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 17
1933—Italy’s Luigi Beccali, the 1932 Olympic champion, set a World Record of 3:49.0 for 1500 meters on a 500-meter track in Milan, 8 days after tying the existing record of 3:49.2.
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Beccali
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1500_metres_world_record_progression
Luigi Beccali, 1932 Olympic champion, 1934 European champion, photo courtesy of FIDAL.IT.
1938—Eino Pentti ran 30:54.6 for 10,000 meters in Helsinki to break Don Lash’s 2-year-old American Record of 31:06.9. Pentti, a 2-time Olympian at 10,000 meters (1932-DNF,1936-16th), was also a 3-time U.S. Champion at a distance (1934,1937,1938).
Eino Pentti, photo by Olympics.org
From his Wiki bio: “He also became a licensed physiotherapist and worked as a well-respected massage therapist in New York, mostly with the New York Athletic Club. His celebrity clientele includes actors like Marlon Brando, Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra, and Al Pacino.” Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eino_Pentti
AR Progression: https://tf-stats.com/american_outdoor_men.php#m_10000
1939 –Taisto Mäki, coached by fellow Finn Paavo Nurmi, ran 29:52.6 in Helsinki to become the first man to run the 10,000 meters in under 30 minutes. He set the previous World Record of 30:02.0 in 1938. He also got credit for a World Record of 6 miles. WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_10,000_metres_world_record_progression
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taisto_Mäki
1986–36-year-old Marina Stepanova (Soviet Union/Russia), competing as a guest at the Spartakiade for under-23-year-olds, ran 52.94 in Tashkent, breaking her own World Record of 53.32 in the 400-Meter Hurdles that she had set at the European Championships the previous month. That would remain the Record until Great Britain’s Sally Gunnell ran 52.74 in 1993. WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_400_metres_hurdles_world_record_progression
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marina_Stepanova
2020–It took 15 tries over the last month, but Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, who set two World Records during the indoor season, finally achieved his goal of bettering Sergey Bubka’s outdoor best of 20-1 ¾ (6.14), clearing 20-2 (6.15) at the Golden Gala meet in Rome. Duplantis, still only 20 years old, never touched the bar as he made it over on his 2nd attempt.
“I hit the mat, but I haven’t really fallen back to earth,” a delighted Duplantis said later. “I think I’m still up in the clouds right now. It’s just one of those feelings where you dream a little bit… It’s surreal, it’s surreal, it’s a super-crazy feeling when everything lines up like that, and you do an excellent performance.”
Mondo Duplantis, Renaud Lavliienie, Sam Kendricks, photo circa 2017, photo by Dagensnyter.se
“There was kind of this confusion between the indoor and outdoor record – it’s kind of merged. I already had the World Record, but I wanted to clear everything up and be the best outdoor.” (Mondo’s indoor best of 20-3 ¼ [6.18]) is considered THE World Record by World Athletics. However, many others, including T&F News, call Mondo’s mark from today the “World Outdoor Record”).
There was hope that Norway’s Karsten Warholm would challenge Kevin Young’s World Record of 46.78 in the 400-meter Hurdles, but “all” he could manage was a time of 47.07, the 9th-fastest in history (at the time).
In a battle of 19 (almost 20)-year-olds, Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo (7:26.64) kicked past Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen (7:27.05) in the homestretch to win a fast Men’s 3000 meters. Australia’s Stewart McSweyn finished 3rd in 7:28.02 as all three set National Records, with Kiplimo and Ingebrigtsen cracking the All-Time top-10 performers’ list (Outdoors). Kiplimo would turn 20 in November, and Ingebrigtsen on September 19.
Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah, the double sprint champion at the 2016 Olympics, won the Women’s 100-Meters in 10.85, the fastest time in the world in 2020.
All-Time Top-10 Performers
Men’s Outdoor 3000 (at the time)
7:20.67 Daniel Komen Kenya 1996
7:23.09 Hicham El Guerrouj Morocco 1999
7:25.02 Ali Saidi-Sief Algeria 2000
7:25.09 Haile Gebrselassie Ethiopia 1998
7:25.11 Noureddine Morceli Algeria 1994
7:25.79 Kenenisa Bekele Ethiopia 2007
7:26.62 Mohammed Mourhit Belgium 2000
7:26.64 Jacob Kiplimo Uganda 2020
7:27.05 Jakob Ingebrigtsen Norway 2020
7:27.18 Moses Kiptanui Kenya 1995
https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/diamond-league/news/duplantis-kiplimo-warholm-rome-2020
https://trackandfieldnews.com/rome-dl-mondo-finally-gets-the-outdoor-wr/
https://forum.trackandfieldnews.com/forum/current-events/1662013-rome-dl-2020
https://www.letsrun.com/events/2020-rome-golden-gala-pietro-mennea-naples-iaaf-diamond-league/
2023(New)–As reported yesterday, multiple records were set on the final day of the Diamond League Final/Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. World Records were set by Mondo Duplantis (PV/20-5 ¼ [6.23]) and Gudaf Tsegay (5k/14:00.21), and American Records by Athing Mu (800/1:54.97) and Grant Fisher (3000/7:25.47). See yesterday’s report for full details.