Craig Virgin, circa 1974, photo courtesy of STLtoday.com
RunBlogRun opines: I first found out about Craig Virgin heading to a track meet while I was a freshman at DeSmet. It was the spring of 1973, and this guy from Illinois was just destroying the competition. I remember seeing Craig Virgin on the cover of the 1975 TFN after his battle with Nick Rose at the NCAA Cross country. Virgin was an amazing runner, with his World XC wins, his Olympic Trials battle in 1980 with Herb Lindsay, and his battle with Seko and Rodgers at the Boston Marathon, among others.
Jeff Benjamin reached out to Craig Virgin regarding his thoughts on Miruts Yifter, who passed away last month.
Miruts Yifter battles Lasse Viren, Moscow 1980, photo courtesy of JuanJoseMartinez.com.mex
One of the great running legends passed on this last December. Ethiopian Miruts Yifter, who won both the Gold Medals in the Moscow Olympics 5000 and 10,000 meters, was known as one of the great unbeatable runners of his era.
Miruts Yifter, photo courtesy of photo courtesy of JuanJoseMartinez.com.mex
“I was the guy who gave him the nickname “Yifter the Shifter”, recounted fellow competitor and Running Legend Craig Virgin recently. Jokingly he added, “I should have copyrighted it!”
However, what seemed to be unable to copyright were the racing tactics, abilities and style of Yifter. It seemed to competitors, fans and spectators that no matter what strategy was thrown at him, Yifter was always able to adapt to it successfully.
Virgin, a 3-time Olympian and one of America’s Greatest distance runners, experienced Yifter’s abilities firsthand, particularly in 1979 in the Montreal World Cup 10,000 meter race.
Author Randy Sharer is collaborating with Virgin in a soon to be released biography entitled “Virgin Territory, The Story of Craig Virgin, America’s Renaissance Runner” .
Here is an excerpt about Virgin’s race with Yifter from that fabled race–
–And here’s the race
Craig Virgin was never able to compete against Miruts Yifter in Moscow 1980, as President Jimmy Carter demanded that the US boycott the Moscow Olympics. The boycott, well meaning, but, ill-advised, was due to the Russian incursion into Afghanistan. In 1980, Virgin was at the top of his form.
The Final Lap- Virgin, the only American Man to ever win the World XC Championship (and he did it twice in 1981& 1982!!) was quite saddened when he heard of the passing of his fellow competitor. “God Bless him,” said Virgin. “I’ll tell you what, Bekele and Gebrselassie would have had a hard time with Yifter with a lap to go!”
“He was remarkable….we will not see many like him again.”
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Senior Writer Jeff Benjamin has written for almost 40 years for RunBlogRun! The Former President of the Staten Island AC & was the 5th man scorer for his 1982 Susan Wagner High School NYC XC City Championship team. Also a member of the College of Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame for XC, Jeff is also a retired NYC DOE history teacher. Some of Jeff's subjects have included Sebastian Coe, Eamonn Coghlan, Matt Centrowitz, Billy Mills, Joe Newton, Tom Fleming, Bill Rodgers, Abel Kiviat, Frank Shorter, Rod Dixon and Carl Lewis as well as Book Reviews and articles covering track meets and races primarily in the Northeast U.S. and beyond.
Jeff has also covered Track & Field events at the 1996, 2016 & 2024 Olympic Games as well as the 2022 World T&F Championships in Eugene, Oregon. A noted T&F historian and chronicler of the athletic achievements of Jim Thorpe, Jeff helped with the restoration of Thorpe to the official IOC 1912 Record Books.
In 2023 Jeff was honored with the awarded the prestigious James Dunaway memorial award for excellence in Track and Field journalism by the Track and Field Writers Association.
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