This Day in Track & Field–July 7
1884–Lon Myers, a charter member of the Hall of Fame, improved his pre-IAAF World Record in the 800-meters to 1:55.4 in Birmingham, England. Myers was dubbed by many as “The World’s Greatest Runner”. According to some sources, he held the distinction of holding every American record in all distances from fifty yards to a mile at some point in his career.
Check the following link for much more on one of the earliest stars in the sport,
https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll10/id/41/rec/1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lon_Myers
1912— The Jim Thorpe Olympic legend began with his win in the 5-event/2-day Pentathlon (LJ,JT,200/DT,1500) at the Stockholm Olympics..
After 17 heats and six(!) semi-finals (with only the winner advancing) the day before, the field was set for the final of the Men’s 100-meters. But only five men showed up at the start, since favored Howard Drew, the winner of the U.S. Trials and the co-holder of the American Record of 10-4/5, pulled a muscle while winning his semi-final race.
It took 8 tries to finally get the race off, with Ralph Craig (10.8) leading Alvah Meyer (10.9), and Donald Lippincott(10.9) across the line to give the U.S. a sweep of the medals (the 3-athlete per country limit hadn’t yet been established. The finish-line photo was needed before awarding Lippincott, who had set a World Record of 10.6 in his heat the previous day (7-6), the bronze medal over South Africa’s George Patching.
Medalists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1912_Summer_Olympics
1924–On his way to winning the bronze medal in the 5-event Pentathlon (Long Jump, Javelin, 200m, Discus, 1500m), American Robert LeGendre, the son of French parents, set a World Record of 25-5 5/8 (7.76) in the Long Jump at the 1924 Olympics in the Paris suburb of Colombes. F.Morgan Taylor ran 52.6 to win the gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles, but was denied a World Record because he knocked over a hurdle during the race (rule in effect at the time).
Other medalists
400h: 2.Erik Wilén (Finland) 53.8, 3.Ivan Riley (USA) 54.2
Pentathlon: 1.Eero Lehtonen (Finland), 2.Elemér Somfay (HUN)
(Placings were determined by the least number of points an athlete scored, based on their finish within each of the five events. (1 point for first, 2 for 2nd, etc.)
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_jump_world_record_progression
Medalists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1924_Summer_Olympics
1928–Ed Hamm set a World Record of 25-11 1/8 (7.90) in the Long Jump at the U.S. Men’s Olympic Trials, held at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge,MA (July 6,7). Finishing 3rd was DeHart Hubbard, the reigning Olympic Champion and the previous record holder at 25-10 7/8 (7.89-1925 NCAA). Hamm would win Olympic gold in Amsterdam later in the year.
An additional 4 American Records (some unofficial) were set at the meet–Lloyd Hahn won the 800 in 1:51.4 (never ratified as a WR), Ray Conger the 1500 in 3:55.0, William Spencer the Steeplechase in 9:35.8, and Joie Ray the 10,000 in 31:28.4. (The AAU didn’t recognize records in the steeple and 10,000 until 1932).
Others who went on to win gold in Amsterdam (Trials winners unless otherwise noted):
Yale’s Sabin Carr–Pole Vault (3rd)
Bob King—High Jump
John Kuck—Shot Put (3rd)
Bud Houser–Discus
The 400-Meters and the 400-Meter Hurdles, with F.Morgan Taylor setting a World Record of 52.0, were held in Philadelphia on
July 4th!
Results/Notes: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1928.pdf
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_jump_world_record_progression
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Hamm
1944–Sweden’s Gunder Hägg took a full two seconds off countryman Arne Andersson’s World Record for 1500-meters by running 3:43.00 in Gothenburg.
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1500_metres_world_record_progression
1959–Germany’s Martin Lauer ran 13.2 in Zürich to set a World Record in the 110-meter hurdles. The previous mark of 13.4 had been set by American Jack Davis in 1956. He also won the 200-meter hurdles in 22.5 to break Charlie Tidwell’s 2-week old World Record of 22.6.
WR Progression(110h): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_110_metres_hurdles_world_record_progression
1965—Captain Ron Zinn, a 2-time U.S. Olympian who finished an impressive 6th in the 20k-walk at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, was killed in a firefight in Vietnam while rushing to aid his fallen squad leader. He had won his 4th U.S. Indoor title in the mile-walk earlier in the year at Madison Square Garden. He was also a 4-time U.S. Outdoor champion in the 2-mile walk.
An award bearing his name is presented each year by USATF to the outstanding male and female American walkers,
http://www.virtualwall.org/dz/ZinnRL01a.htm
http://defender.west-point.org/service/display.mhtml?u=24143&i=1342
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Zinn
https://www.usatf.org/disciplines/race-walking/race-walking-awards
Ron Zinn Memorial Garden
1981—Ben Plucknett, who had bettered the existing World Record with a toss of 233-7 (71.20) in May, improved to 237-4 (72.34) and beat a star-studded field to win the Discus at the DN Galan meet in Stockholm. Plucknett’s marks were accepted as American Records (he’s still the AR holder), but the IAAF never recognized them as World Records, since he had failed a doping test in New Zealand in January.
Finishing behind Plucknett were the three previous World Record holders in the event: East Germany’s Wolfgang Schmidt (2nd-226-7, 69.06), and Americans John Powell (3rd-217-1 [66.16]) and Mac Wilkins (7th-200-9 [61.18]).
Richard Marks, Plucknett’s coach, told Sports Illustrated, “After the New Zealand meet he was told that the tests would be complete in four weeks, and that if he didn’t hear anything then, that everything was all right. They’ve either mixed up the samples, or they’ve been tampered with. Ben is not on steroids. Ben has never been on steroids.”
Plucknett died of a brain aneurysm in 2002 at the age of 48.
1988 Article
NY Times Obituary:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/22/sports/ben-plucknett-48-track-star-who-lost-record-after-drug-test.html
1982–Steve Scott had lowered his own American Record in the Mile to 3:48.53 in the famed Oslo stadium less than two weeks earlier (June 26) at the Bislett Games, but he had his eyes on a bigger prize when he returned for the Oslo Games.
Running against a strong field, Scott fell just short of Seb Coe’s World Record of 3:47.33, but his 3:47.69 winning time was the 2nd fastest in history (at the time) and remained as the American Record for 25 years until Alan Webb ran 3:46.91 in 2007. Two others broke 3:50, with New Zealand’s John Walker breaking his own National Record with his time of 3:49.08, and Ray Flynn setting the still-standing Irish Record of 3:49.77. Scott told T&F News, “It’s so gratifying to run that fast…But it makes me angry to miss (Coe’s record) by so little. You just never know when you’ll get another opportunity like that, when the conditions are perfect and you’re in top shape. Everything was at an optimum for that race”.
Another American Record fell at the meet as Mary Decker won the 3000 in 8:29.71 to smash her previous mark of 8:38.73. She also set an AR of 5:38.9 for 2000-meters en-route.
While those were the highlights from an American perspective, the star of the show was Great Britain’s David Moorcroft, who (surprisingly) took down the great Henry Rono’s World Record in the 5000 (13:06.20) with his time of 13:00.42. Running fast from the gun, Moorcroft fooled some of his competitors, who thought he was the rabbit for the race! (Rono was 4th here in 13:25.14, a day after running 13:08.97 in Stockholm).
RELATED LINKS: “Steve Scott-The Miler”–Order his autobiography, written by Marc Bloom, at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0028616774/002-2681553-4263250?v=glance&n=283155
Scott’s 137 sub-4 miles: https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=1186752
Hall of Fame(Scott) Bio: Massacre: https://vault.si.com/vault/1982/07/19/call-it-the-moorcroft-massacre
Slaney Through The Years: https://www.jackdogwelch.com/?p=12381
1982—East Germany’s Torsten Voss set the current World Junior Record of 8397 points (w/Int’l implements) in the Decathlon in Erfurt. He went on to win gold at the 1987 World Championships and silver at the 1988 Olympics.
10.76, 7.66 (25-1 ¾), 14.41 (47-3 ½), 2.09 (6-10 ¼), 48.37, 14.37, 41.76 (137-0), 4.80 (15-9), 62.90 (206-4), 4:34.04
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torsten_Voss
1986–In the aftermath of the U.S. and Soviet boycotts at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, Ted Turner established the multi-sport Goodwill Games as a way to ease tensions during the Cold War through friendly competition between nations. The inaugural edition (July 6-9) was held in Moscow and Jackie Joyner-Kersee provided the main highlight by smashing the World Record in the Heptathlon (7-6/7) with her score of 7,148 points. It was the first of what would be four world records in the event by JJK. Sergey Bubka raised his World Record in the Pole Vault (7-8) by one centimeter, clearing 19-8 ½ (6.01). The final Goodwill Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, in 2001.
Results: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1986_Goodwill_Games_–_Results
GG medalists: http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/gg.htm
WR Progression(Hep): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women’s_heptathlon_world_record_progression
WR Progression(PV): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_pole_vault_world_record_progression
1986—This was the first year for the new javelin, the design of which led to shorter distances, but also more accurate measurements. Tom Petranoff, who had set a World Record of 327-2 (99.72) with the old implement in 1983, threw the new one 280-1 (85.38), the best in the world at the time, on this date in Helsinki. That established an American Record, but the IAAF wanted to wait until the end of the year before ratifying the first World Record with the new javelin, and that honor went to Germany’s Klaus Tafelmeier, who threw 281-3 (85.74) on September 21.
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_javelin_throw_world_record_progression
1997–Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer, a native of Kenya, ran 1:41.73 in Stockholm to equal Sebastian Coe’s 16-year old World Record for 800-meters. Kipketer would take sole possession of the record five weeks later by running 1:41.24 in Zürich. He improved that to 1:41.11 in Cologne on August 24.
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/800_metres_world_record_progression
1999—Returning to Rome’s Olympic Stadium, where he had set the global best for 1500-meters the year before, Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj outdueled Kenyan Noah Ngeny in one of the greatest races of all-time, winning the Mile in 3:43.13 to better Noureddine Morceli’s 6-year old World Record (3:44.39). Ngeny, who was coming on El Guerrouj down the homestretch, was also under Morceli’s mark with his time of 3:43.40. Those are still the two fastest times in history. Ngeny would upset El Guerrouj the following year to win the gold medal in the 1500-meters at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvCsj7eJKKA
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1500_metres_world_record_progression
Sports Illustrated Vault
2016—Emma Coburn (9:17.48) won the Women’s Steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene over Courtney Frerichs (9:20.92) and Colleen Quigley (9:21.29). Stephanie Garcia, 2nd coming out of the last water-jump, was passed by Frerichs and Quigley in the homestretch and then tripped over the final hurdle. She got up to finish 5th (9:28.99) behind Shalaya Kipp (9:28.72). Coburn would win the bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, and then gold at the 2017 World Championships, with Frerichs winning silver!
Making the team in the Women’s Triple Jump were Keturah Orji (46-11 ¾ [14.32]), Christina Epps (46-6 [14.17]), who got her Olympic qualifying standard in the final, and Andrea Geubelle (45-9 ¼ [13.95]).
Providing the two fastest (wind-aided) times in the opening round of the Men’s 200 were recent prep grads Noah Lyles (20.04w) and Michael Norman (20.06w), both of whom are now among the brightest stars in the sport!
Results/Notes: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2016.pdf
LetsRun Coverage
2024—Two World Records were set at the Diamond League meet in Paris, which was held at Stade Charléty, located approximately 12 miles from Stade de France. It would serve as the Olympic venue for track and field later in the summer.
Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon won the 1500-meters in 3:49.04 to shave .07s off her own World Record of 3:49.11, which she set in 2023. Accustomed to running solo when she’s running this fast, Kipyegon glanced over her shoulder on the last lap and was surprised to see that she had company in the person of Australia’s Jess Hull, who was just as surprised to be that close to Kipyegon. Hull, the 2018 NCAA 1500m Champion while at Oregon, continued on to finish 2nd in 3:50.83, a personal best by more than 5 seconds and the 5th-fastest time in history. 3rd was Laura Muir, who lowered her British Record to 3:53.79.
Kipyegon would go on to win her 3rd Olympic title in the 1500 the following month, with Hull winning the silver medal. And Kipyegon set her 3rd World Record in the event by running 3:48.68 this past weekend at the Pre Classic!
While fans have come to expect records from Kipyegon, most did not envision the 2nd WR happening on this day. Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the 2023 World Champion in the High Jump, had 1st-try misses at 6-4 ¾ (1.95), 6-7 (2.01), and 6-8 (2.03). She also missed her 1st attempt at 6-9 ½ (2.07), a ½-inch higher than her 3-year old personal best. After clearing cleanly on her 2nd attempt, she then cleared 6-10 ¾ (2.10) on her 1st try, barely brushing the bar, breaking the 37-year old World Record of 6-10 ½ (2.09) that was set by Bulgaria’s Stefka Kostadinova at the 1987 World Championships in Rome.
There was “only” a meet record in the Men’s 800-meters, but it turned out to be the deepest 2-lap race in history. The field followed the rabbit closely through the 1st 400-meters in a lightning-fast 48.79. Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi was in the lead coming off the final turn, but Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati edged ahead of him, holding the lead all the way to the finish line, with France’s own Gabriel Tual falling just short of catching both of them in a blanket finish.. The times, all personal bests, were incredible (with all-time positions): 1:41.56 (#3)-1:41.58 (#4)-1:41.61 (#5). Not far behind were Kenya’s Aaron Kemel Cheninigwa and Wyclife Kinyamal, both of whom ran 1:42.08 and are now tied for the #10 spot on the all-time performers’ list. 7th was Belgium’s Elliot Crestan, who set a National Record of 1:42.43. All-Time best marks-for-place were set for 2nd-6th.
Mahuchikh and Wanyonyi would win Olympic gold a month later.
Results
https://worldathletics.org/news/report/meeting-de-paris-diamond-league-2024-world-record
1500: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i3nQ52_FwU
HJ (w/Interview): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxIIUlNUSks
800: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMYpOFeeGak
Born On This Day*
Nia Akins 27 (1998) 2-time U.S. Champion—800m (2023, 2024 O.T./1st Olympic team)
Semi-finalist at the Paris Olympics in 2024
2-time U.S. Indoor Champion-2023, 2025
Finalist (6th) at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest
All-American at Penn—2nd at the 2019 NCAA Indoor & Outdoor Championships
Trains in Seattle with the Brooks Beasts,
PBs: 52.87 (2023), 1:24.32i (2024), 1:57.36 (2024), 1:59.31i (2025), 4:10.32 (2024), 4:32.08i (2024/O.T.)
https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/nia-akins-14615589
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nia_Akins
https://pennathletics.com/sports/womens-track-and-field/roster/nia-akins/15790
O.T.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro4MJT0HsCs
Post O.T. (CitiusMag): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpS1XhWKpPY
Adam Nelson 50 (1975) 3-time Olympian in the Shot Put–silver medalist in 2000, finished 2nd again in 2004, but was
elevated to Olympic champion 9 years later when the “winner” was retroactively disqualified for a
drug violation…received his Olympic Gold Medal at the food court in the Atlanta Airport in July of
2013…a proper presentation was made at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials(see link below)
2005 World Champion (silver medalist-2001, 2003, 2007/2009-5th,2011-7th)
1997 NCAA Champion (Dartmouth/2nd Indoors-1998); 1994 World Junior Champion
5-time U.S. Champion (’00,’02,’04,’06,’11; 2-time U.S. Indoor Champion (‘01,’02)
Came out of retirement in 2016—finished 7th at the U.S. Olympic Trials, six days shy of turning 41! Had a best of
67- 2 ¼ (20.58) that year.
Known for his dramatic entry into the SP circle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjkg1XF1qrw
Played football all 4 years at Dartmouth
PBs: 73-6i (22.40/#3 All-Time U.S., #5 A-T World/#3 U.S.); 73-10 ¼ (22.51/#9-AT U.S./Indoor-Outdoor)
Olympic Gold: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/04/sport/olympic-shot-putter-retroactive-gold-medal/index.html
All-Time Lists: http://www.alltime-athletics.com/mshotok.htm
Metric Conversion: https://www.usatf.org/statistics/calculators/markConversions/
Heps Track: https://hepstrack.wordpress.com/alumni/dartmouth/adam-nelson/
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Nelson
2009 Article: https://www.iaaf.org/news/news/adam-nelson-this-guy-has-no-idea-whats-about
Deceased
Sir Murray Halberg—New Zealand 89 (1933-Nov.30, 2022) 1960 Olympic gold medalist—5000m(5th-10,000/1956-1500/11th, 1964-
10,000/7th)
2-time British Empire/Commonwealth Champion-3 Miles (1958, 1962)
Former World Record holder: 2-miles (8:30.0/1961), 3-miles (13:10.0/1961)
Other PBs: 13:35.2 (1981), 28:33.0 (1964)
OG Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aW8B6BOLjs
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/74309
http://www.racingpast.ca/john_contents.php?id=128
http://www.halberg.co.nz/our-story/sir-murray-halberg-onz/
Rosie Bonds-Kreidler 80 (1944-November 22, 2024) 2-time U.S. Champion-80m Hurdles (1963, 1964)
1964 U.S. Olympian (8th)
Started out as a sprinter, but, given the depth in the U.S. at the time (Wilma Rudolph, Wyomia Tyus, Edith McGuire), she switched
to the hurdles in 1963.
Baseball connection: Bobby Bonds (brother), Barry Bonds (nephew). Bobby (Riverside Poly,CA) was the U.S. prep leader in the
Long Jump in 1964 (25-3/7.695)
Serious injuries suffered in an auto accident in 2002 brought her nursing career to an end and eventually wound up homeless
for a brief period (see links).
http://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77763
https://www.oiselle.com/pages/rosie-bonds-kreidler
Free Signup Required:
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2006/03/31/bonds-aunt-clears-lifes-hurdles/
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2007/09/16/in-face-of-adversity-olympic-spirit-perseveres-honoring-a-social-justice-activist/
