Walt Murphy is among the most interesting observe statisticians that I do know. Walt does #ThisDayinTrack&FieldHistory, a superb day by day service that gives true geek tales about our sport. You’ll be able to try the service for FREE with a free one-month trial subscription! (e mail: [email protected] ) for the whole day by day service. We are going to submit just a few historic moments every day, starting February 1, 2024.
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This Day in Observe & Discipline–July 19
1900— Michel Théato (2:59:45), a local of Luxembourg who was representing France, used his data of town’s streets gained whereas working as a baker’s supply boy to assist him win the Marathon on the Paris Olympics. Silver and bronze went to France’s Émile Champion (3:04:17) and Sweden’s Ernst Quick (3:37:14/took a unsuitable flip). As a result of a few of Théato’s opponents accused him of taking shortcuts alongside the course, it wasn’t till 1912, after the allegations had been disproved, that he lastly acquired his gold medal.
With temperatures reaching 100 levels (39c), solely 6 of the 13 entries completed the race.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Théato
https://www.olympedia.org/outcomes/56066
1953—The Soviet Union’s Leonid Shcherbakov set a World File of 53-3 (16.23) within the Triple Leap in Moscow.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_jump_world_record_progression
1957–Solely three years earlier, Roger Bannister grew to become the primary man in historical past to interrupt four-minutes for the Mile. On this race in London’s White Metropolis Stadium, a deliberate world-record try, 4 males broke the once-impenetrable barrier, led by Nice Britain’s Derek Ibbotson, who broke John Landy’s mark of three:58.0 together with his profitable time of three:57.2. Ibbotson, the 1956 Olympic bronze medalist at 5000-meters, was adopted throughout the road by Eire’s Ron Delany (3:58.8), the gold medalist within the 1500-meters on the Melbourne Olympics, Czech Stanislav Jungwirth (3:59.1), who had set an ideal World File of three:38.1 for 1500-meters only a week earlier, and Brit Ken Wooden (3:59.3). (In 1955, 3 men-László Tábori, Chris Chataway and Brian Hewson-had damaged 4-minutes on this similar observe).
At Ibbotson’s request, fellow Brit Ken Blagrove set a quick tempo, operating splits of 55.3 and 1:55.8, with Jungwirth and Ibbotson following shut behind. After Blagrove dropped out, Jungwirth discovered himself within the lead because the tempo slowed to 3-minutes flat on the 3/4-split.
The favored “Ibbo”, who had come near Landy’s file when he ran 3:58.4 in Glasgow on June 15 (breaking Bannister’s British and European file of three:58.8), took over on the backstretch and pulled away for his convincing win. Delany, identified for his potent kick, had bother working his approach out of a field and was by no means in a position to problem Ibbotson.
Ibbotson and Blagrove grew to become the primary true 4-minute milers once they each ran 4:00.0 in London in 1958 in a race received by Australia’s Herb Elliott (3:55.4)!
Sports activities Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1957/07/29/four-of-them-made-history
http://www.nuts.org.uk/trackstats/ibbotson.htm
https://www.athleticsweekly.com/athletics-news/derek-ibbotson-dies-aged-84-57936/
1959(18/19)–The setting was the 2nd U.S. vs USSR twin meet, held at Franklin Discipline in Philadelphia (dwelling of the Penn Relays). The highest mark of the primary day (7-18) was the 63-2 ½ (19.265) “world file” by Parry O’Brien within the Shot Put (for some unknown cause, the mark was by no means submitted to the IAAF), however probably the most memorable occasion was the Males’s 10,000-meters. The temperature was within the mid-80s, and the humidity was near 60%–nice circumstances for sprinters, not a lot for distance runners. The race progressed with out incident by means of the primary 4-1/2 miles, with American Bob Soth splitting the Soviet duo of chief Aleksey Desyatchikov and Hubert Pyarnakivi and Max Truex, the 2nd American, trailing behind.
It was at this level that Soth started to indicate early indicators of misery. He was in a position to preserve affordable kind by means of 5-miles, however then began that scary high-stepping gait of somebody who’s having critical issues with the warmth. Shifting backwards at occasions, Soth continued on this painful-to-watch method for an additional three laps earlier than collapsing on the observe, his head narrowly lacking the within railing.
Whereas officers attended to Soth, the race continued, with Desyatchikov, dealing with the warmth the very best of all, happening to what gave the impression to be a straightforward win (30:29.9). However, wait! As Desyatchikov approached the end, the gun was fired, signaling one other lap to go! With a couple of mile to go, the lap-counter flashed “4 to go” for Desyatchikov and Soth, who was nearly to start his “loss of life march”, after which switched to 5 for Truex, who had been lapped. The official, who apparently received caught up in Soth’s plight, by no means returned the lap playing cards to the right quantity, ensuing within the confusion on the finish. Whereas Desyatchikov took his time finishing his additional lap, Truex, realizing he was really on his closing go-round, placed on a giant end to overhaul Pyarnakivi to take 2nd.
Nevertheless, conscious of what was happening, 1952 Olympic Steeplechase champion Horace Ashenfelter, working as an inspector, suggested Truex to take one other lap. Truex did so, then collapsed and joined Soth on a visit to the native hospital for therapy (neither suffered lasting after-effects).Lastly, Pyranakivi, who additionally stopped on the proper time, was awarded 2nd place over Truex, since officers assumed that he wouldn’t have run an additional lap if he didn’t assume he needed to. U.S. officers acknowledged their mistake the next day, however they let stand the unique outcomes.
There have been many causes for followers to journey to Philadelphia for this meet. There was the attraction of the American-Soviet rivalry on the peak of the Chilly Warfare, plus an opportunity to see stars like Parry O’Brien, Ray Norton, Al Cantello, Hayes Jones, Tamara Press, Vasily Kuznetsov. Dyrol Burleson, Greg Bell, and a younger Wilma Rudolph, who was only a yr away from her 1960 Olympic glory in Rome. And never many individuals can say they noticed future long-jump nice Igor Ter-Ovanesyan compete in a Decathlon (he completed 4th-6853).
However what received my father, my brother Pete, and me (and a handful of different family) to make the drive from Brooklyn was one other likelihood to see the household hero–my cousin, Tom Murphy. This wasn’t a straightforward resolution to make, since one other cousin in our household was getting married on the nineteenth, however she (Pat) had given us her blessing. In actual fact, she watched the 800-meters (which Tom received) on TV in her wedding ceremony robe earlier than heading off to the church!
Whereas the victory ceremony for the 800 was happening, Tom was beneath the stands going by means of his conventional post-race ritual of “dry-heaving” and was then knowledgeable that he was wanted to run a leg on the 4×400 relay, which was lower than an hour away. By race-time, a torrential downpour had saturated the cinder observe, however the U.S., with a lineup of Dave Mills (47.4), Murphy(47.2), Jack Yerman(46.2), and Eddie Southern (46.2), nonetheless received simply in 3:07.0.
The Murphy clan then jumped into our automobiles and raced again to the marriage reception in New York and arrived simply in time for dessert–one other race nicely run!
From the Sports activities Illustrated Vault:
Report on the lads’s group choice on the U.S. Championships
https://vault.si.com/vault/1959/06/29/37-men-to-beat-the-russians
“A good-looking younger Irishman from Manhattan parlayed braveness and a tremendous tactical sense to victory within the 800-meter run, one of many most interesting races of the meet. Tom Murphy is a thick-legged, heavy-chested runner whose construct precludes any trace of grace in his operating type: watching him, you get a sense of immense energy however not one of the silky smoothness of a runner like, say, (Invoice) Dellinger.”
Meet Protection: https://vault.si.com/vault/1959/07/27/victory-with-a-smile
10k: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypn6TzuD4hM
Soth: https://frontporch.web/olympic-runner-bob-soth-goes-for-the-gold-at-walnut-village/?print=print
1961—Wilma Rudolph received the 100-meters in 11.2 on the USA-West Germany twin meet in Stuttgart to take a tenth off the World File she shared with Australia’s Shirley Strickland.
WR Development: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls’s_100_metres_world_record_progression
1975—Greater than 25,000 followers turned out for the twond day of the USA-Pan Africa-West Germany tri-meet in Durham,NC (July 18,19).
Among the many highlights:
Ethiopia’s Miruts “The Shifter” Yifter was a double winner, taking the 5000 (13:39.0) a day after ending 1st within the 10,000(28:44.2).
Uganda’s John Akki-Bua, the 1972 Olympic champion, received the 400-Meter Hurdles in 48.95
Rick Wohlhuter received the 800-Meters in 1:44.1, falling simply shy of the World File of 1:43.7, set by Italy’s Marcello Fiasconaro in 1973.
1997—He didn’t fairly get the eye Roger Bannister acquired when he broke the 4-minute barrier for the Mile in 1954, however Kenya’s Daniel Komen grew to become the primary man to run back-to-back sub-4s together with his 7:58.61 clocking in Hechtel, Belgium. Ending a distant 2nd was Bob Kennedy, who ran 8:11.59 to interrupt Marc Davis’s 3-year previous American File of 8:12.74.
Komen, who went by means of the primary mile in 3:59.8, acquired a $50,000 bonus for his effort, far in need of the cool million that was supplied to anybody breaking 8-minutes in Hengelo earlier within the season. That race was received by Haile Gebrselassie in 8:01.08. Komen had needed to compete in that race, however his entry was “politely refused”.
The present World File holder at 3000-meters (7:20.67), who ran 7:58.91 the next yr, had been the one man to interrupt the 8-minute barrier for 2-miles till Jakob Ingebrigtsen set a brand new WR of seven:54.10 on June 9, 2023. (From T&F Information).
Video(Highlights): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOP15TyMSIk
All-Time Checklist: http://www.alltime-athletics.com/m_2miok.htm