Walt Murphy is one of the finest track statisticians that I know. Walt does #ThisDayinTrack&FieldHistory, an excellent daily service that provides true geek stories about our sport. You can check out the service for FREE with a free one-month trial subscription! (email: [email protected] ) for the entire daily service. We will post a few historic moments each day, beginning February 1, 2024.
This Day in Track & Field–June 2
(c)Copyright 2024-all rights reserved. It may not be reprinted or retransmitted without permission.
By Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service ([email protected]), used with permission.
1912—Abel Kiviat set a World Record 3:56.8 for 1500 meters on NY’s Long Island. He would improve the record to 3:55.8 six days later, becoming the first official record recognized by the IAAF. Kiviat would win the silver medal in the 1500 at the Stockholm Olympics later in the year.
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78659
1928–16-year-old Elizabeth “Betty” Robinson set a World Record of 12.0 in the 100-Meters in Chicago. She went on to win the gold medal in the 100 at the Antwerp Olympics, becoming the first-ever female Olympic champion in T&F.
After surviving a near-fatal plane crash in 1931, she returned to the Olympics in 1936 and won another gold medal in the 4×100 Relay. She was inducted into the National Hall of Fame in 1977.
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Robinson
https://www.olympic.org/elizabeth-robinson
Olympic Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGcC2kn4qgU
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77953
