Walt Murphy is one of the finest track geeks that I know. Walt does #ThisDayinTrack&FieldHistory, an excellent daily service that provides true geek 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.
by Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com), used with permission
This Day in Track & Field–October 28
1966—Belgium’s Gaston Roelants set World Records of 58:06.2 for 20,000 meters and 20,664 meters in the hour-run in Leuven, Belgium. Australia’s Ron Clarke set the previous record of 59:22.8/20,332 meters a year earlier.
A Look at the Past Record Holders: https://www.worldathletics.org/news/feature/one-hour-run-world-record-history
1973—The first all-women’s marathon was held in Waldniel, West Germany, and Christa Vahlensieck won in 2:59:25.6.
The success of that race was built on the following October when Dr. Ernst Van Aaken, a West German and a strong supporter of women’s running, sponsored the first Women’s International Marathon Championship in the same town. Forty women from seven countries competed in the event. Two years later, when the race was again, the forty-five finishers represented nine countries. Still, with the 1980 Summer Olympic Games on the horizon, Olympic organizers had yet to seriously consider creating a women’s marathon. Excerpted from Olympic Marathon, by Charlie Lovett.
http://www.marathonguide.com/history/olympicmarathons/chapter25.cfm
Amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/6gfwqt3
Former World Record holder Jaqi Hansen, who finished 5th in the 1974 race, offers more on women’s marathon running history. Hansen, who hadn’t been selected for the U.S. team, made it to Germany thanks to her friend and fellow distance runner, actor Bruce Dern!
https://www.jacquelinehansen.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/M+B-xx-16-1w_pix-Hansen.pdf
Noted running writer Joe Henderson hosted this panel of marathoning legends before the 2013 Napa Valley Marathon (Joan Benoit-Samuelson, Jaqi Hansen, Nina Kuscsik, Lorraine Moller).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzvMSnunmgU
1984 – Despite stopping 8 times during the race because of the oppressive humidity in the air, unheralded Orlando Pizzolato of Italy won the…
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