by RBR Admin
This Day in Track & Field, March 19
by Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com)
This Day in Track & Field–March 19
1960–Bill Nieder got the first of his three World Records in the Shot Put with his toss of 63-10 (19.45) in Palo Alto,CA. The record only lasted a week before Dallas Long threw 64-6 ½ (19.67) on March 26, but Nieder took it back a week later with a monster throw of 65-7 (19.99) on April 2 at the Texas Relays in Austin.
Nieder, who went on to win Olympic gold later in the year, became an actor in Hollywood and had an embarrassing debut as a professional boxer in 1961. “When you throw an iron ball it doesn’t come back at you.”
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_shot_put_world_record_progression
SP Battle: https://vault.si.com/vault/1960/04/25/the-shotput-explosion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Nieder
1960–San Jose State’s Ray Norton ran 20.6 in Berkeley to equal the World Record for 200m/220y that was shared by Andy Stanfield, Thane Baker, Bobby Morrow, and Germany’s Manfred Germar.
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_200_metres_world_record_progression
1978— With the IOC and the IAAF still resisting calls to add longer races for women to the Olympic program (the longest event at the 1976 Games in Montreal was 1500-meters), the inaugural Avon International Marathon, organized by running pioneer Kathrine Switzer, drew many of the world’s best female distance runners to a steamy Atlanta. The success of this race (and subsequent editions), along with the help of others, eventually helped lead to the addition of the women’s 3000 and Marathon at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The winner of this first race, which continued through 1984, was Marty Cooksey (2:46:26).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avon_International_Marathon
https://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/34430-avon-women-the-olympics-driving-a-marathon-revolution
http://www.marathonguide.com/history/olympicmarathons/chapter25.cfm
1983—Arizona State junior Leslie Deniz broke the American Record in the Discus twice on her home field in Tempe, first throwing 210-4 (64.10), then 211-1 (64.34). The previous mark of 207-5 (63.22) was set by Lorna Griffin in 1980.
Deniz, who would win NCAA and U.S. titles in June (and Olympic silver in 1984), would set three more ARs over the next 13 months, finishing with a best of 213-11 (65.20) in 1984.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Deniz
1983–Seb Coe ran 2:18.58 in Oslo to set a World Indoor Record for 1000-meters.
1989–-Lynn Jennings’ 6th-place finish on a very muddy course led the U.S. women to a set of bronze medals at the World X-Country Championships in Stavanger, Norway. Margaret Groos (16), Carla Boravicka (21), Annette Hand (25), Sabrina Dornhoefer (29), and Shelly Steely (86) were the other members of the American team. Jennings would win 3 consecutive World Cross titles from 1990-1992.
Tim Hutchings, 2nd at the 1984 Worlds, finished 2nd again, this time to Kenya’s John Ngugi, to lead Great Britain to the silver medals in the Men’s race. Hutchings has been a popular announcer on many U.S. and International TV track and field broadcasts for several years. For Ngugi, who had won the 5000-meters at the Seoul Olympics 6 months earlier, it was the 4th of his 5 World Cross titles.
Ngugi was impressed by the welcome the runners received in Stavanger. “Here we were treated like kings, true celebrities of the sport. We were put on an open-air carriage right from the airport into the city centre, complete with outriders and blaring horns from escorting admirers. This was a real royal treatment that I will cherish in my life. It was only fair that I won again the World title.
“But it was not easy. Back to the muddy Europe, I had to use my long strides to beat Tim Hutchings and Steve Moneghetti (4th). They were very strong athletes.”
Here is how Hutchings remembers the race and how he feels about the current state of the sport (from 2012):
“I’d beaten Ngugi several times quite soundly that winter and had won a series of races throughout Europe, so was in fabulous shape. I’d then gone to Kenya for 4 weeks altitude training to finish things off and returned to the UK about 10-12 days before the race in Norway.”
“Despite my dominance on the commercial CC scene for the previous few months, in Stavanger, my main mistake was not being confident enough to go hard from the gun, which was what I usually did. I remember after one lap there were about six of us at the front of the field and Ngugi was nowhere to be seen; I guess he’d got caught at the back and it was a dreadfully difficult course with deep, deep, clawing mud and plenty of twists and turns.”
“I remember looking around at a pack of eight or ten of us after one lap thinking, ‘We’re virtually jogging here, should I push on?’ – but as I was thinking that, John (Ngugi) came into view and with those unbelievably long legs of his (really, his femurs are just out of all proportion to the rest of his body!), he leapt over the puddles and worst patches of mud in a manner that was just breath-taking. I accelerated to go with him and got dragged away from most of the group, but he was operating at a different level. He seemed to defy gravity as he opened up a bigger and bigger gap; I really was in awe.”
“So I was moving well and having a battle with two or three other guys and then from half way through the race, guys started to drop by the side of the course holding their stomachs; I was having my own similar problems but not to the extent that I needed to stop. I’ve never heard an official explanation, but I believe it was because the mud was SO deep and sticky, that it was straining people’s core muscles. I remember for example, Ezekiel Canario of Portugal dropping out as though he’d been shot, bent double and holding his stomach; and that was two-thirds of the way into the race when he was fighting 2nd and 3rd with me!”
“John meanwhile was gone. He was only visible at the odd twist and turn, and of course his winning margin was 28 seconds at the end. And I know I was in great shape, having done probably the best four weeks training of my life in Kenya with plenty of track work thrown in. I’ve no doubt at all that I was in 27:30 shape for 10K – or better – yet he made me and the rest of the world, look very ordinary. For my money – and don’t let’s forget this is only a few months after he’d won the Olympic 5,000m in Seoul – he is the greatest CC runner there’s been, bar none. But then I would say that!”
“Of course, some will say that this was all in the days before the Africans arrived in truly massive numbers and the world of cross country running was indeed a different world. And they’d be right, but I was second, with a Kenyan in first place and a Kenyan in third place, so they weren’t exactly absent! But for me the real sadness of any comparison of that day, that era, with now, is the demise of non-African distance running in depth, although I guess it’s 50-50 combined with sadness at the total dominance of the Africans which has, with all due respect, done untold damage to the sport of Cross Country running, certainly on the European scene.”
“You see, prior to about the early 90s, top non-African distance runners could go to a cross country race almost anywhere in the world, but really I’m talking about Europe as that is where the real heart-beat of the sport was based, and they could run and compete and even win races, earning good money and status for their sport in their country, as well as right across Europe.”
“But now, what has happened in cross country, as in distance running on almost every surface from 5,000m up to the marathon, is that the Africans have arrived in such huge numbers, that non-Africans, either can’t even get into races, or else place very low in the finishing order. The result is that the fans are not remotely interested in many countries, cross country meetings have either died out altogether or become much smaller, and the number of top European cross country runners who can call themselves world class or even close to it, has reduced dramatically. How many non-African origin world class distance runners – and I mean world class by the standards of the 70s and 80s – are there in Europe? There are virtually none from Spain, France, Italy, UK, Germany, Scandinavia and so on.”
“It’s a crying shame and for there to be no World Cross Country Championships this year(2012) for the first time in decades, really does fill me with sadness. I’m not surprised because it has become a relatively boring procession of mostly anonymous Africans with the “best of the rest” many hundreds of meters behind. It saddens me that we have to get excited about any non-Africans, be they from the USA, Australia, or Europe – who can finish in the top 20 of the men’s race. The great days of cross country racing being a competitive global sport, with races and results cards reflecting a truly global mix of continents and nations and athletes from different events, has gone.”
“This is not meant as a criticism of the African athletes themselves, merely an observation of how the sport of Cross Country running has declined more and more over the last two decades, to the point where it is a minor branch of the sport. And it shouldn’t be. It really shouldn’t. It’s a wonderful discipline, but the IAAF have a lot to answer for as they reduced it to a virtual track race with manicured lawn-like courses around the world being used for the world championships and the real skills of cross country – being able to cope with changes in surface and inclines and twist and turns – being stripped away so that the event has become more like a glorified road race or even a track race on occasion. Rarely can I remember the world cross country in recent years being a true test of the specifics of cross country running. And the result is we now have no World Championships at all this March. What odds on it reducing from being bi-annual to becoming even more rare in the not too distant future? I really do think the sport has been grossly mismanaged.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_IAAF_World_Cross_Country_Championships
In 1993, Ngugi refused to take an out-of-competition drug test, and he then received a four-year suspension for the infraction. He contested the ruling, spending $80,000 of his own money to fight his case in Monaco. His ban was later reduced as it was judged that the Kenya Athletics Federation had not followed its duty of educating its athletes about out-of-competition testing and that Ngugi had a limited education. However, the long battle to contest the decision brought an end to his running career as his physical fitness had heavily declined over the period.
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/ngugi-reinstated-by-iaaf-1620687.html
1991–Sergey Bubka jumped 20-1/2 (6.11) in his hometown of Donetsk, Ukraine, to break his 4-day old World Indoor Record of 20-0 (6.10).
2016—Michelle Carter saved her best for last at the World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon, reaching out to
66-3 ¾ (20.21) on her final effort to win the Women’s Shot Put and set an American Record.
A day after his wife (Brianne Theisen) won the Pentathlon, native-son Ashton Eaton, the Team USA captain, won the Heptathlon with a score of 6.470 points. It was the 3rd consecutive Hep title for Eaton, who would go on to win his 2nd Olympic gold medal in the Decathlon in Rio later in the year.
The U.S. got a 1-3 finish in the Men’s 800 from Boris Berian (1:45.83) and Erik Sowinski (1:47.22). Berian took the lead at the break and quickly opened up a big gap on the field as he went through the first 400-meters in a sizzling 49.73 (23.92 at 200m!). He understandably slowed on the last lap, but was able to hold on for the win.
The U.S. also picked up two medals in the Women’s 400, with Ashley Spencer (51.72) and Quanera Hayes (51.76) finishing behind Bahrain’s Oluwakemi Adekoya (51.45).
Pavel Maslák (CZE/45.44) won the 2nd of his 3 World Indoor titles in the Men’s 400 (also won in 2014 and 2018).
Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi 7-8 ¾ (2.36) won the Men’s High Jump over Great Britain’s Robbie Grabarz and American Erik Kynard, both of whom cleared 7-7 ¾ (2.33).
Hep 1000: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpDZCqgLlUg
Men’s 800: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3vHMZaogKk
Women’s SP(complete event): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SHu00dVVKg
Born On This Day*
Sam Mattis 31 (1994) 2015 NCAA Champion-Discus, 5th-2014, 2nd-2016 (Penn)
Has made the last 5 U.S. global championship teams
8th at the 2021 Olympics and 11th at the 2019 & 2021 World Championships…didn’t make the final at the 2023
Worlds and 2024 Olympics
2-time U.S. Champion (2019, 2023); 2-time IC4A Champion (2014, 2016)
PB: 225-4 (68.69/2022); 2024 SB: 216-9 (66.07)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Mattis
From High School to the Olympics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQhVpfsdc3E
https://pennathletics.com/sports/mens-track-and-field/roster/sam-mattis/4699
Cydonie Mothersill—Cayman Islands 47 (1978) Bronze medalist in the 200m at the 2001 World Championships…8th in
2005 and 2007…1997-100 (heat), 2003-200 (Semi), 2009-200 (Semi)
4-time Olympian:1996-100 (heat), 2000-100 (1.4-final), 200 (heat), 2004-200 (semi), 2008-200 (8th)
2010 Commonwealth Games Champion
1997 NAIA Champion-55m, 200m (Southern-New Orleans)
All-American at George Mason—4th in the 200 at the 1999 NCAA Indoor Championships
1999 ECAC Champion-100m, 200m/also won indoors)
Born in Jamaica
PBs: 6.80i/55m (1998), 7.36i (2003), 11.08 (2006), 22.39 (2005), 35.82 (2000), 52.18 (2009)
https://worldathletics.org/athletes/cayman-islands/cydonie-mothersille-14266914
https://www.wada-ama.org/en/news/cydonie-joins-fight-against-doping-sport
Joanne Dow 61 (1964) 4-time U.S. Champion—20k Walk (1998/10k, 2002, 2006, 2008)
6-time U.S. Indoor Champion—3000m Walk (1999, 2002-2004, 2006, 2009)
2008 U.S. Olympian—20k Walk (30th)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanne_Dow
Journey to Beijing: https://www.active.com/walking/articles/joanne-dow-s-journey-to-beijing-879810/2
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/116972
Deceased
Les Tipton 82 (1942-May 5, 2024) 1964 NCAA Champion—Javelin (Led an Oregon 1-2-3 sweep and helped the Ducks ‘
win the team title);
His surprising win helped Oregon end USC’s incredible winning streak in dual-meets (104!) in 1962. His 5th place
finish in the Javelin helped the Ducks win their first NCAA team title later in the season.
Recruited as a hurdler
1964 U.S. Olympian (Qual. Round)
Former throws coach at Clackamas C.C.
Was a sculptor and an art instructor
PB: 263-10 (80.42/1972/Old Implement)
Dual-Meet: https://vault.si.com/vault/1962/04/30/a-long-throw-snaps-a-long-string
https://goducks.com/honors/hall-of-fame/les-tipton/195
1962 NCAA: https://fishduck.com/2012/09/1962-the-year-the-tigers-roared/
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/79131
Other events in history (http://www.historyorb.com/day/march/19);
1822 Boston, Massachusetts incorporated as a city
1918 Congress authorizes time zones and approves daylight saving time
1928 “Amos and Andy” debuts on radio (NBC Blue Network-WMAQ Chicago). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_%27n%27_Andy
Videos: http://tinyurl.com/5t9rjg3 .
1951 Herman Wouk’s “The Caine Mutiny” published.
http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-cainemutiny/
1953 First Academy Awards show on network TV. Winners included From Here to Eternity (Best
Picture), William Holden/Stalag 17 (Best Actor), Audrey Hepburn/Roman Holiday (Best Actress).
http://www.filmsite.org/aa53.html
1964 Sean Connery’s 1st day of shooting on “Goldfinger”. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058150/; ;
Trailer:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRmLjheB16Y; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1TmeBd9338
1969 Chicago 7 (8?) indicted in aftermath of Chicago Democratic
convention
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Seven
https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/chicago-seven-1
1975 Pennsylvania is 1st state to allow girls to compete with boys in HS sports
1979 House of Representatives begins live television broadcasts via C-SPAN
2003 the United States, along with coalition forces primarily from the United Kingdom, initiates war on
Iraq.
https://www.cfr.org/timeline/iraq-war
This Day in Music: http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/on_this_day
1962-Bob Dylan’s self-titled first album appeared in stores.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan_(album)
“Baby, Let Me Follow You Down”
Original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akJQX1N65G4
With The Band(The Last Waltz): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPd0EtQ_1Ck
Stereogum.com
Music History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Billboard_number-one_singles
This Day in Sports:http://www.todayinsport.com/day/March/19
1955 Bill Russell, destined to become one of the NBA’s greatest players, led San Francisco to a 77-63 win
over LaSalle in the final of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
https://vault.si.com/vault/1955/03/28/the-big-surprise-of-1955
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_NCAA_Basketball_Tournament
1960 Led by Jerry Lucas, Ohio State beat Cal-Berkeley, 75-55, to win the NCAA Basketball Tournament
https://vault.si.com/vault/1960/03/28/basketballs-final-week
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_NCAA_University_Division_Basketball_Tournament
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1959–60_NCAA_University_Division_men%27s_basketball_season
1966 Texas Western (now Texas-El Paso), the first major college basketball team to field five black
starters, defeats an all-white Kentucky team to win the NCAA title. The Miners’ unlikely season is captured in the 2006 movie, Glory Road.
http://espn.go.com/classic/s/013101_texas_western_fitzpatrick.html
https://www.si.com/college/2016/03/16/ap-bkc-ap-was-there-1966-ncaa-final
https://www.si.com/college/video/2013/03/02/02-381
(2016 Update)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glory_Road_(film)
