by runblogrunstgWalt 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: WaltMurphy44@gmail.com ) for the entire daily service. We will post a few historic moments each day, beginning February 1, 2024.
Track & Field History is copyrighted by Walt Murphy News and Results Services, and all rights are reserved. RunBlogRun uses this content with permission.
This Day in Track & Field–July 17
1912 – IAAF (Int’l Amateur Athletic Federation) forms in Sweden. (Later became known as the International Association of Athletics Federations and now as World Athletics).
https://www.worldathletics.org/heritage/history
IAAF 2012 Awards Ceremony
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NhF_nMh5-c
Centenary Celebration (Spanish commentary, but worth watching–Start at the 6:30 mark)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Y8PE0l2tk
1920—Most running events were conducted at imperial distances for the only time in U.S. Olympic Trials history. The exceptions at this year’s Trials at Harvard (Cambridge, MA) were the 3000m-Steeplechase, 5000m, and 10,000m.
Among those who made the team and went on to win gold at the Antwerp Olympics (the 1st since 1912, due to WWI) were Charley Paddock (100m), Allen Woodring (200m), Frank Loomis (400m-Hurdles), Richmond Landon (High Jump), Frank Foss (Pole Vault), Pat Ryan (Hammer), and Pat McDonald (56lb Weight Throw).
The meet also served as the U.S. Championships.
Results/Notes: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1920.pdf
NY Times: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/07/18/102873881.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1922–Great Britain’s Mary Lines established the first World Record in the Women’s 440y by running 64.4 in London.
British Pioneers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Lines
1942–Sweden’s Gunder (“The Wonder”) Hägg won the 1500 in 3:45.8 in Stockholm to break his own World Record of 3:47.6.
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1500_metres_world_record_progression
1945—Hägg ran 4:01.4 for the Mile in Malmö to break countryman Arne Andersson’s year-old World Record of 4:01.6.
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile_run_world_record_progression
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903E3D71E3EF931A35751C1A9629C8B63
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Gunder-Hagg
1953—This was a time when separate records were kept for yards and an event’s metric equivalent. The World Record for 800-meters was already down to 1:46.6, but Mal Whitfield, the 2-time Olympic gold medalist at 800-meters, got official credit for setting a much slower World Record of 1:48.6 for 880-yards in Turku, Finland!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mal_Whitfield
1955—Tom Courtney, Fordham’s NCAA Champion at 880-yards, set an American Record of 1:46.8 for 800-meters in Kouvola, Finland. Courtney would win Olympic gold in the 800 the following year in Melbourne.
AR Progression: http://trackfield.brinkster.net/RecProg_AllUSA.asp?RecCode=WR&EventCode=MA4&Gender=M&P=F
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mal_Whitfield
1961—Hall-of-Famer-to-be Willye White broke her day-old American Record in the Long Jump by leaping 21-1/4 (6.41) in Karlsruhe, Germany).
AR Progression: http://trackfield.brinkster.net/RecProg_AllUSA.asp?RecCode=WR&EventCode=WF3&Gender=W&P=F
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willye_White
1965—Wyomia Tyus, the 1964 Olympic gold medalist in the 100-meters (she repeated in 1968), set an American Record of 10.3 for 100-yards at the Carreras Invitational in Kingston,Jamaica (July 15-18)
Fresh out of Wichita East(KS) High School, Jim Ryun, nursing a sore foot (ankle?), won the Mile on Friday (July 16-4:04.3), then came back on Sunday (July 18) to win the 1/2-mile (1:50.5) and finish 2nd in the 3-mile (14:01.8).
Tyus and Ryun were both inducted into the National Hall of Fame in 1980.
Tyus: https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/wyomia-tyus
Ryun: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Ryun
1966—19-year-old Jim Ryun ran 3:51.3 for the mile at the All-American Inv. in Berkeley to smash the year-old World Record of 3:53.6 that was held by France’s Michel Jazy.
T&F News co-founder Cordner Nelson captured the moment brilliantly when he wrote in the magazine, “Inside the quiet, gentle exterior of young Jim Ryun, there burns a fire as fierce as in any hero the world has known. And today he let us glimpse one concentrated jet of flame as it incinerated the mile World Record and scorched the very soul of Michel Jazy.”
A set of circumstances had to fall into place to give Ryun, who had recently completed his freshman year at Kansas, the opportunity to go after Jazy’s mark. He had come oh-so-close when he set an American Record of 3:53.7 at the Compton Inv. on June 4, but that was going to be his last attack of the year on the Frenchman’s record.
After winning the AAU mile in New York in 3:58.6, Ryun was scheduled to run two 1500 races in separate dual meets against Poland and the Soviet Union, which were to be held at Edwards Field in Berkeley and the L.A. Coliseum, respectively. He was planning to chase Herb Elliott’s World Record of 3:35.6 in the 2nd meet, but then Vietnam-era politics came into play. First the Soviets pulled out, and when the Poles also canceled, Ryun started thinking about asking Hall-of-Famer Sam Bell, the head coach at Cal-Berkeley and the director of the hastily-arranged All-American Inv., to change the 1500 to a mile. Before he could ask, Bell announced the switch, and plans for the record assault started to fall into place.
The other Americans in the race were eager to see the mile record return to the U.S. for the first time since Glenn Cunningham’s 1934 mark of 4:06.8 was broken in 1937, and they were realistic enough to realize that Ryun was the only one who could make that happen. They quietly agreed to help with the pace, without sacrificing their own ability to run fast. The record attempt wasn’t made public, so it was a pleasant surprise to the fans in attendance when they watched Tom Von Ruden, Richard Romo, and Wade Bell take turns at the front as they went through quick splits of 57.7 at the 1/4 and 1:55.4 at the 1/2. Ryun took over with about 700-yards to go, and when he passed the 3/4-mile split in 2:55.3, it was just a question of by how much he would break the record. And Ryun didn’t disappoint, finishing off his record run with a 56-flat last 1/4-mile. Ryun was appreciative of the help he received from his three countrymen, saying, “I thought their names should have been on the world record”. Ryun got a 2ndRecord when he was timed in 3:36.1 at 1500-Meters to take a full two seconds off Tom O’Hara’s American Record of 3:38.1
There were some interesting footnotes to the race, as Ryun revealed to Runner’s World in 2006:
“After the race was over, I went to the tent, and it seemed like three hours of talking to people and the media, answering questions, and signing autographs. I went to where my things had been stored only to find that everything I had about that race except what I had on had all been stolen – my sweats, my shoes. So others most have found it pretty significant too because they took everything.”
“Then, as I went across the field, I up-ran this beautiful girl and her brother and sister and asked for an autograph. And at that point, I was just plain tired, and I said, “Well, catch me later.”
Later, I was with her on a blind date; she was to become my wife, Ann, who was visiting there with her family. So for me, it was a special moment in setting the world record, but it was also when I met my wife.”
Sports Illustrated Vault:
Close: https://vault.si.com/vault/1966/06/13/the-second-fastest-ever
The Goal: https://vault.si.com/vault/1966/06/20/ready-for-the-goal
High Expectations: https://vault.si.com/vault/1966/07/04/a-doleful-day-for-ryun-3586
A Special Brand of Fame: h https://vault.si.com/vault/1966/08/01/a-special-brand-of-fame
Ryun looks back 40 years later: (Article mistakenly lists the date as July 27)
http://www.runnersworld.com/elite-runners/chat-jim-ryun-and-marty-liquori
Roger Robinson—50 Years Ago:
1968–FInland’s Jouko Kuha ran 8:24.2 for the Steeplechase in Stockholm to break Gaston Roelants’ World Record of 8:26.4.
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steeplechase_(athletics)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jouko_Kuha
1975–Marty Liquori ran 8:17.2 for 2-miles in Stockholm to break Steve Prefontaine’s year-old American Record of 8:18.4.
Hall of Fame Bio: https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/marty-liquori
http://www.racingpast.ca/john_contents.php?id=241
