by RBR Admin
Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com)
This Day in Track & Field–March 17—Happy St.Patrick’s Day
1876–Oxford University’s Marshall Brooks became the first man to clear 6-feet (1.83m) in the High Jump. Brooks would raise his record to 6-2 ½ (1.89) 3 weeks later.
Brooks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Brooks
History of the High Jump: http://www.iaaf.org/disciplines/jumps/high-jump
1925—The seemingly unbeatable Paavo Nurmi fell victim to an unlikely competitor in the 5000-Meters at the NY Knights of Columbus meet. After setting en-route Records at 4000-yards, 4000-meters, and 2-1/2 Miles (yes, they kept records for those distances at the time), Nurmi stopped running with 4 laps to go, clutching his stomach in obvious distress. He gamely tried to keep going after being passed by fellow Finn Ville “Willie” Ritola, but stopped for good before heading off to the dressing room. It was determined that Nurmi was feeling the effects of having a hefty veal dinner just 3 hours before the race!
Joie Ray won the Mile and matched Nurmi’s 10-day old World Record of 4:12.0, and Penn State’s Alan Helffrich set a new standard of 1:11.6 in the 600y.
An overflow crowd of more than 12,000 fans had jammed into the 2nd version of Madison Square Garden for the final meet to be held before the building would be demolished.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1925/03/18/101649931.html?pageNumber=15
1968—The International Cross Country Championships were held in Tunis, Tunisia, at the Hippodrome de Kassar-Said. Tunisia’s Mohammed Gammoudi (35:25.4) edged Great Britain’s Ron Hill (35:26.8) for the Men’s title.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_International_Cross_Country_Championships
1972–The U.S. and the Soviet Union had met in ten previous dual-meets, but this was the first one to be held indoors. The setting was Richmond, Virginia (11-lap banked track), and the U.S., thanks to a surprise victory by a women’s team loaded with teenagers, was the overall winner (131-112) for only the 3rd time in the series. It didn’t hurt that the Soviet team might have been tired after their long trip to the U.S.
16-year old Debbie Heald, a junior at Neff H.S. in LaMirada,CA, pulled off the biggest upset of the meet by winning the Women’s Mile in 4:38.5. Her time broke the American Record of 4:40.4, set in 1967 by Doris Brown, who finished 3rd here, and was also under her own record (4:40.1). Heald’s time stood as the National H.S. Record until Mary Cain ran 4:32.78 in 2013 (Heald is now #10 on the all-time prep indoor list). Cain then improved the mark to 4:28.25 at the Millrose Games.
From Roy Mason, Heald’s coach at the time, “She ran the race in a worn-out pair of spikes taped together, because the shoe sponsors didn’t think that she was good enough to merit a new pair!”.
Other American records were set by Kathy Hammond, who won the 600y in 1:20.5; Patty Johnson. winner of the 60-Yard Hurdles in 7.4; Martha Watson, winner of the Long Jump with a leap of 21-3/4 (6.42); and the runner-up 2-Mile Relay team (8:42.0) of Sue Parks (15, 2:12.7), Carol Hudson (16, 2:11.0), Doris Brown (2:08.5), and Kathy Gibbons (17, 2:09.8). The Soviet team won in 8:41.6.
On the men’s side, American Records were set by John Craft in the Triple Jump (55-5 [16.89]) and George Frenn in the 35-Pound Weight Throw (74-2 ¾ [24.625?]). .
Sports Illustrated Vault: http://www.si.com/vault/1972/03/27/576444/theyre-sweet-16-and-deserve-a-kiss
Debbie Heald(2012):
http://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/debbie-heald-set-important-record
1973—Eastern Michigan’s Stan Vinson set a Collegiate Record of 54.8 for 500-yards on his home track in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Vinson would win the 600y at the 1974 and 1975 NCAA Indoor Championships.
https://emueagles.com/hof.aspx?hof=39
1987—Sergey Bubka raised his own World Indoor Record in the Pole Vault by a centimeter to 19-7 (5.97) in Turin, Italy.
1990–Bubka set another WR in the Pole Vault, clearing 19-10 ¼ (6.05) in Donetsk, Ukraine. His previous mark of
19-9 ¼ (6.03) was set in 1989.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_pole_vault_indoor_world_record_progression
Metric Conversion: http://www.usatf.org/statistics/calculators/markConversions/
2016—The World Indoor Championships returned to the U.S. (Portland,Oregon/March 17-20) for the first time since the inaugural edition was staged in Indianapolis in 1987.
The meet opened with both Pole Vault competitions taking place inside the Portland Convention Center.
Sam Kendricks was leading the Men’s event after clearing 19-1/4 (5.80) on his 1st attempt, but then France’s Renaud Lavillenie, the World Record holder, took over 1st place with his 1st-jump clearance of 19-4 ¼ (5.90). Kendricks, who had missed once at 19-2 ¼ (5.85) before passing to 5.90, failed to clear on his two remaining jumps and had to settle for 2nd place. Lavillenie then set a Championships Record of 19-9 (6.02) before missing 3 times at the World Record height of
20-2 ¾(6.17).
There was also a Championships Record set in the Women’s event, with Jenn Suhr (16-3/4 [4/90]) out-dueling teammate Sandi Morris (15-11 [4.85]) to capture the gold medal. Greece’s Katerina Stefanidi (15-9 [4.80]), who would win Olympic gold in Rio later in the year, finished 3rd. (Morris won the silver medal in Rio)
2017—Dr. Norb Sander, the man primarily responsible for the revitalization of the Armory in NY City, passed away suddenly at his home. A group of friends and Armory employees gathered at Coogan’s later in the day to share memories and hoist a drink in his honor.
Here’s what I wrote at the time:
“Dr. Norbert Sander, the driving force behind the rebirth of NY City’s Armory, passed away unexpectedly this morning at the age of 74.
No one had more passion for the sport than the native New Yorker, who worked tirelessly to convince New York City officials to restore the Armory, which had become a homeless shelter, to a first-class track and field facility. And, despite the objections of many traditionalists (like myself), he was responsible for moving the Millrose Games from its long-time home at Madison Square Garden uptown to the Armory, where the meet has had a successful run since 2012.
He was his usual enthusiastic self at the Armory the previous weekend for the New Balance Indoor Nationals.
Sander, who ran at the Armory for Fordham Prep and Fordham University, was a member of Fordham’s team that set a meet record in the 4-mile relay at Penn in 1963 and was a winner of the 1974 NY City Marathon in Central Park. He was also a member of the New York Athletic Club.
Those of us who experienced first-hand what “Doc” had accomplished with the Armory often joked that he would go straight to T&F Heaven when he died. I’m sure he’s already organizing his first meet there.”
Some links:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/sports/norbert-sander-dead-nyc-marathon-winner.html
http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2017/03/17/norb-sander-dies/
http://www.runblogrun.com/2017/03/norb-sander-was-one-helluva-runner-too.html
An oral history of the Armory
http://www.armorytrack.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=45586&do=videos&video_id=203506
http://ny.milesplit.com/articles/70580/armorys-norb-sander-presented-new-york-city-leadership-award
2019—Senior Chloe Cunliffe (West Seattle,WA) set a U.S. High School and American Junior Indoor Record of 14-9 (4.50) in the Pole Vault at an All-Comers meet in Tacoma,WA. She first cleared 14-5 ¼ (4.40) to break the previous H.S. Record of 14-4 (4.37) that was set by Tori Weeks (Cabot,AR) in 2015. Cunliffe’s winning mark was also higher than Weeks’ Outdoor Record of 14-7 ½(4.46). She would set an Outdoor Record (H.S. and American Junior) of 14-8 (4.47) in April.
Cunliffe originally intended to compete for Washington State, but instead decided to join the pro ranks.
https://www.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=44531&do=news&news_id=568090
https://trackandfieldnews.com/article/chloe-cunliffe-chooses-the-pro-route/
Born On This Day
Benson Kipruto—Kenya 34 (1991) 2024 Olympic bronze medalist—Marathon
Winner of the 2024 Tokyo Marathon—ran a personal best of 2:02:16…7th in 2025 (2:05:46)
Won the 2022 Chicago Marathon…Also a winner of the 2021 Boston Marathon…3rd in 2022 & 2023
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benson_Kipruto
https://worldathletics.org/athletes/kenya/benson-kipruto-14758213
The Love of a Country: https://worldathletics.org/news/feature/benson-kipruto-the-love-of-a-country
2021 Boston Finish: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.6207366
Thom Hunt 67 (1958) 1977 World Junior Champion—X-Country (1976-2nd);
2-time silver medalist (team) at the World X-Country Championships (1981/8th individual, 1983)
Held the U.S. High School Indoor Record for the Mile (4:02.7) from 1976 until Alan Webb ran 3:59.86 in 2001…ran
8:52.4 for 2-miles indoors (#3 All-Time at the time)…ran 8:45.2 outdoors (#4 A-T).
All-American at Arizona—4th in the NCAA steeplechase in 1979 & 1980
1980 Penn Relays Champion-Steeplechase
PBs: 3:42.07 (‘80), 3:57.88i (‘82), 7:48.58 (‘83), 13:26.34 (‘81), 27:59.10 (‘82), 2:12:14 (‘86), 8:26.26sc
(‘80)
Currently the Women’s X-Country coach at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon,CA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thom_Hunt
https://ca.milesplit.com/articles/292884/thom-hunt’s-epic-distance-marks-withstand-test-of-time
https://cuyamacacoyotes.com/sports/wxc/coaches/Hunt_Thom?view=bio
https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=324798
Deceased
Ralph Rose 29 (1884-October 16, 1913) 3-time Olympian was a 6-time medalist
1904—Shot Put (gold), discus (silver), Hammer (bronze)
1908—Shot Put (gold)
1912—Shot Put/both hands (gold), Shot Put (silver)
4-time U.S. Champion—Shot Put (1907-1910); 2-time U.S. Champion—Discus (1905,1909); 1st U.S. Champion in
the javelin (1909). 6’-6”, weight ranged from 230-280 (more?) pounds!
California native was the 1904 Big-10 Champion in the Shot Put and Discus while at Michigan
First man over 50-feet in the shot put—threw 50-1 ½ (15.32) in Jersey City in 1908. Set the first IAAF-ratified
World Record of 51-0 (15.54) in San Francisco in 1909.
Defied custom when he refused to dip the American flag as he approached the Royal Box during the Opening
Ceremony at the 1908 Olympics in London.
Inducted into the National Hall of Fame in 1976
Died of typhoid at the age of 29 (28?-some sources show he was born in 1885)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Rose
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_shot_put_world_record_progression
Metric Conversion: http://www.usatf.org/statistics/calculators/markConversions/
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/2303789-181/ralph-rose-sonoma-countys-first
Frank Castleman 69 (1877-Oct,9, 1946) 1904 Olympic silver medalist-200m Hurdles
2-time IC4A Champion-220y Hurdles (Colgate/1905,1906)…2nd in the 120y-Hurdles (1904-1906)
Also competed in football and baseball at Colgate
Was the head track coach at Ohio State when the Buckeyes won the NCAA title in 1929
Previously coached football, basketball, and baseball at the University of Colorado
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Castleman
https://colgateathletics.com/honors/hall-of-honor/frank-r-riley-castleman/31/kiosk
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78216
