by RBR Admin
Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com)
This Day in Track & Field–February 27
1926—Lee Barnes set an American Outdoor Record of 13-5 1/8 (4.09) in Los Angeles. Barnes was only 17 when he won the gold medal two years earlier at the 1924 Olympics. He later became a stunt double for actor Buster Keaton.
He was a member of the inaugural class of athletes inducted into the National H.S. Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2018.
https://clovisxc.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=44531&do=videos&video_id=236422
https://www.olympic.org/news/teenager-barnes-leaps-to-pole-vault-gold
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78078
1941–Jumping in an exhibition in Eugene, Oregon, Les Steers, a charter member of the National Hall of Fame, became the first man in history to clear 7-feet in the high jump (7-1/2[2.15]). It would take 15 years before Charlie Dumas got the first official 7-footer in 1956.
1970–The AAU Championships at NY’s Madison Square Garden was the setting for one of the great indoor battles of all time, as Martin McGrady and Lee Evans hooked up once again at 600-yards. Told by coach Brooks Johnson to run the race as if it was only a 1/4-mile long, and then hang on for dear life, McGrady did just that, passing 440-yards in 48.6, as Evans struggled through the turns trying to stay close. Evans, the reigning Olympic champion at 400-meters, was closing at the end, but McGrady hung on to win in 1:07.6 to smash his previous World Record of 1:08.5, which was set on Louisville’s bigger 8-lap track. Evans also got under the old record, clocking 1:08.0 in 2nd place. McGrady’s mark would last for 22-years until Mark Everett ran 1:07.53 at the 1992 Millrose Games.
McGrady wasn’t done for the evening–he came back later in the Championships with a 47.0 split in his 4th race of the day (heats in the 600 and relay) to lead Sports International to victory in the Mile Relay (3:14.0). Playing supporting roles in McGrady’s big show were two athletes who went on to become long-time college coaches (now retired). Mark Young (Yale) ran a 48.4 split on the winning relay and Pete Schuder (Columbia, Boston University) finished 3rd in the 600 (1:10.6).
The Garden had long been the site of many fights, both in hockey and in boxing, and almost got one at the end of the Men’s Mile. Marty Liquori, upset at Henryk Szordykowski’s attempt to cut in on the last lap, crossed the line in first place, then turned around to shake a fist at his Polish rival. That was the end of it, but Liquori then had to withstand a possible disqualification for pushing Szordykowski when he tried to cut in. Referee Stan Wright ruled in Liquori’s favor, saying he was just trying to protect his rightful position on the track.
For the 2nd year in a row, Norm Tate won both the Long Jump and Triple Jump.
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1970/03/09/he-knows-how-to-throw-his-weight-around
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/feb/25/usatf-flashback-martin-mcgrady-produced-a-600-yard/
1971–Once upon a time, the flat 220-yard Tartan track at the University of Delaware was the venue of choice for relay teams that wanted to run fast. Such was the case on this day when the University of Pittsburgh, with Jerry Richey running a 3:59.7 anchor mile, ran 9:39.7 (for yards) to break William & Mary’s year-old American Indoor Record of 9:42.6, which had been set on the same track the previous year. Preceding Richey were Ken Silay (1:54.5), Smittie Brown (48.2), and Mike Schurko (2:57.3).
A Look Back (subscription required)
1981—Jeff Woodard set an American Indoor Record of 7-7 ¾ (2.33) in the High Jump at the USA/Mobil Indoor Championships at NY’s Madison Square Garden.
Eamonn Coghlan won the 3-mile in 12:54.80, just missing Emiel Puttemans’ World Indoor Record of 12:54.6.
Larry Myricks won the Long Jump by two inches over 19-year old Carl Lewis (26-8 ¼ [8.13] to 26-6 ¼ [8.08]).
The meet marked the beginning of a sponsorship deal with the Mobil Corporation.
https://www.nytimes.com/1981/02/12/sports/indoor-track-aided.html
1982—Abilene Christian’s Billy Olson cleared 18-10 (5.74) at the NAIA Championships in Kansas City to set his 4th World Indoor Record of the season in the Pole Vault.
1983–A major snowstorm had forced a 2-week postponement of the Vitalis/Olympic Inv. at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Eamonn Coghlan, who was able to get in two more weeks of quality training as he prepared for another assault on the indoor mile world record. When he set the existing record of 3:50.6 in San Diego in 1981, Coghlan expressed some regret that he hadn’t gone under 3:50, which had been his secret goal. John Walker had become the first man to break 3:50 outdoors when he ran 3:49.4 in 1975, and Coghlan wanted to be the first to do it indoors.
The Irishman had “warmed up” for his record attempt by winning the AAU mile in 3:58.5 two days before at Madison Square Garden. After spending the afternoon helping the Meadowlands workers fine-tune the fast 10-lap track, Coghlan followed pace-setter Ross Donoghue through the 1/2-mile in 1:56.1. Coghlan was then pushed by his fierce rival, Steve Scott, through the 3/4-split in 2:54.8 and the crowd rose to its collective feet as they sensed that the record could fall.
Coghlan was by himself now, and went on to cross the finish line in 3:49.78–another barrier had fallen! Typical of the miles of that era, there was a great mass-finish behind Coghlan–Ray Flynn (3:51.20, the fastest 2nd-place time in history until Nick Willis ran 3:51.06 behind Matthew Centrowitz at the 2016 Millrose Games), Steve Scott (3:52.28), Spain’s Jose Abascal (3:52.56), Jay Woods (3:54.40), and Todd Harbour (3:56.48). (With the flurry of sub-3:50 milers in recent years (10 in 2025 alone!), Coghlan has dropped to #17 on the All-Time Indoor list!)
From Sports Illustrated’s Vault: “Coghlan had vowed weeks earlier, following the unexpected death of his father from a heart attack, that he would break the world indoor record of 3:50.6 he had set in San Diego in 1981. “I want to do it for my dad, and for my coach, Gerry Farnan, who died last May 4, and for Jumbo Elliott, my college coach at Villanova, who passed away two years ago,” said Coghlan.
Video (Race call by Larry Rawson and Don Paige!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGXGTfGB_wc
Full story https://vault.si.com/vault/1983/03/07/he-had-the-time-of-his-life
http://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/28/sports/coghlan-winner-in-first-sub-3-50-indoor-mile.html
http://citiusmag.com/eamonn-coghlan-first-sub-350-indoor-mile/
Coghlan Interview (2014): http://deadspin.com/how-i-broke-the-indoor-mile-record-an-interview-with-a-1525556046
1987–Jumping during the daytime session of the U.S. Indoor Championships at Madison Square Garden, in front of maybe a couple hundred fans, coaches, other athletes, and Garden ushers, Mike Conley reinforced his reputation as a clutch jumper by coming from behind in the final round and setting a World Indoor Record of 58-3 ¼ (17.76) in the Triple Jump. Finishing a crushed 2nd was the Soviet Union’s Oleg Protsenko (57-11 ¾ [17.57]), who not only lost the event, but also the World Record. (Conley is now #6 on the All-Time Indoor list/still holds the American Record)
In that same early session, East Germany’s Heike Drechsler broke her own World Record in the Long Jump with her leap of 24-1/4 (7.32m), the first indoor 24-footer. She would raise the record to the current standard of 24-2 ½ (7.37) the following year.
Protsenko and Drechsler were among the many international stars who stopped in New York on their way to the inaugural World Indoor Championships in Indianapolis.
Highlights from the evening session:
Diane Dixon, who set an American Record of 52.00 in her afternoon heat of the 400m, won the final in 52.20, and Eamonn Coghlan (3:59.25) won the Mile over Ray Flynn (4:00.15) and Jim Spivey (4:00.58).
Sports Illustrated Vault—Soaring to Unseen Heights
1990–Great Britain’s Peter Elliott set a World Indoor Record of 3:34.20 for 1500-meters in Seville, Spain. The previous record of 3:35.6 was set in 1989 by Ireland’s Marcus O’Sullivan.
1999—American Indoor Records were set by Rohsaan Griffin in the 200 (20.32) and Jeff Hartwig (19-5 [5.92]) at the U.S. Indoor Championships in Atlanta.
Results: https://www.flashresults.com/1999_Meets/indoor/USATF-AP.htm
2005–Tennessee’s Nicole Cook ran 2:00.75 at the SEC Championships in Fayetteville to set a Collegiate Indoor Record for 800-meters.
2011–Jenn Suhr set an American Indoor Record of 15-11 ¼ (4.86) in the Pole Vault at the U.S. Indoor Championships in Albuquerqu e(2-26,27).
Another American Record was set by Jill Camarena-Williams in the Shot Put (65-2 ¼ [19.87]). The previous mark of 65-3/4 (1983), held by Ramona Pagel, had lasted since 1987. She would improve the record to 65-3 ¼ (19.85) in 2012 (now #3-U.S.)
After winning the 3000 (9:02.20) the previous day (2-26), Jenny Simpson completed her double by winning the Mile in 4:34.96.
Bernard Lagat (7:57.17) beat Galen Rupp (7:59.91) to win the Men’s 3000(2-26).
Top 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_USA_Indoor_Track_and_Field_Championships
Full Results: http://www.flashresults.com/2011_Meets/indoor/02-26-USATF/Day1.htm
2011—Arkansas’ Tina Šutej, a junior from Slovenia, set a Collegiate Indoor Record of 14-10 ¾ (4.53) in the Pole Vault at the SEC Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Results: https://www.flashresults.com/2011_Meets/indoor/02-25-SECChamps/Day2.htm
2016—Texas’ Ryan Crouser threw 71-3 ½ (21.73) at the Big-12 Championships in Ames, Iowa, to equal Ryan Whiting’s Collegiate Record (since broken).
2016—Villanova’s Angel Piccirillo set a Collegiate Indoor Record of 2:40.82 for 1000-meters at the Big East Championships at the Ocean Breeze Complex on Staten Island(NY). (Now #6-College)
2020—The talented crew from the Bowerman Track Club made the cross-country trip from Portland, Oregon, to Boston University’s fast track worthwhile by re-writing the record books and the U.S. All-Time Lists.
The featured event was the Women’s 3000-Meters, where Karissa Schweizer (8:25.70) was the surprise winner over teammates Shelby Houlihan (8:26.66), and Colleen Quigley (8:28.71), with all three running well under Shalane Flanagan’s 13-year old American Record of 8:33.25! All three broke into the top-10 on the All-Time World list (5-7-9[at the time}).
Josh Thompson won the Men’s 1500-Meters with a personal best time of 3:34.77. He not only moved to #2 on the All-Time U.S. list, he also got under the Olympic qualifying standard of 3:35.00! Finishing 4th was Oregon’s James West, a junior from England, who ran 3:36.93 to break the Collegiate (and Oregon) Record of 3:37.01 that was set on the same track by Edward Cheserek in 2017.
Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen, who trained with the BTC group, set a European Indoor Record of 14:30.79 (#4 A-T World) in the Women’s 5000-Meters and was followed across the line by Americans Vanessa Fraser (14:48.51/#2 A-T U.S./now #4), Emily Infeld(14:51.91/#3 U.S./now #7), and Courtney Frerichs (15:02.91/#7 U.S.-at the time). All 4 were under the Olympic standard of 15:10.0.
Other BTC members breaking into the U.S. Top-10 Indoor Lists (positions at the time)
Men’s 3000-1.Lopez Lomong (7:37.74/#6), 3.Evan Jager (7:38.25/#7).
Men’s 5000 (2-28)-1.Shadrack Kipchirchir (13:08.25/#7/bettered OG standard of 13:13.50)…Eric Jenkins was already #2 on the U.S. list, but his 13:10.07 in 4th place also gave him an Olympic qualifier.
A day after pacing the Women’s 3000 through the first 2k, Kate Grace won the 1000-Meters in 2:35.49 (#5).
Results: http://lancertiming.com/results/winter20/lastchance/index.htm
https://www.womensrunning.com/culture/news/karissa-schweizer-sets-american-record/
FloTrack Videos(For Subscribers):
https://www.flotrack.org/events/6448286-2020-bu-last-chance-meet/videos?playing=6744129
Schweizer(post-race): https://www.runnerspace.com/video.php?video_id=298031
2021—Texas A&M freshman Athing Mu ran 1:58.40 at the SEC Championships in Fayetteville, just missing Ajeé Wilson’s American Record of 1:58.29. Mu smashed the Collegiate Indoor Record of 2:00.69, set by another A&M Aggie, Jazmine Frey, in 2017, and also bettered the Outdoor Record of 1:59.10, set by Oregon’s Raevyn Rogers in 2017.
2022–Cole Hocker was a double winner at the U.S. Indoor Championships in Spokane,WA (2-26,27). He first won the 3000 (7:47.50) on the opening day, then came back a day later to win the 1500 (3:39.09).
Other notable winners in a meet that served as the selection event for the upcoming World Indoor Championships:
Men
60-Christian Coleman (6.45), 800-Bryce Hoppel (1:45.30), 60-Hurdles-Grant Holloway (7.37),
Pole Vault (2-26)-Chris Nilsen 19-4 ¾ (5.91), Shot Put—Ryan Crouser 73-10 ¼ (22.51);
Women
800—Ajee’ Wilson (2:01.72), 3000—Elle Purrier-St.Pierre (8:41.53), 2.Alicia Monson (8:43.86)
High Jump—Vashti Cunningham 6-3 ¼ (1.91), Pole Vault—Sandi Morris 15-9 (4.80),
Triple Jump—Keturah Orji 46-10 ¼ (14.28)
Results: http://www.flashresults.com/2022_Meets/Indoor/02-26_USATF/
USATF Coverage: Day One Day Two
https://www.letsrun.com/events/2022/02/2022-usatf-indoor-championships
Significant Birthdays
Born On This Day*
Ky Robinson—23 Australia (2002) 2023 NCAA Champion-5,000m, 10,000m (Stanford)
Other NCAA Placings: 2021—Steeplechase (6th), 2022-5000 (2nd Indoors, 4th Outdoors), X-Country (10th), 2023-
5000i (7th), X-Country (3rd)
While competing in the Steeplechase at the 2021 PAC-12 Championships, he tripped over a barrier, falling to the
track, into the path of another runner who inadvertently stepped on his face! Unaware of the severity of his
injury, he recovered in time to finish 3rd in the race. He was rushed to the medical tent, where he received 27
stitches to close the wound in his cheek! (See Rough Event link below)
PBs: 3:37.5hi (‘24), 3:42.99 (‘23), 3:52.79 (’25), 7:30.38i (2025), 13:06.42i (Dec.-’23), 13:15.61 (‘24),
27:44.33 (‘22), 8:32.01sc (‘21); 2024 SB: 28:15.12
https://gostanford.com/news/2023/11/16/cross-country-living-in-the-moment.aspx
Stanford Bio (’24): https://gostanford.com/sports/track-and-field/roster/ky–robinson/20398
Rough Event! (Subscription might be required):
https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a36703043/ky-robinson-steeple-fall/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ky_Robinson
Rob de Castella—Australia 68 (1957) 1983 World Champion—Marathon; 1987-DNF
4-time Olympian: 1980-26th, 1984-5th, 1988-8th, 1992-26th
World X-Country Championships (9): ’77-37th,’79-62nd,’81-6th,’82-10th,’83-6th,’84-21st,’85-20th,’86-14th,’88-DNF
PB: 2:07:51(’86)
Australia Hall of Fame: https://www.athletics.com.au/hall-of-fame-directory/robert-de-castella/
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_de_Castella
http://www.olympedia.org/athletes/64657
