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This Day in Track & Field–July 15
1900—It was a busy day at the 1900 Olympics in Paris, with gold medals determined in 10 events, some of which had short Olympic lives. Many religious athletes declined to compete in their respective finals on a Sunday! And there was no traditional track! Events were contested on a grass field, with running events conducted on a 500-meter loop,
60m/Long Jump-Al Kraenzlein won his 2nd and 3rd gold medals (he had won the 110-hurdles the previous day), edging U.S. teammate Walter Tewksbury in the sprint as both were timed in 7.0. The Long Jump was filled with controversy. Marks in Saturday’s qualifying round would count towards determining the eventual winner, and Myer Prinstein led the way with a jump of 23-1 ½ (7.175), with Kraenzlein 2nd at 22-9 (6.93). Even though he was Jewish, and had competed on his own Sabbath, Prinstein was told by his college (Syracuse) that he couldn’t compete on Sunday. He reportedly entered into an agreement with Kraenzlein that neither would compete on Sunday. But Kraenzlein did compete, and wound up as the Olympic champion after topping Prinstein’s qualifying mark by one centimeter (7.185 [23-2). Prinstein had to be restrained from going after Kraenzlein when the result was announced! He gained some consolation by winning the gold medal in the Triple Jump the following day and in the Long Jump at the 1904 Olympics.
400—Maxie Long, the 1899 IC4A Champion from Columbia (and 3-time U.S. Champion) won in 49.4.
1500—Great Britain’s Charles Bennett pulled away from France’s Henri Deloge (4:07.2) in the final stretch to win in the World Record time of 4:06.2
400-meter hurdles—Walter Tewksbury (57.6) won this unusual rendition of this event. The “hurdles” were a series of 30-foot long telegraph poles except for the final hurdles—a water jump! (They obviously didn’t run the race in lanes).
2500-meter steeplechase—Canada’s…
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