This Day in Track & Field, August 27: Fanny Blankers-Koen wins 200 meters at European Champs (1950), written, edited and curated by Walt Murphy

This is Track & Field History for August 27, is written, compiled and curated by Walt Murphy. All rights reserved, RunBlogRun used with permission.

Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service  ([email protected])

This Day in Track & Field–August 27

1922-Taking advantage of a unique pacing setup, Paavo Nurmi, “The Flying Finn”, ran 8:28.6 to set a World Record for 3000-meters. Nurmi, the only other competitor in the race, ran against a 3x1000m relay team!

WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_3000_metres_world_record_progression

1936—Shortly after winning Olympic gold in Berlin, Forrest “Spec” Towns ran 13.7 in the 110-meter hurdles in Oslo to smash his own World Record of 14.1!

From the IAAF Progression of World Records:

“From stride one, his speed was so great that he virtually flew over the first hurdle. The rest of the race was as perfect as the beginning…and he was traveling so fast across the line that he had difficulty stopping around the bend”. Said Towns, “I got off to an unusually good start that day…when I broke the tape I turned around and looked back. The next guy was just then clearing the last hurdle”.

Towns, a junior at Georgia at the time, won the first of his two NCAA titles in June, followed by a win at the U.S. Championships. He would later become the head coach at his alma mater.

         Towns is a member of the National and USTFCCCA Coaches Halls of Fame.

www.ustfccca.org/ustfccca-hall-of-fame/ustfccca-hall-of-fame-special-inductees/spec-towns-ustfccca-special-inductee

https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/79137

1950–The Netherlands’ Fanny Blankers-Koen won the Women’s 200-meters in 24.0 on the final day of competition at the European Championships in Brussels. It was her 3^rd title, having previously won the 100-meters (11.7) and the 80-meter hurdles (11.1).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_European_Athletics_Championships

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_Blankers-Koen

1980–Not satisfied with sharing the World Record of 3:32.1 for 1500-meters with fellow Brit Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett took sole possession of the mark by running 3:31.36 in Koblenz, Germany. Getting excellent pacing from another Brit, Garry Cook (55.6, 1:53.0), Ovett needed every bit of his 53.7 final lap to even win the race over Germany’s Thomas Wessinghage (3:31.58) and Harald Hudak (3:31.96), who were both also under the previous record.

Wessighange had moved…