April 29 Birthdays

1947

James Ronald "Jim" Ryun, United States, middle-distance runner. Historians looking for the roots of the American "running boom" of the 1970s and 1980s would do well to look at the inspirational effect of the athletic career of Jim Ryun. Ryun was the first American schoolboy to break 4:00 in the one-mile run, clocking 3:59.0 his junior year (1964) and 3:55.3 as a senior. He also ran 3:58.3 at the 1965 Kansas High School State Track & Field Championships, still the fastest time ever run in purely high school competition. Ryun later set world records in the mile of 3:51.3 (1966) and 3:51.1 (1967), in the half-mile of 1:44.9 (1966), in the 1,500m of 3:33.1 (1967), in the indoor half-mile of 1:48.3 (1967), and in the indoor mile of 3:56.4 (1971). Ryun was a three-time Olympian (1964, 1968, and 1972), winning the silver medal in the 1968 (Mexico City) Olympic 1,500m (3:37.8). After the 1972 (Munich) olympics, Ryun left amateur athletics and spent two years running on the openly professional International Track Association circuit. Later in life, Ryun moved into politics, serving as United States Representative of Kansas' second congressional district.

February 18 Birthdays

1947
Carlos Lopes, Portuguese long-distance runner. When Carlos Lopes won the IAAF world cross country title in 1976, he was only just getting started. Later that same year he won the silver medal at the Montreal Olympic 10,000m run, outkicked on the last lap by the great Lasse Virén. In 1984 he won a second IAAF world cross country championship, then struck gold in the Los Angeles Olympic marathon. The following year, 1985, he captured a third world cross country title at the IAAF championships in Lisbon. Only weeks later in Rotterdam he set a world best mark of 2:07:12 in the marathon, becoming the first man to run under 2:08:00.

December 23 Birthdays

1947
William Henry Rodgers, United States, long-distance runner. In 1975 Bill Rodgers first served notice on the international stage by winning the bronze medal at the IAAF World Cross-Country Championships. Less than a month later he won the Boston Marathon in an American-record time of 2:09:55. It would be the first of four Boston titles for Rodgers, who also won in 1978, 1979, and 1980, setting another American record (2:09:27) in the 1979 race. Rodgers also won the Fukuoka marathon in 1977 (2:10:55), during the era that race was considered the unofficial world championship for the marathon. He was on the United States marathon team in the 1976 (Montreal) Olympic Games and won four straight New York City Marathons from 1976 to 1979. His running memoir, Marathoning, is certainly worth a read.

October 8 Birthdays

1939
Elvīra Ozoliņa, Soviet Union, javelin thrower. Competing for the Soviet Union, Latvian Elvīra Ozoliņa won a gold medal in the women's javelin throw at the 1960 (Rome) Olympic Games.

1947
Emiel Puttemans, Belgium, distance runner. Puttemans set a world record of 8:17.8 in the two mile in 1971, which he followed up with world records of 7:37.6 for 3,000m and 13:13.0 in 1972. At the 1972 (Munich) Olympic Games he finished second in the men's 10,000m behind the great Lasse Virén, running 27:39.58. He also place fifth in the 5,000m (13:30.8) at Munich.

1948
Benjamin Cheever, United States, writer. Benjamin Hale Cheever is a novelist who has written a book about running--Strides: Running Through History With an Unlikely Athlete--which I hope to finish reading one day.

1974
Koji Murofushi, Japan, hammer thrower. After many regional successes, Koji Alexander Murofushi won a silver medal in the men's hammer throw at the 2001 (Edmonton) World Championships with a toss of 82.92m. He threw 80.12 to win bronze at the 2003 (Paris) World Championships, and then won gold with a throw of 82.91m at the 2004 (Athens) Olympic Games. Returning to Olympic competition in 2008 (Beijing), he threw 80.71m for the bronze medal.

1975
Tatiana Grigorieva, Australia, pole vaulter. Born in Russia, Tatiana Grigorieva emigrated to Australia in 1997, where she took up pole vaulting. She quickly gained international prominence, winning a bronze medal in the women's pole vault at the 1999 (Seville) World Championships with a vault of 4.45m. Back in her own country, she vaulted 4.55m to win a silver medal at the 2000 (Sydney) Olympic Games. At the 2002 (Manchester) Commonwealth Games she won a gold medal in the pole vault, and won a silver medal in an unsuccessful bid to defend her title at the 2006 (Melbourne) Commonwealth Games.

1977
Reese Hoffa, United States, shot put. Reese Hoffa won the men's shot put at the 2007 (Osaka) World Championships with a mark of 72' 3-3/4" (22.04m).

September 16 Birthdays

1940
Jutta Heine, Germany, sprinter. Competing for the German Unified Team, six-foot-tall Heine won the silver medal in the women's 200m at the 1960 (Rome) Olympic Games, running 24.4. She also ran the 200m for Germany in the 1964 (Tokyo) Olympic Games, but failed to make the final.

1947
Ilona Gusenbauer, Austria, high jump. In 1971 Ilona Gusenbauer set the world record in the women's high jump, clearing 1.92m. Exactly one year later the record was equaled at the 1972 (Munich) Olympic Games by Ulrike Meyfarth, who won the gold medal. Gusenbauer won the bronze that day, jumping 1.85m.

1950
Raisa Katyukova-Smekhnova, Soviet Union, long-distance runner. Raisa Katyukova-Smekhnova won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 1983 (Helsinki) World Championships, running 2:31:13.

1957
Keith Connor, Great Britain, triple jumper. Connor had already won the triple jump gold medal at the 1978 (Edmonton) Commonwealth Games when he enrolled at the University of Texas at El Paso. In 1980 he competed for Britain at the (Moscow) Olympic Games, placing fourth. After that he transferred to Southern Methodist University, where he won three straight NCAA triple jump titles (1981, 1982, 1983). During his tenure at SMU he also won a second gold medal in the triple jump at the 1982 (Brisbane) Commonwealth Games. He ended his competitive career by winning the bronze medal in the triple jump at the 1984 (Los Angeles) Olympic Games.

1966
Kevin Young, United States, hurdler. Having already represented the United States in the 400m hurdles at the 1986 Goodwill Games, Young won the NCAA title in the 400m hurdles in 1987 and 1988. At the 1992 (Barcelona) Olympic Games he won the gold medal in the 400m hurdles with a world-record time of 46.78. He was also the gold medalist in the 400m hurdles at the 1993 (Stuttgart) World Championships.

1967
Mike Smith, Canada, decathlon. Michael C. Smith was the silver medalist in the decathlon at the 1991 (Tokyo)World Championships. He was also the Commonwealth Games champion in the decathlon in 1990 (Auckland) and 1994 (Victoria) and represented Canada in the event at the 1992 (Barcelona) Olympic Games.

1971
Karsten Kobs, Germany, hammer thrower. Kobs was the gold medalist in the hammer throw at the 1999 (Seville) World Championships, where he threw 80.24m.

1980
Jadel Gregório, Brazil, triple jumper. Jadel Abdul Ghani Gregório was the world leader in the triple jump in 2007, the year that he won the silver medal in the (Osaka) World Championships triple jump. He also represented Brazil in the 2008 (Beijing) Olympic Games, where he placed sixth with a mark of 17.20m.

1984
Maryam Yusuf Jamal, Bahrain, middle-distance runner. Born in Ethiopia, competing for Bahrain, and training in Switzerland, Maryam Yusuf Jamal won the women's 1,500m at the 2007 (Tokyo) and 2009 (Berlin) World Championships.

September 8 Birthdays

1909
Józef Noji, Poland, distance runner. A prominent 5,000m, 10,000m, and cross-country runner in his native country, Noji represented Poland in the 1936 Olympics, finishing fifth in the 5,000m and 14th in the 10,000m. Arrested during the World War II German occupation of Poland, Noji was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp on 15 February 1943.

1947
Amos Biwott, Kenya, middle-distance runner. Biwott won the men's 3,000m steeplechase at the 1968 (Mexico City) Olympic Games, running 8:51.02 ahead of countryman Benjamin Kogo. Biwott also won a bronze medal in the 3,000m steeplechase (8:30.08) at the 1970 (Edinburgh) Commonwealth Games, finished sixth in the event at the 1972 (Munich) Olympic games, and eighth in the event at the 1974 (Christchurch) Commonwealth Games.

1967
Brian Wellman, Bermuda, triple jumper. Wellman won the silver medal in the men's triple jump at the 1995 (Gothenburg) World Championships, leaping 17.62m. He was also a two-time (1992, 1996) Olympian for Bermuda in the triple jump.

1972
Ioamnet Quintero Alvarez, Cuba, high jumper. Alvarez won a silver medal in the women's high jump at the 1992 (Barcelona) Olympic Games, jumping 1.97m. The following year she won the high jump at the 1993 (Stuttgart) World Championships with a mark of 1.99m.

1980
Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, South Africa, middle-distance runner. Mbulaeni Tongai Mulaudzi has been one of the top men's 800m runners in the world, winning a gold medal in the event at the 2002 (Manchester) Commonwealth Games, a bronze medal at the 2003 (Paris) World Championships, a silver medal at the 2004 (Athens) Olympic Games, and the gold medal at the 2009 (Berlin) World Championships.