Beginning our 14th year and 1,200+ postings. A blog for athletes and fans of 20th century Track and Field culled from articles in sports journals of the day, original articles, book reviews, and commentaries from readers who lived and ran and coached in that era. We're equivalent to an Amer. Legion post of Track and Field but without cheap beer. You may contact us directly at irathermediate@gmail.com or write a comment below. George Brose, Courtenay, BC ed.
Interval Training in Hanoi Please clik on this link to see the May 23, 2015 posting
discussing Jon Fer a former All American who was imprisoned in Hanoi during the Viet Nam
War. Tonight and tomorrow morning (August 29, 2018) John Dickerson (CBS News) will be interviewing John Fer who will be one of John McCain's pallbearers. Fer and McCain shared a cell for two years at Hanoi Hilton. In our posting you will have to scroll down a bit to see the article referenced and then another article sent by Richard Mach describing running against the AF Academy in Colorado Springs when Richard was at Western Michigan. I also had the pleasure of seen Fer run when the AFA ran a dual or triangular meet on the U. of Oklahoma campus. Unfortunatley my photos of that event are long gone. I believe the may also be a clip of John running at Eugene, Oregon when the NCAA track meet was there in the early sixties. I will find that at post here at a later date.
Youth is having its day. Mondo Duplantis in the polevault is setting the world on its ear with his elite jumping. Now the Ingebrigtsen family out of Norway is destroying the age group records in miling. Three boys in this family, two of whom went 1-2 in the 5000 meters at the European Championships this summer. The Kenyans and Ethiopians have also supplied some very young fellows to the world scene. Sydney McLaughlin has been showing the way in the 400IH on the world scene as well. There is another youngster in Sant Rosa, CA who is currently lighting up the miling records for the very young age groups. Daniel Skandera seems well on his way, but he is going to have to make some incredible jumps once here reaches the tender age of 16. Not many can make the leap going from a very young age and staying with the sport until they mature enough to compete at the international level. So many other factors can come into play with a ten year old who seems to be well ahead of the curve. We'll have to wait and see.
Ten year old Daniel Skandera continues to take his miling times to new levels. July 24th at the 2018 Summer Track Series at Cardinal Newman Daniel again lowered his world record down to 4:46.6. Thats equal to a 4:45.18 for those more familiar with the 1600m. He had already become the youngest runner to ever break the five minute barrier and his newest mark was even faster than any 11 year old has ever done to claim that record as well. Older brother Abraham didn’t compete in the race possiblly because he’s getting ready to start School at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
1 MILE
5 years 6:33.3 Daniel Skandera USA 2 Nov 07 Santa Rosa CA 23 Jul 13
6 years 5:44.5 Daniel Skandera USA 2 Nov 07 Santa Rosa CA 5 Aug 14
7 years 5:20.3 Daniel Skandera USA 2 Nov 07 Santa Rosa CA 9 Jun 15
8 years 5:12.1 Daniel Skandera USA 2 Nov 07 Santa Rosa CA 9 Aug 16
9 years 5:02.5 Daniel Skandera USA 2 Nov 07 Santa Rosa CA 27 Jun 17
10 years 4:46.6 Daniel Skandera USA 2 Nov 07 Santa Rosa CA 24 Jul 18
11 years 4:46.6 Daniel Skandera USA 2 Nov 07 Santa Rosa CA 24 Jul 18
12 years 4:36.80 Jeremy Kain USA 18 Aug 04 Los Gatos CA 13 Jul 17
13 years 4:29.0 Andrew Barnett GBR 22 Jun 55 London 1 Jun 69
14 years 4:19.73 Ryan Silva USA 27 Jun 95 Portland OR 12 Jun 10
15 years 4:08.8 Jim Arriola USA 10 Jun 58 Long Beach CA 1 Jun 74
16 years 3:56.29 Jakob Ingebrigtsen NOR 19 Sep 00 Oslo 15 Jun 17
17 years 3:52.28 Jakob Ingebrigtsen NOR 19 Sep 00 Eugene OR 26 May 18
18 years 3:52.28 Jakob Ingebrigtsen NOR 19 Sep 00 Eugene OR 26 May 18
19 years 3:51.3 Jim Ryun USA 29 Apr 47 Berkeley CA 17 Jul 66
The following article appeared in The Guardian (UK) recently
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (right) celebrates with his older brother Henrik, who finishes second in the men’s 5,000m final. Photograph: Felipe Trueba/EPA
The 17-year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen made history for the second night in a row to claim a European 5000m gold – less than 24 hours after he had become the youngest athlete to ever win the 1500m title.
Once again the extraordinary Norwegian led from the front before powering away from his older brother Henrik to win in a European under-20 record of 13:17.06.
“It’s a little crazy to get this medal,” he admitted, having become the first man to ever win both titles in the same event. “I’m 17 years old, and already have two European titles at senior level. It is huge.” Such was Jakob’s confidence, he even tried to high-five his brother during the race. As the 27-year-old Henrik joked afterwards: “I was there when he was born, but I’m not sure he is 17 though because he is crazy good.”
The Frenchman Morhad Amdouni, who took bronze, was even more effusive: “Jakob is unbeatable at the moment. He was so much stronger than me.”
With such talent in the family – a third brother, Filip, pulled out of the final through injury – it’s perhaps surprising that the Ingebrigtsen parents have no background in athletics. Instead they were fisherman and famers, who got their sons involved in athletics by chance.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen laps up the crowd’s applause as he comes down the home straight. Photograph: Andy Astfalck/Getty Images
Something is clearly working, for Filip and Henrik were already European champions before Jakob turned up. The youngest Ingebrigsten already runs 85 miles a week and last year he became the youngest person to run the mile in under four minutes, aged 16. But with every performance he gives the impression that his talent is endless.
“Winning a second title in two days is the result of having done this my whole life,” explained Jakob. “Unfortunately, my other brother couldn’t be here today because he broke a rib, and this is completely out of his control. Believe me, we started preparing for the 5k final, as soon as we crossed the line on the 1500m last night.”
And the warning for the rest of the world is that there is another member of the clan too. Explained Henrik: “Right now, Jakob has two medals, and Filip and I have one each. We’re definitely coming back to improve the stats in our family. There are no limits for us, and we have another brother who is turning five years old, and soon can join the Ingebrigtsen team.”
Here is a note received recently from Gary Corbitt about the passing of Pete Riegel, not a household name but one whose gifts may have benefitted you over the years. Pete from Columbus, OH was one of the men who along with Ted Corbitt were responsible for raising the standards of course measurement and certification. He was also a very talented man in other fields. Here is Gary's note and Pete's obituary from the Columbus Post Dispatch.
Ted Corbitt’s greatest contribution to the sport of long distance running was his leadership in developing the process to accurately measure road race courses across the United States. Pete Riegel extended the work of first generation course certifiers and record keeper; John Jewell, John Sterner, Aldo Scandurra, Ron Daws,Norman Brand, Tom Osler, Alan Jones, David Senechalle, Robert Letson, Ken & Jennifer Young and others. Pete followed these pioneers and mentored the next two generation of course certifiers with both his founding of Course Measurement News, and willingness to help others. To quote Jim Gerweck “If Ted Corbit was the George Washington of course measurement then Pete Riegel was certainly its Jefferson.”
In my quest to preserve the history of long distance running a person like Pete was a tremendous blessing. At a point when I was beginning to organize my father’s collection, Pete provided me with a CD that had all the major documents related to course measurement history already electronically stored. This showed his profound respect towards properly preserving running history. For this I say thank you Pete.
I also thank the many course certifiers who today continue to build on the foundation set by the pioneers of the 1960s and early 1970s.
Gary Corbitt
Curator: Ted Corbitt Archives
Historian: National Black Marathoners Association (NBMA)
Riegel, Peter - Obiturary
Peter "Pete" Riegel, 83, beloved husband to Joan for over 59 years, dad to Stuart (Bonnie) and Thomas (Tina) was known for his complete support and love for family. A mechanical engineer, Pete retired from Battelle Memorial Institute's Columbus Laboratory in 1995 after a 25-year career in research. His professional achievements include his work on the development of deep-sea diving equipment for America's aquanauts at Sea Lab, as well as improvements to safety equipment for air flow in coal mines. A widely recognized patent includes the non-drip nozzle on gas station hoses that prevents gasoline spillage. Pete was a dedicated long-distance runner, finishing hundreds of marathon and ultra-marathon races. He combined his love of running and analytical background to help perfect the current international system for measuring road race courses. Known world wide for his contributions to the sport of distance running, he headed the US team to design and measure the marathon courses for the 1984 and 1996 U.S. Olympics, as well as the U.S. Men's Olympic Marathon Trials race held in Columbus in 1992. Pete brought a scientific approach to measurement and certification. Pete was friend, mentor and teacher to hundreds of new measurers through scores of international measurement seminars. Pete also founded and edited Measurement News, the newsletter of the Road Running Technical Council of USA Track & Field, and was a founding member of the Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Says his wife, "Our lives with you were truly an adventure!" Funeral services will be private. Arrangements by SCHOEDINGER NORTHWEST CHAPEL. Please share memories of Pete with his family at www.schoedinger.com.
Published in The Columbus Dispatch on June 3, 2018
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