by RBR Admin
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: 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 29
1928–John Kuck won the gold medal in the Shot Put at the Amsterdam Olympics with a World Record toss of 52-3/4 (15.87). Finishing 2nd (51-8 [15.87) was Herman Brix, who later became better known as actor Bruce Bennett (Tarzan). Winning the bronze medal was Germany’s Emil Hirschfeld (51-7 [15.72]).
Passing Finnish teammate Ville “Willie” Ritola (30:19.4) in the homestretch, Paavo Nurmi (30:18.8/OR) won the 10,000 meters to regain the title he first won in 1920. 3rd was Sweden’s Edvin Wide (31:00.8).
Bob King (6-4 ¼ [1.94]) and Ben Hedges (6-3 ¼ [1.91]) gave the U.S. a 1-2 finish in a five-hour marathon High Jump. France’s Claude Ménard (6-3 ¼ [1.91]) finished third.
Medalists/Results: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1928_Summer_Olympics
Olympia Reports: https://www.olympedia.org/editions/9/sports/ATH
Brix Obituary: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/02/obituaries/02brix.html
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78150
Kuck: https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78669
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_shot_put_world_record_progression
1949—Curt Stone, 6th in the 5000 at the 1948 Olympics, set an American Record of 30:38.4 for 10,000 meters in Oslo. Stone was a 3-time U.S. Olympian at 5000 meters (’48-‘52’;56). He also competed in the 10,000 at the 1952 Olympics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curt_Stone
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/79099
1961—With an ailing Dyrol Burleson on the sidelines, Jim Beatty won the 1500-meters on the first day of the USA-Poland dual meet in Warsaw and tied Burly’s American Record of 3:40.9.
Wilma Rudolph, a 3-time Olympic gold medalist the previous year in Rome, won the Women’s 100 in 11.5 and helped the U.S. win the 4×100 in 45.0.
http://tinyurl.com/1961US-Poland
Hall of Fame Bios
Beatty(1990): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/jim-beatty
Rudolph(1974-Charter Member): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/wilma-rudolph
1976–Winner of the 800 four days earlier, Cuba’s Alberto Juantorena completed his historic Olympic double in Montreal by winning the Men’s 400 meters in 44.26. Juantorena, known as El Caballo (The Horse), is still the only man to win both events at the Olympics. (American Paul Pilgrim won the 400-800 double at the unofficial Games in 1906). Juantorena has stayed active in the sport as a World Athletics (IAAF) Council member.
He had to chase down American Fred Newhouse (44.40) in the homestretch, pulling ahead for good with 20 meters to go. Another American, Herman Frazier (44.95), won the bronze medal. Juantorena and Newhouse first met at the practice track in Montreal before the Games began. “He came over, we started talking, and we’ve been friends ever since,” Newhouse said.
Signature:2f94792b84e9151f30e251b36bc94866815a00ad84c1ac8123e48bad831b667f
Poland’s Irina Szewińska, competing in her 4th Olympics, pulled away from the field down the homestretch to win the women’s 400-meters and ran 49.29 to smash her own month-old World Record of 49.75; it was a tight battle for the other medals, with East Germany’s Christine Brehmer (50.51) edging teammate Ellen Streidt (50.55) for 2nd, with Finland’s Pirjo Häggman (50.56) falling just short in 4th. Americans Rosalyn Bryant (50.65) and Sheila Ingram (50.90) continued to run well, finishing 5th and 6th. Bryant almost matched the American Record 50.62 that she set in her semi-final, while Ingram equaled the H.S. Record she set in her semi-final.
For Szewińska, the gold she won here gave her a total of 7 Olympic medals—she won a gold (4×100) and 2 silvers (200, long jump) in 1964, a gold (200) and bronze (100) in 1968, and a bronze (200) in 1972.
Arnie Robinson (27-4 ¾ [8.35]} and defending champion Randy Williams (26-7 ¼ [8.11]) gave the U.S. a 1-2 sweep in the Men’s Long Jump. East Germany’s Frank Wartenberg 26-3 ¾ ([8.02]) won the bronze medal. A possible U.S. sweep went out the window when Larry Myricks broke a bone in his foot while warming up for the final!
It was an Eastern Bloc sweep in the 100-meter hurdles, with East Germany’s Johanna Schaller (12.77) emerging as the winner in a blanket finish over the Soviet duo of Tatyana Anisimova (12.78) and Natalya Lebedyeva (12.80). East Germany’s Gudrun Berend (12.82) was a close 4th.
Winner of the Women’s Discus was East Germany’s Evelyn Schlaak (226-4 [69.00-OR]), followed by Bulgaria’s Mariya Vergova (220-9 [67.30]) and East Germany’s Gabriele Hinzmann (219-3 [66.84]).
The Soviet Union’s defending champion, Faina Melnik, was the prohibitive favorite in the Women’s Discus after setting the 11th World Record of her career (231-3 [70.50]) in April, but she wound up only 5th. She might salvage a silver medal after throwing 225-1 (68.60) in the 5th round. Still, officials later disallowed the mark, ruling that she either stepped in front of the ring before she threw or interrupted her throw twice (conflicting reports).
Jan Merrill finished 5th in her semi-final of the Women’s 1500 meters but ran 4:02.61 to advance to the final as a “time-qualifier.” Her time smashed the American Record of 4:07.21, which had been set by Francie Larrieu in the previous day’s heats!
Medalists/Results: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1976_Summer_Olympics
Olympia Reports: https://www.olympedia.org/editions/19/sports/ATH
Video(Junatorena-both races): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY0JOwJO5Ek
W400: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spmHgqMvW-w
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women’s_400_metres_world_record_progression
1978—While going through some of my old programs, I came across one for the 4th Annual Boston Relay Carnival held at Boston University’s Nickerson Field. I found some interesting results that I had recorded.
Sydney Maree (13:50.2), about to start his sophomore year at Villanova, won the 5000-meters over local hero Alberto Salazar (14:00.4), who was a week shy of his 20th birthday. He was back home in Massachusetts before starting his junior year at Oregon.
Charlotte Lettis (4:46.9) won the Women’s Mile over Liberty A.C. teammate Joan Benoit (4:50.7), who had not yet become a household name, and Patty Lyons (4:51.0).
Thomas McLean, the 1976 NCAA Champion from Bucknell, won the 800-meters in 1:49.3, and Byron Dyce, the two-time NCAA 2-lap Champ from NYU (1968, 1969), won the mile in a modest 4:11.7.
The Philadelphia Pioneers, with a lineup of Charlie Wells, Herman Frazier, Bill Collins, and Steve Riddick, won a hot 4×200 over D.C. International, 1:21.6-1:21.7. The same lineup won the 4×100 in 39.82. Anchoring the New Jersey Flyers (41.15) in a “” B” section was 19-year-old Maryland soph-to-be Renaldo Nehemiah, who had finished 2nd in the NCAA 110-hurdles in June.
BU grad John Thomas, the former World Record holder in the High Jump, was the Meet Director, and the announcer was Larry Newman, whose voice is still going strong at meets more than 40 years later.
1982—Finland is well-known for its love of the javelin, so the fans in attendance in Helsinki were thrilled when homegrown hero Tiina Lillak threw 237-6 (72.40) to become the first female World Record holder in the event.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2pV-VTWcP0
WR Progression: http://www.apulanta.fi/matti/yu/wrprogr_Women.html#Javelin_throw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiina_Lillak
1987–East Germany’s Petra Felke threw 258-10 (78.90) to regain the World Record in the Javelin from England’s Fatima Whitbread, who threw 254-1 (77.44m) the previous year. Felke improved the record to 262-5 (80.00) the following year, and that would stand until a new implement was introduced in 1999.
WR Progression: http://www.apulanta.fi/matti/yu/wrprogr_Women.html#Javelin_throw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra_Felke
1989–33 years after Charlie Dumas became history’s first 7-footer in 1956, Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor became the first man to clear 8 feet in the High Jump, getting over that exact height (2.44) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_high_jump_world_record_progression
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F4m9MJnnlM
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/31/sports/sotomayor-has-8-foot-high-jump.html
1994—After setting a 1st-day best of 4,736 points, Dan O’Brien finished the Decathlon on the final day of competition at the Goodwill Games in St.Petersburg, Russia, winning 8,715. Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor cleared 7-10 ½ (2.40) to win the Men’s High Jump.
Medalists: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1994_Goodwill_Games
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1994_Goodwill_Games_–_Results
Hall of Fame Bio(2006): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/dan-o-brien
1995––Cuba’s Ivan Pedroso apparently broke Mike Powell’s World Record in the Long Jump (29-4 1/2 [8.95]) when he reached 29-4 ¾ (8.96) in the jumper-friendly altitude (6,726’) of Sestriere, Italy. Still, Italian officials never submitted the mark to the IAAF for official ratification. The wind reading for Pedroso’s big jump was a legal 1.2mps. Still, after looking at videotapes taken during the competition, they determined that an Italian coach, Luciano Gemello, stood in front of the wind gauge during every one of the Cuban’s six jumps.
“Each time Pedroso got up to jump, the man would go and stand up right in front of the anemometer,” the Italian federation’s spokesman, Enrico Jacomini, said. “He stood half a foot in front of the anemometer. He stood there for all six of Pedroso’s jumps and no one else’s. We spoke to the man. He said he was very fond of the long jump, and because Pedroso was the best long jump in the field, he was interested only in Pedroso. “We have a feeling he interfered with the wind,” Jacomini said.
It was reported that Pedroso was allowed to keep the $130,000 Ferrari traditionally given as a bonus to anyone breaking a World Record at the meet!
Powell had jumped 29-6 (8.99) here in 1992, but his mark was aided by a strong tailwind (4.4mps). When told that Pedroso’s mark wouldn’t be submitted, Powell said, “It feels good to say I’m still the world record holder. I didn’t realize how much it meant to me”.
Pedroso went on to become one of the greatest long jumpers in history, winning nine World Championship titles (four outdoor and five indoor). He also won the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
NY Times Stories:
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/30/sports/track-and-field-cuban-breaks-long-jump-record.html;
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/04/sports/04iht-track.t_1.html
1996—It was an exciting day at the Atlanta Olympics. On the men’s side, wearing gold shoes, Michael Johnson got the front end of his attempted 400-200 double by winning the long sprint with an Olympic Record of 43.49. Finishing almost a full second behind in second place was Great Britain’s Roger Black (44.41), and the third was Uganda’s Davis Kamoga (44.53). Johnson would get his double by winning the 200 three days later.
Carl Lewis won his fourth gold medal in the Men’s Long Jump (27-10 ¾ [8.50]) to match Al Oerter’s feat in the Discus. Jamaica’s James Beckford (27-2 ½ [8.29]) won the silver medal, while Joe Greene (27-1/2 [8.24]) won his second straight Olympic bronze medal. Injuries kept the World Record holder Mike Powell (5th) and Cuba’s 1995 World Champion Ivan Pedroso (11th) from their best.
Lewis was in danger of not advancing to the final three rounds before he made it through with his third jump of 27-2 ½ (8.29).
Allen Johnson won the 110-meter hurdles, setting an Olympic Record of 12.95. He was followed across the line by U.S. teammate Mark Crear (13.09) and Germany’s Florian Schwarthoff (13.17), who edged Great Britain’s Colin Jackson (13.19) to win the bronze medal.
Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie beat Kenya’s Paul Tergat in the Men’s 10,000 (27:07.34/OR-27:08.17), with Morocco’s Salah Hissou (27:24.67) winning the bronze.
France’s Marie-José Pérec was after the female 400-200 double and held off Cathy Freeman (48.63) to set the still-standing Olympic Record of 48.25 in the longer race. Finishing 2nd & 3rd were Australia’s Cathy Freeman (48.63) and Nigeria’s Falilat Ogunkoya (49.10). Like Michael Johnson, Perec would also complete the double by winning the 200 three days later, and Freeman would win Olympic gold four years later in Sydney.
Medalists/Results: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1996_Summer_Olympics
Olympia Reports: https://www.olympedia.org/editions/24/sports/ATH
Videos: W400 M400 M10k 110h MLJ
Hall of Fame Bios:
A.Johnson(2015): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/allen-johnson
M.Johnson(2004): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/michael-johnson
Lewis(2001): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/carl-lewis
