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This day in athletics – September 9
1916— George Bronder sets an American record of 190-6 (58.06) in the javelin in Newark, New Jersey; Bronder won six consecutive US titles from 1914-1919. That was the record for most wins in the event until Broy Greer won his 7th directly in 2006 (he won his 8thth in 2007),
Bronder had just finished his junior year at Poly Prep HS in Brooklyn when he won his first US title in 1914. After a tour during World War I, he enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was valedictorian in 1921 and 1922. Penn Relays and the 1922 IC4A Championship.
He moved his family to Australia in 1926 and became a major contributor to the local T&F circuit in the 1930s.
http://athletics.possumbility.com/athletes/athlete2332.htm
http://tinyurl.com/BronderPolyPrep (You need to zoom in to view the article in the upper left corner)
AR progress: http://trackfield.brinkster.net/RecProg_AllUSA.asp?RecCode=WR&EventCode=MF8&Gender=M&P=F
1928— Sylvio Cator of Haiti became the first long jumper to break the 26-foot barrier, leaping 26-1/4 (7.93) in Colombes, France. Cator, who won the silver medal in the long jump at the Amsterdam Olympics in late July, was also a member of the Haitian national soccer team. He remains the only athlete from Haiti to win an Olympic medal in T&F and continues to hold the Haitian record, one of the oldest national records in sports (perhaps the oldest).
Wiki Biography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Cator
1933— Italy’s Luigi Beccali, the 1932 Olympic gold medalist in the 1,500, ran a time of 3:49.2 at the World Student Games in Turin, Italy, equaling the world record set in 1930 by France’s Jules Ladumegue. Bekkali, 2:th in that race he single-handedly claimed the WR when he ran 3:49.0 in Milan eight days later.
WR progress: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1500_metres_world_record_progression
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Beccali
1968— The decathlon had already finished two days ago, and now it was time to select the rest of the USA team for the Olympic Trials at Echo Summit.
There was one final with Tracy Smith (30:00.4), Van Nelson (30:04.0) and Tom Larris (30:09.8) taking the top three spots in the 10,000 meters. Old favorites Billy Mills (30:32.2) and Gerry Lindgren (30:44.2) were 4thth and 5thand Kenny Moore (31:18.2), who made the team in the marathon last month, finished 7th.th.
It was the first time the U.S. Trials followed the Olympic schedule, requiring athletes to compete in as many events as they would meet in Mexico City. But the fields were much smaller in 1968 than they have been since then, so very few athletes were eliminated in the first round of any event. In fact, no one was eliminated in the first two rounds of the 100 meters race held on this day.
The iconic setting for the trials is now a California Historic Landmark. Some of the athletes who made the 1968 team visited the site during the 2014 USA Championships in Sacramento.
Off trackI stayed at a local motel 2-3 miles from Stateline, Nevada and its legal gambling establishments. I was without a car and there was no bus (tried to save a few bucks by not taking a cab), but I was determined to get to Harrah’s Casino.
Driving down US-50, lit only by the moonlight, I soon heard dogs barking across the road. I was setting PRs at every distance from 100 yards to the mile as long as I ran until the screaming died down in the distance. I finally made it to Harrah’s and still had enough money to take a taxi to the safety of my motel.
Bob Burns did a great job of capturing the essence of the Trials in his book The Track In The Forest (see links below).
History of trials: https://trackandfieldnews.com/usa-olympic-trials-history/
Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1968/09/23/triumph-and-tragedy-at-tahoe
Footprint in the forest:
https://www.amazon.com/Track-Forest-Creation-Legendary-Olympic/dp/0897339371
https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/track-in-the-forest–the-products-9780897339377.php
1972— 19-year-old American Randy Williams, who had set a junior world record of 27-4 ½ (8.34) in the previous day’s qualifying, won the final. Men’s long jump 27-1/2 (8.24) in his opening effort at the Munich Olympics.
German Hans Baumgartner (26-10 (8.18)) and American Arnie Robinson (26-4 ¼ (8.03)) won silver and bronze, who won gold four years later in Montreal. Williams, who won the NCAA title as a freshman at USC in June, would go on to win a bronze medal in Montreal.
Lynn Davies representing Great Britain, the Olympic champion of 1964, and Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, representative of the Soviet Union, the bronze medalist of 1960 and 1964, did not make it to the finals.
Led by Lyudmila Bragina of the Soviet Union, Women’s 1500 mHaving made its debut at the Olympic Games, it was raised to a new level in Munich. Bragina was already the world record holder, having run 4:06.9 in July, beating the previous mark by almost three seconds. He then improved the record in each of his three races in Munich, running 4:06.47 in his heat, 4:05.07 in his semi-final, and then extending it to 4:01.38 in the final. He also has 6 completions under his pre-game record.
- Gunhild Hofmeister (GDR/4:02.83)
3. Paola Pini (ITA/4:02.85)
4. Karin Berneleit-Krebs (GDR/4:04.11)
5. Sheila Carey (GBR/4:04.81)
6. Ilya Keizer (NED/4:05.13)
7. Tamara Pangelova (URS-UKR/4:06.45)
West Germany’s Ellen Tittle ran 4:06.65 in the semifinals but DNF in the final, while Canada’s Glenda Reiser set a world junior record of 4:06.71. American Francie Lario was eliminated in the semi-finals. Norwegian Grete Andersen, known by her married name (Waitz) later in her career, did not exceed 1.St round.
It remains the toughest competition Men’s shooting in Olympic history, less than two inches separating the top four.
Poland’s Władysław Komar (69-6 (21.18)) won gold over American George Woods (69-5 ½ (21.17)) and Hartmut Bryzenik won bronze over East Germany’s Hans-Peter Geiss on the basis of a better 2.th to throw Both had personal bests of 69-4 ¼ (21.14), while Bryzenic’s 68-11 ¾ (21.02) topped Geis’ 68-11 ¼ (21.01).
Americans Al Feuerbach (68-11 ¼ (21.01)) and Brian Oldfield (68-7 ¼ (20.91)) were not far behind.
Medal Winners/Results: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1972_Summer_Olympics
Olympia Reports:: https://www.olympedia.org/editions/18/sports/ATH
Videos:
W1500 (Russian): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySazd0CaOKw
MSP:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYUbBGPSjwg&pp=QAA%3D
WR progress: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1500_metres_world_record_progression
2001— Switzerland’s Andre Bucher (800) and Romania’s Violeta Beclea Shekeli (1500) were the overall champions at the IAAF Grand Prix Final in Melbourne, Australia, each earning $100,000 plus $50,000 for winning their respective events in the final.
Allen Johnson led the men’s GP standings going into the meeting but needed a win in Melbourne to stay on top. He had a slight lead over Cuba’s Anier Garcia before he tied the 9thth obstacle and finish 2th To the Olympic champion of 2000 (13.22-13.28). Johnson still went home with $90,000, but the loss cost him an additional $60,000.
Medal winners: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_IAAF_Grand_Prix_Final
Results:: https://www.the-sports.org/athletics-iaaf-grand-prix-final-results-2001-men-epm44315.html
Side noteShortly after working on the Brisbane Goodwill Games for TNT, Lewis Johnson and I traveled to Melbourne to cover this match for ESPN. Lewis would announce while I was stuck in a control truck to take instructions from producer Ralph Moll, who was running things from his studio in New Jersey. We were picked up at the airport by a gentleman who just happened to be in charge of transportation for the event. He was a friendly guy, excited to have two Yanks in his car. When we told him the name of our hotel, he rolled his eyes and said. “Oh no, you’re not staying there.” He arranged for us to stay in what he thought was obviously a much nicer place.
2007-Despite easing up near the finish line, Jamaica’s Asafa Powell ran 9.74 in the 100m in Rieti, Italy to break her own world record of 9.77. In the final, he “only” ran with a score of 9.78.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrQ8ydIZL3w
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_100_metres_world_record_progression
2016 —Sandy Morris cleared 16-4 ¾ (5.00) in the Diamond League final in Brussels to set an American outdoor record in the women’s pole vault. A 2:th AR set up Shannon Rowber who finished 5thth In the women’s 5,000 with a time of 14:38.92.
DL summary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Diamond_League
