This Day in Track & Field History-February 5, 2024, Glenn Cunningham, Vashti Cunningham, Colin Sahlman, by Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service

Walt Murphy is one of the finest track geeks that I know. Walt does #ThisDayinTrack&FieldHistory, an excellent daily service providing the true geek’s stories about our sport. You can check out the service for FREE with a free one-month trial subscription! (email: WaltMurphy44@gmail.com ) for the entire daily service. We will post a few historic moments each day, beginning February 1, 2024.

1938--Glenn Cunningham won his 5th Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games in front of another capacity crowd of 16,000 in Madison Square Garden, His time of 4:11.0 matched the Meet Record that he already shared with Joe Mangan. Cunningham, content to sit through a slowish ½-mile split of 2:07, went on to win by 12 yards over Archie San Romani, who was followed closely by future and past winners of the race—Chuck Fenske(1940) and Gene Venzke(1932).

Sprinters and hurdlers had to run 3 rounds, with World Records being set in both events.

After running 6.2 in his heat of the 60y, Columbia’s Ben Johnson matched the WR of 6.1 in his semi-final (a record he already shared with others, including Jesse Owens) and took sole possession of the record when he ran 6-flat(6.0) in the final.

Allan Tomlich tied the World Record of 7.4 in the 1^st round of the 60y-Hurdles, and that time was matched by Forrest “Spec” Towns in his semi-final race. Towns, the 1936 Olympic gold medalist in the 110m-Hurdles, ran another 7.4 in the final, beating Tomlich, the 1937 U.S. Outdoor Champion(Towns was 3^rd), by 4 feet.

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/02/06/96796282.html?pageNumber=71

Results: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/02/06/96796337.html?pageNumber=75

2016—18-year-old Vashti Cunningham, a senior at Bishop Gorman H.S. in Las Vegas, outdueled American Record holder Chaunté Lowe to win the High Jump in Albuquerque, winning on fewer misses as both cleared 6-4  ¾ (1.95).

Cunningham first cleared 6-3  ½ (1.92) to break the 32-year old High School Record of 6-3 (1.905?) that was set by Lisa Bernhagen (Wood River,Idaho) in 1984 before raising the record to 6-4  ¾.

The daughter of former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham went on to win U.S. and World Indoor titles the following month, raising her H.S. and American Junior Records to 6-6  ½ (1.99) at the U.S. Nationals.