Walt Murphy is one of the best trailers I know.Walt does #ThisDayinTrack&FieldHistory, a great daily service about our sport.You can check it out for FREE with a one month free trial (email: WaltMurphy44@gmail.com ) for the entire daily service We will be posting a few historical moments every day starting February 1, 2024.
By Walt Murphy News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com), used with permission
This day in the field of athletics – January 7
1978– Shout out from the sidelines of the meet’s namesake, the Muhammad Ali Invitational, held on a sprawling 200-meter beach oval in Long Beach, Calif. Houston McTeer may have shot a fast rifle, but his 6.54 was adopted as the new standard for the 60-meter. Soviet representative Valery Borzov (Ukraine) and German Manfred Kokot shared the previous rating of 6.58.
Local favorite Mike Tully jumped 18-4 (5.59m), breaking Dan Ripley’s 2-year-old amateur pole vault record of 18-3 ¾ (5.58) (pro Steve Smith had already jumped 18-5 (5.615m?)) , and the 3rd overall mark went to Herman Fraser, who ran 1:01.3: breaking Stan Vinson’s 500m record of 1:02.3.
Dick Buerkle, more used to running longer distances, hinted at things to come (he would set a world record in the Mile the following week) by setting a fast pace in the 1,500 meters (56.5, 1:56.5, 2:56.6) before finishing 3rd (3:56.6). 40.0) behind Kenyan Wilson Waigwa (3:38.6) and Paul Cummings, who set an American record of 3:39.4.
Villanova made the cross-country trip worthwhile as Mark Belger (1:48.7) won the 800 over Kenya’s Mike Boyte (1:48.9) and his 4×400 relay team with Kate Brown (49.9) had to jump of one: fallen runner), Tim Dale (47.3), Derek Harbor (45.8) and Canada’s Glenn Bogue (46.6) won in a collegiate record of 3:09.6 Subsequent news)
1990– Competing in the Dartmouth Relays, Lynn Jennings set a world record for the 5,000 meters in 15:22.64.
WR progress: http://tf-stats.com/world_indoor_women.php
2017–Quanera Hayes ran a 35.71 300m at Clemson, breaking Natasha Hastings’ 36.25 year old HS senior Candace Hill finished 2ndth at 36.84, but he hasn’t received a prep record since he turned pro after the 2015 season.
2017– Junior Armand “Mondo” Duplantis (Lafayette, La) jumped 18-2 (5.54) and then 18-5 (5.615?) in Baton Rouge to break his US high school indoor record of 18-1/2 (5.50/2016) in the pole vault . vault He also bettered Chris Nielsen’s outdoor mark of 18-4 ½ (2016). He would break the indoor record 3 more times in 2017, finishing with a best of 19-1 (5.82).
He took HS records to new heights in 2018 with a 19-3 ½ (5.88) and a phenomenal 19-10 ¼ (6.05) to win the gold medal at the European Championships (representing Sweden, his mother’s birthplace).
(He has since improved the world record to 20-6 1/2 (6.26)), won gold at the 2022 and 2023 world championships, and gold at the 2021 and 2024 Olympics.)
https://www.worldathletics.org/athletes/sweden/armand-duplantis-14679502
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armand_Duplantis
Important birthdays
Born on this day*
Soufiane El Bakkali 29 (1996) 2021 and 2024 Gold medalist of the Olympic Games – Steeplechase (2016-4th)
2-time world champion — 2022, 2023 (2017-silver, 2019-bronze)
PBs3:31.95 (2021), 7:41.88i (2018), 13:10.60i (2017), 7:56.68 (2023/#9 All Time); 2024 SB: 8:04.29
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/135068
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soufiane_El_Bakkali
Videos:: ’21 AND: ’22 WC ’23 WC (Finish) ’24 AND:
Caster Semenya – South Africa 34 (1991) Two-time gold medalist of the Olympic Games: 800 meters (2012, 2016)
3-time world champion – 2009, 2011, 2017 (bronze – 1500 m)
PBs: 49.62 (2018), 1:21.77/600m (2017/World Record at the time, now #2), 1:54.25 (2018/#4 All Time World), 2:30.70
(2018/#6 AT)…also 1:54.60 (2018), 1:54.77 (2018)/#6 & #9 All Time Performances)
South Africa’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games
Videos::
2009 W.C: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpblUehi9Dk
2012 AND (“Winner” Maria Savinova was subsequently disqualified for a doping violation).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHU9OFSwmEs
2016 AND:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anqBSY1qHSk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caster_Semenya
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/123859
https://worldathletics.org/athletes/south-africa/caster-semenya-14330057
Since winning the 800 at the 2009 world championships, he has been the subject of controversy
Career timeline (from The Guardian):
www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/may/01/how-caster-semenya-controversy-unfolded-since-2009-timeline
Key moments
August 2009– At age 18, Semenya won 800m gold in Berlin in 1 minute 55.45 seconds, the IAAF reveals
the athlete underwent a gender verification process and was declared ineligible to participate
11 months.
April 2018– The IAAF announces new rules that will force female athletes to cut back and stick to their rules
Testosterone level no more than 5 nmol/l by November 1 if they want to participate in various events
400 m to one mile.
May 2019– Semenya loses her landmark court case against athletics’ governing body, the IAAF, which means she
if he wants to continue running from 400 meters to a mile, he will have to take medication to lower his testosterone levels.
international stage.
Now limited to distance races, he ran personal bests of 8:54.97 (3,000) and 15:31.50 (5,000) in 2022;
2024 SBs (road)17:58, 36:55
https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/5/3/18526723/caster-semenya-800-gender-race-intersex-athletes
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/08/sports/olympics/caster-semenya-court-ruling.html
Semenya speaks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeQYdyDsioY
“The race to be myself”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSkDNtsZkLA
(Google book title to view many other reports)
Tom Donnelly’s 78 (1947) Was the head coach at Haverford College since 1976, retired after the 2023 X-Country season, but will remain.
with the team as a volunteer assistant to new head coach Matt Cohen.The team won the 2010 NCAA DiV.III X-Country title.
All-American helped lead Villanova to 3 straight NCAA X-Country titles. Was #1 finisher for Wildcats in 1966 (8th) and:
1968 (7:th), #2 in 1967 (23th)
NCAA Steeplechase-1967 (8:th), 1968 (4:th), 1969 (3:th); PB::8:45.5 (1970)
Member of Villanova’s 1968 NCAA Indoor Championship Team — Ran the 880-year-old leg in the winning distance
Medley team.
3-time Penn Relay champion – 4 mile relay (1967-1969)
Member of the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame
http://haverfordathletics.com/sports/mtrack-out/coaches/donnelly_tom?view=bio
http://villanovarunning.blogspot.com/2009/12/charmed-life-of-tom-donnelly.html
http://www.ustfccca.org/awards/tom-donnelly-ustfccca-class-of-2014
Charlie Jenkins 91 (1934) 1956 Olympic gold medalist — 400, 4×400… finished 3th 400 at the US Olympic Trials
1955 US Champion-440
2-time US champion-600y (1957,1958)
All-American at Villanova. NCAA-1955 (440y-2:th), 1956 (400m-3rd, 1957 (440y-3)th)…helped the Wildcats win
NCAA team title in 1957…that team also included Olympic gold medalists Ron Delaney (1500/1956) and Don
Bragg (Pole Vault/1960)
2 times IC4A champion-440y (1955, 1957)
IC4A 3-time champion-600y (1955-1957)
8 time Penn Relays champion.
Mile Relay (1955-1957 / anchored all 3 years)
Sprint Medley (1955-880, 1956-440, 1957-440)
Distance Medley (1956-880y, 1957-880y)
Set HS indoor record for 600 yards in 1953, 1:13.1
He was the head coach at Villanova from 1981 to 1990. He followed his coach into the Villanova Hall of Fame
Jumbo Elliott died in 1981…son Chip was an Olympic gold medalist in the 4×400 in 1992 (1St round)
Inducted into the National Hall of Fame in 1992
HOF Organic (1992): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/charlie-jenkins
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78602
Oldest living Olympians: https://acsweb.ucsd.edu/~ptchir/
Best NCAA team ever. www.villanovarunning.blogspot.com/2010/01/was-this-best-villanova-track-team.html
New Challenge (1981):
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/31/sports/charlie-jenkins-faces-a-new-challenge.html?pagewanted=all
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Jenkins_Sr.
Like Father, Like Son: http://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/09/sports/villanova-runner-follows-father-s-path.html
Dead
Diane Leather-UK 85 (1933-Sept. 5, 2018)…Became the first woman to break 5 minutes in the mile (4:59.6)
1954, just after Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute barrier in the men’s mile.
Set 5 world records in the mile (IAAF pre-certification)
5:02.6 September 30, 1953
5:00.2 May 26, 1954
4:59.6 May 29, 1954
4:50.8 May 24, 1955
4:45.0 September 21, 1955
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/obituaries/diane-leather-dead.html
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/sep/14/diane-leather-obituary
https://athleticsweekly.com/athletics-news/mile-legend-diane-leather-dies-1038762/
WR progress: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile_run_world_record_progression
