This Day in Track & Field, June 19, Paavo Nurmi sets 1,500m/5,000m WR in 50 minutes, Dylan Thomas wins Grammer School Mile (1928), by Walt Murphy )

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

This Day in Track & Field–June 19 

1924–Finland’s Paavo Nurmi set two World Records in Helsinki, running 3:52.6 for 1500-meters and, 50 minutes later, 14:28.2 for 5000-meters.

https://worldathletics.org/heritage/news/paavo-nurmi-finland-1500m-5000m-world-record-double-1924

WR Progressions:

1500: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1500_metres_world_record_progression#Men_.28Outdoors.29

5000: https://worldathletics.org/records/by-progression/13873

1928—From the Facebook page of the late Mike Fanelli

Famed Welsh poet Dylan Thomas won a schoolboy mile at the age of 12

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10223307203244129&set=a.1178418256407

1937–Competing at the 5th Annual Princeton Invitation, Archie San Romani (4:07.2) was the winner of the Mile in a blanket finish over Don Lash (4:07.2) and Glenn Cunningham (4:07.4). 4th was Italy’s Luigi Beccali (4:09.6), the 1932 Olympic champion at 1500-meters. Winner of the 2-mile in 9:28.2 was Lou Zamperini and the winner of the Pole Vault was Cornelius Warmerdam (14-0 [4.27]).

            It can’t be confirmed, but a possible spectator at the meet was Alan Turing, who was working on his Ph.D at Princeton at the time. Turing, the subject of the hit movie “The Imitation Game”, had shown some promise as a runner as a youngster, and it’s not too much of a stretch to think that he might have taken a break from his studies to watch such an event on the Tiger campus.

            Thanks to the movie’s success, Turing’s career as a brilliant scientist, his role in deciphering the German Enigma code during World War II, and his tragic end, have become well-known aspects of his life, but few are aware that he became a decent distance runner once the war was over, getting his marathon best down to an impressive 2:46:03!

            Read more about Turing’s running career at http://www.nuts.org.uk/trackstats/alanturing.htm

            Mile Video: http://tinyurl.com/SanRomaniLash

1937—Pittsburgh sophomore John Woodruff won the 1^st of his 3 titles in the 880y and set a Meet Record of 1:50.3 at the NCAA Championships  in Berkeley,CA (June 18,19).

Michigan senior Sam Stoller (9.7) won the 100y over Columbia junior Ben Johnson (9.8), who won the 220y (straight) in a blanket finish over Stanford senior Jack Weiershauser and Washington State sophomore Lee Orr…