This Day in Track & Field-September 16, Jackson Scholz runs 10.6 (1920), Sandor Rozsnoyi breaks steeplechase WR (1956), Bethy Cuthbert sets WR for 200m (1956), by Walt Murphy News and Results Services

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–September 16   

1920–Jackson Scholz ran 10.6 in Stockholm to equal the World Record for 100 meters. Scholz, a National Hall of Fame member, had won Olympic gold in the 4×100 earlier in the year and went on to win gold in the 200 and silver in the 100 at the 1924 Olympics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Scholz

1956-Hungary’s Sándor Rozsnyói ran 8:35.6 in Budapest to regain the World Record in the Steeplechase. His first record of 8:49.8 was set in 1954, and four different runners would lower the standard six times over the next two years. Rozsnyói, who regularly smoked 5-6 cigarettes a day, would go on to win the silver medal two months later at the Melbourne Olympics.

WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3000_metres_steeplechase_world_record_progression

https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/71270

Obituary: https://www.worldathletics.org/news/iaaf-news/sandor-rozsnyoi-obituary

1956—Betty Cuthbert set a World Record of 23.2 for 200 meters at a pre-Olympic meet in Sydney. She would attain legend status in December by winning 3 gold medals (100,200,4×100) at the Melbourne Olympics. Australia’s “Golden Girl” would win a 4^th gold medal 8 years later by winning the 400 meters at the Tokyo Olympics.

WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_200_metres_world_record_progression

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Cuthbert

https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/64506

1968—It was a day of high drama as the Men’s U.S. Olympic Trials ended at Echo Summit, the unique facility high above South Lake Tahoe. There were only two events on the schedule, which had been created to emulate the one that would be in place at the Mexico City Olympics, and each epitomized the highs and lows often associated with the Trials. The site itself had been chosen to match the altitude of Mexico City.

Jim Ryun, who had battled mono during the summer, had qualified for the 800 final earlier in the week but gave up the chase early in the race and…