TV show America’s Got Talent, but withdrew from further competition when she found out she was
pregnant (concerned about Covid).
Gave birth to son Jaysha King in August, 2020
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105012
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shevon_Nieto
Singer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7f7oR9VqLo
Nieto: https://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-paralyzed-olympian-20170603-story.html
Wedding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lojQREwjqTw
Carmelita Jeter 46 (1979) 2012 Olympic gold medalist—4×100 (WR-40.82-anchor/silver-100, bronze-200)
2011 World Champion—100m; 2-time World Champion—4×100 (2007,2011)
3-time World Championships bronze medalist—100m (2007,2009,2013)
3-time U.S. Champion—100m (2009,2011,2012)
2010 U.S. Indoor Champion—60m; Silver medalist 2010 World Indoor Championships
NCAA Div.II All-American at Cal. State-Dominguez Hills
PBs:7.02i (2010/=#8 All-Time U.S.), 10.64 (2009/#3-All-Time U.S/#5-World), 22.11 (2012)
Announced her retirement from racing in 2017…currently the head coach at UNLV
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/126627
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmelita_Jeter
Retirement: http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2017/11/07/carmelita-jeter-retires-track-and-field/
2012 OG 4×100 Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAfhf_u_QBI
Handling the Baton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR0PR2B1l7E
T&F News Interview(2013): https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/jeter.pdf
T&F News Cover (October): https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2012-10.jpg
Deceased
Bill Squires 89 (1932-June 30, 2022) Legendary coach of the Greater Boston Track Club
Among the athletes he coached: Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, Jack Fultz
Inducted into the National Hall of Fame in 2017
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Squires
HOF Bio: https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/bill-squires
https://tonireavis.com/2020/11/14/zooming-in-on-coach-squires-at-88/
https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a40484974/bill-squires-dies-at-89/
https://onceuponatimeinthevest.blogspot.com/2022/06/v-12-n-48-bill-squires-coach-rip.html
Born To Coach:
https://www.amazon.com/Born-Coach-Legendary-Greatest-Generation/dp/1782551964
Robert Ouko—Kenya 70 (1948-August 18, 2019) 1972 Olympic gold medalist—4×400 (5th-800)
1970 Commonwealth Games Champion—800m
Helped North Carolina Central win the mile relay (3:03.1-Collegiate Record/46.2-2nd leg) and
Sprint Medley (3:14.8-World Record/1:47.7 anchor) at the 1972 Penn Relays (Coached by Dr. Leroy Walker)
Ran a 1:45.4 anchor leg on the Kenyan team that set a World Record of 7:11.6 in the 2-mile relay in 1970
PBs: 46.2 (1970), 1:46.0 (1972);
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/72832
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1972/05/22/magical-running-machine
Lillian Copeland 59 (1904-July 7, 1964) 1932 Olympic gold medalist—Discus (1928-silver)
Won a total of nine U.S. titles between 1925 and 1932 in three different events – shot, discus, and javelin – and in 1926 she
took all three championships setting a new U.S. record in each event (from Olympedia.org)
PB:133-2 (40.58/1932)
Hall of Fame Bio(1994): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/lillian-copeland
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77792
Steve Smith 68 (1951-Sep.23, 2020) 1972 Olympian—Pole Vault (qual.round);
1st man to clear 18-feet indoors (1973); One of the stars of the Professional ITA (International Track Association)
tour.
Ranked #1 in the world by T&F News in 1973
Legend has it that he cleared 15’ after riding his skateboard down the runway!
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Smith_(pole_vaulter)
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1973/02/12/hes-raising-the-roof
Unhappy Olympic Experience: http://www.sanclementetimes.com/not-your-typical-olympic-story/
Free Spirit: http://tinyurl.com/jkoogb3
http://thepalis.com/archieves/special/Pat%27s%20History/polevault.html
