This Day in Track & Field-January  18, Hannes Kolehmainen wins 10 mile handicap race (1913), Mary Slaney sets 2000m WR (1985), Born this Day, Willie Ritola (1896), by Walt Murphy

This Day in Track & Field–January  18

1913–The featured event at the early editions of the Millrose Games was a road race, and the winner of this year’s 10-mile handicap event was Finland’s Hannes Kolehmainen (51:25), who had won 3 gold medals at the previous year’s Olympics in Stockholm (5000,10,000, Cross Country). The race started from the 71^st Regiment Armory in Manhattan, then wound its way through city streets before Kolehmainen returned for one go-round of the Armory’s 10-lap track, greeted by thunderous applause from the largest crowd to ever attend an event at the facility.

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/01/19/100249509.html?pageNumber=48

https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/67641

http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-lost-71st-regiment-armory-park.html

1964–17-year old Gerry Lindgren (Rogers,Wa) ran 8:46.0 for 2-miles behind Belgium’s Gaston Roelants (8:41.2) at the Los Angeles Inv., smashing his own U.S. High School record of 9:00.0.

        The slight Lindgren (5’-5”, 118) didn’t seem to know, or at least he didn’t care, that he was racing against a field that included Roelants, the World Record holder in the steeplechase, and veteran George Young. He led the race through the first mile in a very fast 4:21.2 before slipping to 4^th, behind Roelants, USC’s Julio Marin, and Young.

        Some observers thought that Lindgren would surely continue to fade, paying the price for running so fast so early. But the precocious Lindgren, who already had set a goal of making the U.S. Olympic team (which he would do!), gamely hung in there and eventually out-dueled Young for 2^nd place, much to the delight of the crowd.

        Lindgren’s time of 8:46.0 was also a record for a 17-year old, topping the 8:49.1 that Canada’s Bruce KIdd had run three years earlier while winning the 2-mile at the Massachusetts Knights of Columbus meet at the Boston Garden. Kidd’s performance was greeted at the time with as much surprise and crowd-pleasing enjoyment as was Lindgren’s.

        Bob Hayes ran 6-flat (6.0) to equal the World Record for 60-yards (he would tie it twice more in 1964), and American Records were set by John Pennell in the Pole Vault (16-4  ¼ [4.98+]) and USC’s Mahoney Samuels in the Triple Jump      (52-7 [16.02+]). Samuels was actually from Jamaica, but the best marks achieved on U.S. soil were recognized at the time as “American Records”,…