Even though the posters around Japan are calling this Tokyo 2020, most of us know this is 2021. Finally, Finally, Finally. The opening ceremonies came off okay and TV viewers hardly knew the stadium was empty. Many athletes and sometimes whole delegations were violating the masking rules but what the hey, they're the youth of the world. They've inherited what we've left behind. Hopefully they will make something better of it.
A week or so ago I wrote about Michael Woods, the Canadian and U. of Michigan four minute miler who was riding in the Tour de France. Yesterday, Woods finished 5th in a brutal 259 kilometer race through the countryside around Mt. Fuji. Richard Carapaz of Ecuador broke away from the field with 6 kilometers to go and won in dominating fashion. Like many road races, the following pack of riders were all within a second of each other fighting for the remaining two medals and Woods, though he was credited with the same time as the medalists, finished 5th.
Many of those guys had just completed the Tour de France less than a week ago. This year's Tour winner Tadej Pdoagar, only 21 years old from Slovenia finished third. It was his second Tour win.
Here are the first nine finishers:
1. Richard Carapaz, Ecuador 6 hrs 5 min 26 sec
2. Wout van Aert, Belgium 6 hrs 6 min 33 sec
3. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia 6 hrs 6 min 33 sec
4. Bauke Mollena, Netherlands 6 hrs 6 min 33 sec
5. Michael Woods, Canada 6 hrs 6 min 33 sec
6. Brandon McNutly, USA 6 hrs 6 min 33 sec
7. David Gaudu, France 6 hrs 6 min 33 sec
8. Rigoberto Uran, Columbia 6 hrs 6 min 33 sec
9. Adam Yates, Great Britain 6 hrs 6 min 33 sec
Sorry, readers, I know this is a track blog, but I just couldn't help myself.
Tonight in Portland, OR , Matt Centrowitz will be making an assault on the American one mile run record currently held by Alan Webb at 3:46.91. I'm sure those who need to know won't have to wait for us to post the result of that attempt.
So Who Was the First American Olympian?
Of a more historical context, yesterday I received a copy of an article in the Dayton Daily News by writer Tom Archdeacon. In it Tom writes about the Olympians with a Dayton area connection. We all know of Edwin Moses and Bob Schul, Tonya Buford-Bailey, LaVonna Martin Floreal, Joe Greene, Ed Cook and current 800 star Clayton Murphy. However in Archdeacon's list of approximately 60 Olympians with a Dayton connection, I saw two names that were not familiar. One of those names Francis 'Frank' Lane turned out to be the first American ever to participate in the modern Olympics. He lined up in the first heat of the 100 meters in 1896 and won it, thus claiming that honor. In the final he finished third.
Interestingly, Lane's cousin Albert C. Tyler also competed in Athens that year and won the silver medal in the pole vault. Both men had graduated from Franklin High School about 20 miles south of Dayton. Neither of them was born in Franklin, but they ended up going to high school there.
| Francis Adonijah "Frank"•Lane | |
| Used name | Frank•Lane |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 September 1874 in Chicago, Illinois (USA) |
| Died | 17 February 1927 in Chicago, Illinois (USA) |
| Measurements | 170 cm / 69 kg |
| Affiliations | Princeton Tigers, Princeton (USA) |
| NOC |  United States |
Biography
It’s safe to say that Frank Lane is unknown by today’s generations of sports fans, but he has an exalted place among United States Olympians. Lane was a member of the first U.S. team that competed at the 1896 Olympics in Athens. On 6 April 1896, he toed the line in the first heat of the 100 meter dash, winning the heat, and becoming in the process the first American to compete in the modern Olympic Games. Lane went to the finals of the 100 m but finished only third in his only Olympic event. Frank Lane competed in the first Olympics while in his junior year at Princeton. Of the four Princetonians on the first U.S. Olympic team, Lane was probably the one least well known athletically, as he never won any sort of major championship. After graduation in 1897 he went to medical school at Washington University in St. Louis. He practiced medicine as an ophthalmologist, becoming the head of that department at Rush Medical College and the Presbyterian and Illinois Central Hospitals in Chicago.
Personal Best: 100 – 12.2 (1896).
Further information from Wikipedia
Francis Adonijah Lane (September 23, 1874 – February 17, 1927) was an American sprinter who competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Greece.[1]
At the time of the 1896 Summer Olympics Lane was in his junior year at Princeton University and was one of the four from the University that made up the American team of 14 competitors, the 16 day journey to Athens didn't help Lane, and he arrived in the poorest condition after suffering from sea sickness.[2]
Lane competed in the 100 metres, and when he won his heat in 12.2 seconds, he became the first American to compete at the Olympic Games and the first ever person to win a 100 metre race.[3] In the final, he ran 12.6 seconds and tied for the third place with Alajos Szokolyi of Hungary, and both are considered as bronze medalists.[4][5] At those games the champion was honored with a silver medal, an olive branch and a diploma, and the second athlete with a bronze medal, laurel branch and a diploma. Nothing was given to the third-best man.
Lane's cousin Albert Tyler was also part of the 1896 United States Olympic team and won a silver medal in the pole vault.[6]
Lane was a member of the Franklin (Ohio) High School Class of 1891. In 1897 Lane graduated from Princeton University and went to the medical school at Washington University in St. Louis. He later became the head of ophthalmology departments at Rush Medical College and the Presbyterian and Illinois Central Hospitals in Chicago.[5] Lane is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Rockford, IL.
Albert C. Tyler
Albert Clinton•Tyler Used name Albert•Tyler Born 4 January 1872 in Glendale, Ohio (USA) Died 25 July 1945 in East Harpswell, Maine (USA) Affiliations Princeton Tigers, Princeton (USA) NOC United States
Albert Tyler lettered in track, football, and baseball at Princeton, but he was primarily known as a pole vaulter. His best finish in a major meet was the Olympic silver; otherwise, he finished third in the 1897 IC4A championships. He graduated from Princeton later in 1897 and became a school teacher and also a well-known football official. In 1945 he was teaching math in Philadelphia, but died of pneumonia while on vacation in Maine.
Personal Best: PV – 3.30 (1897).
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