This Day in Track & Field, February 13, Paavo Nurmi sets WR at Mile (1925), Bubka raises WR pole vault to 6.14m (1993), by Walt Murphy

Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service  (wmurphy25@aol.com)

This Day in Track & Field-February 13

1925–Finland’s Paavo Nurmi lost the race but still set a World Record! Competing at home, Syracuse University’s Al Gottlieb took full advantage of a 65-yard handicap to win the Mile by ten yards over Nurmi, who started from scratch. Nurmi’s time of 4:27-2/5 broke Joie Ray’s previous mark of 4:28.0.

1964 –Jim Beatty fired the gun to start the Mile at the NYAC Games in Madison Square Garden, then watched Tom O’Hara run 3:56.6  to smash his (Beatty’s) World Record by a full two seconds. Beatty had set the previous mark of 3:58.6 a year ago at the same meet.

      After running a heat and semi-final, Bob Hayes won the 60-yard dash in 6.0, tying the world record for the 4th time that season.

      20-year old Bruce Kidd (8:42.6) came from behind off the final turn to edge Bob Schul (8:42.8) in the 2-mile, with Ron Clarke (8:43.8) finishing a close 3^rd. It was a thrilling race, with all three leading at various stages of the race,

  Other winners included Yale’s Wendell Mottley (440y-48.3-Meet Record) and Bill Crothers(880y-1:50.8)

Sports Illustrated Vault: https://vault.si.com/vault/1964/02/24/from-humdrum-to-welldone-in-one-easy-mile

NY Times Coverage

1976—Poland’s Władysław

cleared 18-3  ¼ (5.57) in the Pole Vault in Toronto to break the 5-day old World Record of        18-3 (5.56) that was set by countryman Tadeusz Ślusarski in Warsaw. Ślusarski would go on to win Olympic gold in Montreal later in the year.

1982–With a previous best of 6-4 (1.93), it came as quite a shock when Coleen Rienstra Sommer, jumping alone after midnight (after the rest of the events were completed), cleared 6-6  ¾ (2.00) at the Ottawa Citizen Games to set a World Record in the Women’s High Jump.  The previous mark of 6-6  ¼ (1.99) was set the previous month by Canada’s Debbie Brill, who finished second here with a clearance of     6-2  ¾ (1.89).

            Before her breakthrough jump, Sommer had already had a career night after clearing 6-5 (1.96) to break Joni Huntley’s American Record of 6-4  ¾ (1.95), set in 1981 (Huntley was 3rd here/6-3/4 [1.85m]). Sommer became the first American woman…