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This Day in Track & Field–September 3
1904—Another All-American (save for 1 medal in the Discus) day at the not-so-well attended (by other countries) St.Louis Olympics.
Jim Lightbody led a U.S. 1-4 sweep in the 1500-meters at the St.Louis Olympics and set a World Record of 4:05.4. Lightbody had previously led another U.S. 1-4 sweep in the 800 (1:56.0) and also won the 2500m Steeplechase.
Archie Hahn, already the winner of the 60 and the 200, won his 3rd gold medal by taking the 100-meters in 11-flat. 2nd and 3rd were Nate Cartmell (11.2-estimated) and William Hogenson (11.3e).
Martin Sheridan and Ralph Rose were tied in the Discus with their best throws of 128-10(39.28), with Sheridan winning the gold medal in the only “throw-off” in Olympic history: 127-10 (38.96) to 120-7 (36.75). The only medal not won by an American on this day was the bronze captured by Greece’s Nikolaos Yeorgantas (123-7 [37.68]).
Ray Ewry, already the winner of the Standing High Jump and Long Jump, won a 3rd gold medal in the Standing Triple Jump (34-7 ½ [10.55]). 2nd and 3rd were Charles King (33-4 [10.16]) and Joseph Stadler (31-6 [9.60])
Medalists in other events:
Men’s 110-Hurdles: 1.Fred Schule(16.0), 2.Thaddeus Shideler(16.2-estimated), 3.Lesley Ashburner(16.4e)
Men’s Pole Vault: 1.Charles Dvorak (11-6 [3.505]), 2.Leroy Samse (10-11 ¾ [3.35]), 3.Louis Wilkins (10-11 ¾ [3.35),
Medalists: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1904_Summer_Olympics
Olympedia Reports: http://www.olympedia.org/editions/3/sports/ATH
1922—Norway’s Charles Hoff set the first of his four World Records in the Pole Vault with a clearance of 13-6 ¼ (4.12m) in Copenhagen, Denmark.
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_pole_vault_world_record_progression
Hoff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Hoff
1927—Lots of American Records set at the U.S. Women’s Championships in Eureka, CA.
100y—Elta Cartwright (11.4/equal)
220y—Ellen Brough (26.8)
60yh—Helen Filkey (8.2)
HJ–Catherine McGuire (5-1/2 [1.53])
DT—Lillian Copeland (103-8 1/16 [31.60])…gold medalist at the 1928 Olympics
JT—Margaret Jenkins (127-3 ½ [38.80])
Jenkins’ mark was also a World Record! From Louise Mead Tricard’s American Women’s Track & Field (1895-1980): “…Jenkins was given a customized spear made by Myyrä. The javelin did not have an official stamp burned into it, and Lillian Copeland’s coach protested the use of this javelin. Jenkins then “angrily” picked up Lillian’s javelin and threw it to a new World Record!”
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_javelin_throw_world_record_progression
Cartwright: http://www.humboldt.k12.ca.us/hdnleagu/notable/Cartwright.html
Copeland:
Halll of Fame Bio: https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/lillian-copeland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillian_Copeland; http://www.jewishsports.net/BioPages/LillianCopeland.htm
Jenkins: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10989865
American Women’s T&F Vol.1 & 2
Mead Tricard Obituary: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E03EED6123AF931A25753C1A96E9C8B63
1956—Parry O’Brien bettered his own World Record in the Shot Put twice at an Olympic Development meet in Eugene, Oregon, first reaching out to 62-3 (18.97) and then to 62-6 ½ (19.06). (Only the 2nd mark was ratified as a WR)
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_shot_put_world_record_progression
1958–Great Britain’s Derek Ibbotson, who had set a World Record of 3:57.2 the year before, gained the distinction of becoming the world’s first true 4-minute miler when he ran 4:00.0 in London in a race won by Australia’s Herb Elliott in 3:55.4! (Elliott had smashed Ibbotson’s WR the previous month when he ran 3:54.5 in Dublin).
Finishing right behind “Ibbo” was fellow Brit Mike Blagrove, who also ran 4:00.0!
1960—Italian fans got a thrill as their own Livio Berruti nipped American Les Carney (20.6) in the Men’s 200 at the Rome Olympics and equaled the World Record of 20.5 for the 2nd time (also ran 20.5 in his semi-final race). Ray Norton, who had set the WR at the U.S. Trials, had another disappointing 6th-place finish (same as the 100). Stone Johnson, who also ran 20.5 at the Trials, was 5th. Berruti’s auto-times were 20.65 and 20.62.
Sadly, Johnson, an NFL rookie with the Kansas City Chiefs, died 3 years later after suffering a broken neck during an exhibition game (see link).
Poland’s Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak, who set a World Record of 8:30.4 in June, set an Olympic record of 8:34.2 to win the Steeplechase. 2nd and 3rd were Soviets Nikolay Sokolov (8:36.4) and Semyon Rzhishchin (8:42.2). American Charles “Deacon” Jones finished 7th (9:18.2).
The Hammer Throw was won by Soviet Vasily Rudenkov, who set an Olympic record of 220-2 (67.10). Silver and Bronze went to Hungary’s Gyula Zsivótzky (215-10 [65.79]) and Poland’s Tadeusz Rut (215-4 [65.64]). American Hal Connolly, the defending champion, finished 8th with a throw of 208-7 (63.59).
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_200_metres_world_record_progression
Medalists: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1960_Summer_Olympics
Olympedia Reports: http://www.olympedia.org/editions/15/sports/ATH
Stone Johnson(2013)
1970–East Germany’s Wolfgang Nordwig added a centimeter to his own World Record in the Pole Vault with a clearance of 17-11 (5.46) at the World University Games in Turin, Italy.
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_pole_vault_world_record_progression
Nordwig: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Nordwig
1972–In the Men’s 10,000 at the Munich Olympics, Finland’s Lasse Virén got caught up in a chain-reaction collision involving Belgium’s Emiel Puttemans and American Frank Shorter, losing about three seconds after falling to the track. He got back into the mix quickly and wound up winning the race in the World Record time of 27:38.35! 2nd was Puttemans (27:39.58) and 3rd was Ethiopia’s Miruts Yifter (27:40.96). Shorter, who was born in Munich(!), finished 5th in 27:51.32, breaking his previous American Record of 27:58.2 that he set in his heat. He would etch his name in history by winning the marathon a weel later!
Tunisia’s Mohamed Gammoudi, a medalist in the 10k at the two previous Olympics (1964-silver, 1968-bronze) fell hard to the track after trying to hurdle the fallen Virén and failed to finish the race.
Great Britain’s Mary Peters won the 2-day Pentathlon and set a World Record of 4801 points. Germany’s Heide Rosendahl finished first in the final event, the 200-meters, and actually “held” the World Record of 4791 points until Rosendahl crossed the line 1.12 seconds later (22.96-24.08). Watch the video linked below to see Peters’ reaction when she found out she had won!
Peters had a big lead after the first day of competition, but she knew that Rosendahl, who was 5th after the first 3 events, was very strong on the 2nd day. Rosendahl, winner of the Long Jump 3 days earlier, had narrowed the gap with a big mark of 22-5 (6.83) in her specialty, just one centimeter short of her own World Record of 22-5 ¼ (6.84)!
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of her win in 2012, a jet bearing the name “Dame Mary Peters” was unveiled at Belfast City Airport. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/Aircraft-named-in-Dame-Mary-Peterss-honour/
West Germany’s Klaus Wolfermann gave the crowd a thrill by scoring an upset win in the Men’s Javelin and setting an Olympic Record of 296-10 (90.48/old implement). 2nd was Jānis Lūsis, the World Record holder from the Soviet Union (and Latvia). Defending champion Lūsis had won the gold medal 4 years earlier in Mexico City in the final round, and almost did the same here, falling just two centimeters short of another Olympic title with his final throw of 296-9 (90.46). Winning the bronze medal was Bill Schmidt (277-0 [84.42]), still the only American since 1952 to win an Olympic medal in this event.
Schmidt, who became a pioneer in sports marketing, is credited with making Gatorade a household name. He was a former board member of the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation (NSAF) and helped the group launch the Chicagoland Throwers series in 2013.
The Women’s 800-Meters provided another thrill for the German fans when their own Hildegard Falck (1:58.55/OR), the World Record holder in the event, held off the late rush of the Soviet Union’s (and Lithuania’s) Nijolė Sabaitė (1:58.65) to win the Women’s 800-Meters. 3rd was East Germany’s Gunhild Hoffmeister (1:59.19).
Medalists in the Men’s 50k-Walk were West Germany’s Bernd Kannenberg (3:56:11.6), the Soviet Union’s (and Kazakhstan’s) Veniamin Soldatenko (3:58:24.0), and American Larry Young (4:00:46.0), who won his 2nd bronze medal in the event.
Medalists: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1972_Summer_Olympics
Olympedia Reports: https://www.olympedia.org/editions/18/sports/ATH
Videos
M10k: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf5DauPzJWw
PENT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmrLisn-fkw
WR Progression(10,000): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_10,000_metres_world_record_progression
Elliott Denman on Schmidt (2013): http://www.nationalscholastic.org/cts/article/1383
Side Note—To mark the 50th Anniversary of the Munich Games in 2022, a wonderful 4-part documentary—”72 A Gathering of Champions” was released. A number of 1972 gold medalists, including gymnast Olga Korbut and swimmer Mark Spitz, along with a host of T&F stars, were brought back to Munich, to the venues where they etched their names in Olympic history.
One episode featured Heide Rosendahl recalling her win in the Long Jump, and Mary Peters doing the same for the Pentathlon. The 33-year old Peters, competing in her 3rd Olympics, was determined to win the gold medal because she wanted to “bring something good” back to her native Belfast, where she witnessed first-hand the violence that occurred during the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland.
On a lighter note, as Peters was finishing up her interview inside Olympic Stadium, Rosendahl surprised her by quietly coming up behind her and tapping her on the shoulder, much to the delight of Peters as the two former rivals joyously hugged each other.
Memory Lane (Kip Keino also featured): https://olympics.com/en/original-series/episode/memory-lane-72-a-gathering-of-champions
Other Episodes (Free sign-up required, or you can view on Peacock)
Triumph and Tragedy (Lasse Viren talks about his fall in the 10k)
Gold Medals Relived (Dave Wottle, Valeriy Borzov)
Becoming an Olympic
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