Athletics in History

Events 1 - 100 of 129

• 1653-12-01 An athlete from Croydon is reported to have run 20 miles from St Albans to London in less than 90 minutes
• 1839-09-11 1st Canadian track and field meet held at Caer Howell Grounds
• 1868-11-11 1st American amateur track & field meet (NYC)

• 1879-09-19 Thomas Ray becomes youngest to break a world track & field record pole-vaulting 11' 2½" at age 17 years & 198 days
• 1880-04-24 Amateur Athletic Association, governing body for men's athletics in England & Wales, is founded in Oxford, England
• 1888-05-12 Crouching start 1st used in track and field by Charles Sherrill of Yale
• 1896-04-06 First modern Summer Olympic Games open in Athens, Greece; American athlete James Connolly becomes first modern Olympic champion when he wins triple jump (then 2 hops and a jump); later 3rd in long jump, 2nd in high jump
• 1896-04-07 American athlete Robert Garrett wins the throwing double at the Athens Olympics by taking out the shot putt (11.22m); wins the discus the previous day

• 1896-04-09 Australian athlete Edwin Flack claims the middle distance double at the Athens Olympics winning the 800m final in 2:11.0; his 2nd victory of the Games after success in the 1500m
• 1896-04-10 American athlete Thomas Burke claims the sprint double at the Athens Olympics winning the 100m final in 12.0s; his 2nd victory of the Games after success in the 400m
• 1896-04-15 1st modern Summer Olympic Games close in Athens, Greece; USA wins gold medal count, 11; Greece wins total medal count, 46; IOC has retroactively assigned gold, silver & bronze medals to 3 best placed athletes in each event
• 1900-07-19 Luxembourg born Michel Théato representing France wins Paris Olympics marathon in 2:59:45 ahead of another French athlete Émile Champion

• 1912-07-15 American athlete Jim Thorpe is placed in top 4 in all 10 events, for an Olympic record 8,413 points to win the Decathlon gold medal at the Stockholm Olympics, medal stripped 1913 (played pro baseball), reinstated 1982
• 1913-02-01 American all-round athlete Jim Thorpe signs to play baseball with the NY Giants; unlike his other sporting endeavours the Olympic-medal winner's career in MLB was uninspiring (1913-19)
• 1920-04-26 Husband and wife team Ludowika & Walter Jakobsson representing Finland, win the pairs skating gold medal at the Antwerp Olympics; Ludowika is the only German-born athlete at the Games
• 1921-10-31 Federation Sportive Feminine International forms (1st woman track & field association)
• 1922-08-20 1st Women's World Games (first track & field competition for women) is conducted over 1-day at the Pershing Stadium in Paris

• 1924-09-06 Charles Paddock captures 100 & 200 yd AAU national senior outdoor track & field championships
• 1926-08-27 2nd Women's World Games (track & field competition for women) is conducted over 3-days at the Slottsskogsvallen Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden
• 1928-02-19 Gillis Grafström of Sweden wins his 3rd consecutive Olympic men’s figure skating gold medal at St. Moritz; one of only 2 athletes to win gold at both Winter & Summer Games (won figure skating Antwerp 1920)
• 1928-07-31 Halina Konopacka of Poland hurls discus world record 39.62m to win first gold medal in women's Olympic athletics at the Amsterdam Games; American Lillian Copeland and Ruth Sveberg of Sweden take minor medals
• 1930-05-20 University of California dedicates $1,500 to research on prevention & cure of athlete's foot
• 1930-09-06 3rd Women's World Games (track & field competition for women) is conducted over 3-days at the Letná Stadium in Prague, Czechoslovakia

• 1931-04-28 Program for woman athletes approved for 1932 Olympics track & field
• 1934-08-09 4th Women's World Games (track & field competition for women) is conducted over 3-days at the White City Stadium in London, England

• 1936-08-04 American athlete Jesse Owens wins his 2nd gold medal at the Berlin Olympics; beats German Luz Long in the long jump final with an Olympic record
• 1936-08-04 American Helen Stephens runs 11.5 to win the 100m at the Berlin Olympics, beating controversial intersex athlete Stanisława Walasiewicz of Poland
• 1936-08-05 American athlete Jesse Owens wins 200m in world record time (20.7s), his 3rd gold medal of the Berlin Olympics
• 1936-08-05 Italian athlete Ondina Valla runs a world record 11.6 in the semi finals of the 80m hurdles at the Berlin Olympics; wins final the next day but can't match the time
• 1936-08-06 American athlete Forrest Towns runs world record 14.1 in 110m hurdles semi finals at the Berlin Olympics; later can't match the time but wins the gold medal in the final
• 1936-08-06 Japanese athletes quinella the triple jump at the Berlin Olympics; Naoto Tajima wins gold and Masao Harada silver
• 1940-04-13 American athlete Cornelius "Dutch" Warmerdam, using a bamboo pole, becomes 1st man to pole vault 15 ft, at University of California, Berkeley
• 1941-05-24 German athlete Rudolf Harbig runs world record 1,000m in 2:21.5 at Dresden, Germany
• 1946-04-15 50th Boston Marathon won by Stylianos Kyriakides of Greece in 2:29:27; first and only Cypriot athlete to win the event
• 1948-02-04 After winning the men’s downhill, French alpine skier Henri Oreiller takes the combined gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; becomes most successful athlete at these Games with a slalom bronze
• 1948-08-02 Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands wins the 100m in 11.9 at the London Olympics; 1st of unprecedented 3 individual track & field gold medals
• 1948-08-04 Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands wins the 80m hurdles in Olympic record 11.2 at the London Olympics; 2nd of unprecedented 3 individual track & field gold medals
• 1948-08-04 The women's shot put introduced to track & field program at the London Olympics; inaugural gold medallist Micheline Ostermeyer of France who also won the women's discus gold
• 1948-08-06 Dutch super athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen wins London Olympics 200m in 24.4s to become the first women to claim 3 individual track & field gold at a Games, having already won the 100m and 80m hurdles
• 1948-08-07 Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands wins her 4th track & field gold medal of the London Olympics as part of the Dutch 4 x 100m relay team in 47.5
• 1953-01-19 American track and field olympian Jesse Owens named Illinois Athletic Commission secretary

• 1955-10-18 "Track & Field" magazine names Jesse Owens all-time track athlete
• 1956-11-29 Chris Brasher becomes first Briton to win an Olympic gold medal in track and field since 1936; claims 3,000m steeplechase in 8:41.2 at the Melbourne Games; initially disqualified but reversed on appeal
• 1956-12-08 XVI Summer Olympic Games close in Melbourne, Australia; start of an Olympic tradition - amidst international tensions, athletes mingle together, parade into and around MCG arena for final appearance to close the Games
• 1957-06-05 NY narcotics investigator, Dr Herbert Berger, urges AMA to investigate use of stimulating drugs by athletes
• 1958-08-06 American athlete Glenn Davis breaks his own world record by 0.3 (49.2) in 400m hurdles in Budapest, Hungary

• 1964-01-25 Nike athletics company founded in Oregon as Blue Ribbon Sports by University of Oregon track athlete Phil Knight and his coach, Bill Bowerman [1]

• 1964-10-21 New Zealand athlete Peter Snell wins the 1,500m at the Tokyo Olympics; his second gold medal of the Games (800m); 3rd career gold
• 1965-06-08 MLB Draft: Kansas City Athletics A's select Arizona State University outfielder Rick Monday #1; inaugural MLB Draft

• 1967-08-21 MLB Kansas City Athlteics utility player Ken Harrelson becomes baseball's first free agent when he is abruptly released by the team, after he reputedly refers to team owner Charlie Finley "a menace to baseball"
• 1968-10-12 Enriqueta Basilio, Mexican track and field athlete becomes 1st woman to light Olympic flame at 19th Summer Olympics, in Mexico City, Mexico
• 1968-10-15 British athlete David Hemery sets a world record 48.12s to beat Gerhard Hennige of West Germany and take the gold medal in the men's 400m hurdles at the Mexico City Olympics
• 1968-10-17 Soviet athlete Viktor Saneev sets world record 17.39m to win the triple jump at the Mexico City Olympics; world record improved 5 times by 3 different athletes during competition
• 1968-10-18 A rare Australian 1-2 in track & field; Maureen Caird in Olympic record 10.39s beats teammate Pam Kilborn by 0.07s to win the 80m hurdles at the Mexico City Games
• 1968-10-18 American athletes sweep the medals in the men's 400m at the Mexico City Olympics; Lee Evans wins gold in world record 43.86s ahead of Larry James and Ron Freeman

• 1972-09-04 16-year-old Ulrike Meyfarth of West Germany with a world record equalling 1.92m, wins the women's high jump gold medal at the Munich Olympics; youngest winner of individual athletics event in Olympic history

• 1972-09-05 11 Israeli athletes taken hostage and later killed by Palestinian Black September group at the Munich Olympics
• 1972-09-07 American athletes Vincent Matthews & Wayne Collett finish 1-2 in 400m at the Munich Olympics; acted casually on the medal stand, did not face the flag during anthem; banned from the Olympics for life
• 1973-05-27 American athlete Rick Wohlhuter runs world record 880 yards in 1:44.6
• 1973-10-20 US President Nixon proclaims Jim Thorpe to have been the greatest athlete of the 1st half of the 20th century
• 1975-07-18 Jury can't decide on trial of Dave Forbes of Boston Bruins, the 1st athlete indicted for excessive violence during play; criminal charges are not pursued, and a $1M settlement is reached with injured Minnesota North Star Henry Boucha
• 1982-07-07 English athlete David Moorcroft beats Kenyan Henry Rono's 5000m world record by nearly 5 seconds, 13:00.41 in Oslo, Norway
• 1982-12-02 American track and field record holder Steve Scott sets record for fastest round of golf played on a regulation course; posts a 95, completing 18 holes in 29:33.05s at Miller Golf Club in Anaheim, California; he used only two clubs, and ran between holes

• 1984-08-06 American athlete Carl Lewis wins long jump (8.54m), his second of 4 gold medals at Los Angeles Olympics

• 1986-08-02 American athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee beats her own world heptathlon record by 13 points (7,161) in Houston

• 1987-08-30 Stefka Kostadinova of Bulgaria sets high jump woman's record 2.09m (6'10½"), one of the most long-standing records in athletics
• 1988-09-19 US women's all-round gymnastics team is controversially penalised 0.5 after compulsory round at the Seoul Olympics; substitute an alternate athlete on uneven bars medal podium; Americans finish 4th just 0.3 behind East Germany
• 1988-09-24 East German cyclist Christa Luding-Rothenburger wins silver medal in the women's track sprint at the Seoul Olympics; first athlete to win medals at Summer & Winter Games in same year; won speed skating gold in Calgary
• 1988-09-28 American athletes go 1-2-3 in the 400m at the Seoul Olympics with Steve Lewis taking the gold medal in 43.87 ahead of teammates Butch Reynolds & Danny Everett
• 1988-09-29 American athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee wins her second gold medal of the Seoul Olympics by taking the long jump with an Olympic record leap of 7.40m; previously won the heptathlon
• 1988-09-29 East German athlete Christian Schenk beats countryman Torsten Voss by 89 points to win the decathlon gold medal at the Seoul Olympics; Canadian Dave Steen is another 71 points back in third place

• 1991-09-01 Japanese runner Hiromi Taniguchi wins the marathon in 2:14:57 at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan
• 1992-08-01 American sprinter Gail Devers wins an incredibly close blanket finish in the women's 100m at the Barcelona Olympics, with 5 athletes within 0.06 seconds of Devers (10.82)
• 1992-08-01 British athlete Linford Christie (32) becomes the oldest man to win an Olympic 100m gold medal edging Frankie Fredericks in Barcelona
• 1992-08-02 American Jacki Joyner-Kersee becomes first athlete to win consecutive gold medals in the gruelling heptathlon with a 199 point win over Irina Belova (Soviet Union) at the Barcelona Olympics
• 1992-08-04 In its debut at the Barcelona Olympics the badminton singles gold medals are both won by Indonesian athletes, whilst both men's & women's doubles go to South Korea
• 1992-08-04 The diving competition at the Barcelona Olympics concludes with Chinese athletes dominant, winning 3 of 4 gold medals contested - American Mark Lenzi wins 3m springbaord
• 1995-04-08 148th Grand National: Irish rider Jason Titley wins aboard 40/1 outsider Royal Athlete; trainer Jenny Pitman's second GN victory
• 1996-08-01 American athlete Michael Johnson wins 200m at the Atlanta Olympics in a world record 19.32 seconds to become the first man to complete the 200m-400m double
• 1996-08-01 French sprinter Marie-José Pérec wins the 200m final at the Atlanta Olympics to become only the 2nd athlete to win the 200-400m Olympic double (Valerie Brisco-Hooks 1984)
• 2001-08-03 Olympic champion Gezahegne Abera of Ethiopia becomes first athlete to achieve Olympics-World Championships marathon double; runs 2:12:42 to beat Kenya's Simon Biwott by just 0.1s in Edmonton World Championships

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Birthdays 1 - 100 of 468

• 1843-02-12 John Graham Chambers, English athlete who wrote the Queensberry rules for boxing (d. 1883)
• 1862-08-16 Amos Alonzo Stagg, American athlete and American football pioneer, born in West Orange, New Jersey (d. 1965)
• 1865-03-10 Pim Mulier, Dutch sports organizer, founded the Dutch Football and Athletics Association, Koninklijke HFC, established hockey in the Netherlands and President of the International Skating Union (1892-94), born in Witmarsum, Netherlands (d. 1954)
• 1868-10-28 James Connolly, American athlete and author, 1st Modern Olympic Champion in 1896, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1957)
• 1870-07-29 George Dixon, Canadian boxer (World Bantamweight title, 1892; World Featherweight champion, 1891-97 & 1898-1901; 1st Black athlete to win a World C'ship in any sport), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia (d. 1908)
• 1870-09-07 Thomas Curtis, American athlete (Olympic 1896 Gold), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1944)

• 1872-10-24 Peter O'Connor, Irish athlete (1st recognised world long jump record 1901), born in Millom, England (d. 1957)
• 1873-01-10 George Orton, Canadian athlete, born in Strathroy-Caradoc, Canada (d. 1958)
• 1873-02-04 Étienne Desmarteau, Canadian athlete (d. 1905)
• 1873-10-14 Ray Ewry, American track and field athlete (8 Olympic golds 1900, 04, 08), born in Lafayette, Indiana (d. 1937)

• 1874-11-15 Dimitrios Golemis, Greek athlete (d. 1941)
• 1875-01-15 Tom Burke, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 400m 1896), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1929)
• 1876-01-11 Thomas Hicks, English athlete (Olympic gold marathon 1904), born in Birmingham, England (d. 1952)
• 1876-03-21 Walter Tewksbury, American track and field athlete (Olympics, 1920 - 2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze), and dentist, born in Ashley, Pennsylvania (d. 1968) [1]
• 1876-09-11 Stan Rowley, Australian athlete (Olympic gold 5,000m team, bronze 60m, 100m, 200m 1900), born in Young, Australia (d. 1924)
• 1876-12-12 Alvin Kraenzlein, American track and field athlete (4 Olympic gold 1900), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1928)
• 1878-03-22 Michel Théato, Luxembourgian athlete (Olympic gold representing France, marathon 1900), born in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg (d. 1923)
• 1878-08-31 Frank Jarvis, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1900), born in California, Pennsylvania (d. 1933)
• 1878-10-16 Maxie Long, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1900), born in Waverley, Massachusetts (d. 1959)
• 1879-06-01 Max Emmerich, American athlete and gymnast (Olympic gold, triathlon 1904), born in Indianapolis, Indiana (d. 1956)
• 1879-12-30 Harry Barrett, British athlete (WR marathon 2:42:31 1909), born in London, England (d. 1927)
• 1880-07-24 Kristian Hellström, Swedish athlete (Olympic bronze 1,500m 1906) and executive (first Secretary-General International Association of Athletics Federations 1913-14), born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 1946)
• 1881-09-08 Harry Hillman, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 200/400m hurdles 1904; silver 400m hurdles 1908), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1945)
• 1881-10-28 Bruno Söderström, Swedish athlete (Olympic silver pole vault & bronze javelin 1906; bronze pole vault 1908; popularized bowling in Sweden), born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 1969)
• 1882-03-16 Jim Lightbody, American athlete (Olympic gold 800m, 1500m, 2590m Steeplechase 1904), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1953)
• 1882-05-30 Wyndham Halswelle, British athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1908), born in London, England (d. 1915)
• 1883-09-05 Mel Sheppard, American athlete (Olympic gold 800m, 1,500m, medley relay 1908; 4x400 metre relay 1912), born in Deptford Township, New Jersey (d. 1942)
• 1883-10-26 Paul Pilgrim, American athlete (Olympic gold 1904, 06), born in New York City (d. 1958)
• 1884-04-12 Tenby Davies, Welsh athlete (world half-mile professional champion 1909), born in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales (d. 1932)
• 1884-06-22 James Rector, American athlete (d. 1949)
• 1885-03-23 Platt Adams, American field athlete (Olympic gold standing high jump 1912), born in Belleville, New Jersey (d. 1961)
• 1885-10-16 Dorando Pietri, Italian athlete (Olympic-famous DQ gold marathon 1908), born in Correggio, Italy (d. 1942)
• 1886-07-15 Harry Green, English athlete (WR marathon 2:38:16.2 1913), born in Islington, Greater London, England (d. 1934)

• 1887-06-04 Tom Longboat, Canadian athlete (Boston Marathon 1907 record time 2:24:24), born in Six Nations Reserve Brantford, Ontario (d. 1949)
• 1888-04-12 Dan Ahearn, Irish-American athlete (men's triple jump WR 15.52m 1911-24), born in Athea, Ireland (d. 1942)
• 1888-10-30 Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, Greek athlete (Olympic gold standing long jump, bronze high jump 1912, 2 silver 1908), born in Pylos, Greece (d. 1913)
• 1889-03-16 Reggie Walker, South African athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1908), born in Durban, South Africa (d. 1951)
• 1889-03-24 Albert Hill, British athlete (d. 1969)
• 1889-06-21 Ralph Craig, American athlete (Olympic gold 100/200m 1912), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1972)
• 1889-09-20 Charles Reidpath, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 4×400m relay 1912), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 1975)
• 1891-01-23 Jüri Lossmann, Estonian athlete (Olympic silver marathon 1920), born in Kabala, Estonia (d. 1984)
• 1892-06-23 Abel Kiviat, American athlete (Olympic gold 3000m team race, silver 1500m 1912), born in New York City (d. 1991)
• 1892-11-14 Ted Meredith, American athlete (Olympic gold 800m in world record 1:51.9s 1912), born in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania (d. 1957)
• 1893-01-20 Georg Åberg, Swedish athlete (Olympic silver triple jump; bronze long jump 1912), born in Norrköping, Sweden (d. 1946)
• 1893-04-18 Violette Morris, French athlete and spy for Nazi Germany, born in Paris (d. 1944)
• 1894-10-05 Bevil Rudd, South African athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1920), born in Kimberley, South Africa (d. 1948)
• 1895-02-15 Earl Thomson, Canadian athlete (d. 1971)
• 1896-02-01 Frank Lane, American MLB executive (GM Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, KC Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1981)
• 1897-03-15 Jackson Scholz, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m 1920, 200m 1924), born in Buchanan, Michigan (d. 1986)
• 1897-08-10 Edward Gourdin, American athlete (long jump WR 7.69 m 1921; Olympic silver 1924) and jurist, born in Jacksonville, Florida (d. 1966)
• 1898-10-15 Boughera El Ouafi, Algerian athlete (Olympic gold marathon 1928), born in Ouled Djellal, Algeria (d. 1959)
• 1899-12-15 Harold Abrahams, British athlete (Olympic gold 100m, silver 4x100m 1924; depicted in film "Chariots of Fire"), born in Bedford, England (d. 1978)
• 1900-04-07 Tebbs Lloyd Johnson, English race walker (Olympic bronze 50k 1948; oldest Olympic medal-winning athlete; 48 years and 115 days), born in Melton Mowbray, England (d. 1984)
• 1900-08-10 Arthur Porritt, New Zealand athlete (Olympic bronze 100m 1924) and 11th governor-general of New Zealand 1967-72, born in Wanganui, New Zealand (d. 1994)
• 1900-08-11 Charles William Paddock, Texas, American athlete and 100m record breaker (Olympic-2 gold-1920) (d. 1943)
• 1900-10-09 Silvio Cator, Haitian athlete and long jumper (Olympic silver 1928), born in Cavaellon, Haiti (d. 1952)
• 1901-09-25 Bud Houser, American field athlete (Olympic gold discus & shot put 1924, discus 1928), born in Winigan, Missouri (d. 1994)
• 1901-12-03 Glenn Hartranft, American athlete (discus WR 47.89m 1925; Olympic silver shot putt 1924), born in Aberdeen, South Dakota (d. 1970)
• 1902-09-21 Ilmari Salminen, Finnish athlete (Olympic gold 10,000m 1936), born in Elimäki, Finland (d. 1986)
• 1903-04-17 Morgan Taylor, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m hurdles 1924; bronze 1928, 32), born in Sioux City, Iowa (d. 1975)
• 1903-11-25 Dehart Hubbard, American athlete (Olympic gold, long jump 1924; first African American to win individual event; WR 7.89m 1925), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1976)
• 1904-05-19 Sven Thofelt, Swedish athlete (Olympic gold pentathlon 1928; silver team épée 1936, bronze 1948), born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 1993)
• 1904-05-27 Chūhei Nambu, Japanese athlete (Olympic gold triple jump 1932; only person to have held WRs in both long jump & triple jump), born in Sapporo, Japan (d. 1997)
• 1904-09-04 Sabin Carr, American athlete (Olympic gold pole vault 1928; WR 4.27m 1927), born in Santa Barbara, California (d. 1983)
• 1905-06-12 Ray Barbuti, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 400m relay 1928), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1988)
• 1905-12-01 Alexander Wilson, Canadian and Notre Dame athlete (d. 1994)
• 1906-05-19 Bruce Bennett, American athlete and actor (Before I Hang, Sahara), born in Tacoma, Washington (d. 2007)
• 1907-01-05 Volmari Iso-Hollo, Finnish athlete (Olympic gold 3,000m steeplechase 1936), born in Ylöjärvi, Finland (d. 1969)
• 1907-03-13 Jack Holden, English athlete (International Cross Country C'ship gold, individual 1933, 34, 35, 39; Empire Games marathon gold 1950), born in Bilston, England (d. 2004)
• 1907-05-09 Fred Warngård, Swedish athlete (d. 1950)
• 1907-05-16 Bob Tisdall, Irish athlete (Olympic gold 400m hurdles 1932 WR 51.7s; first man under 52s), born in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka (d. 2004)
• 1907-10-09 Klaes Karppinen, Finnish athlete, 4 X 10K relay (Olympic gold 1936), born in Iisalmi, Finland (d. 1992)
• 1907-12-01 Alex Wilson, Canadian athlete (Olympic silver 800m, 2 x bronze 400m, 4x400m relay 1932), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1994)
• 1908-01-01 Kinue Hitomi, Japanese athlete (World record women's 100m, 200m, long jump, triple jump; Olympic silver 800m 1928), born in Okayama, Japan (d. 1931)
• 1908-05-19 Percy Williams, Canadian athlete (Olympic gold 100m / 200m 1928), born in Vancouver, British Columbia (d. 1982)
• 1908-07-01 Ed Gordon Jr, American athlete (Olympic gold long jump 1932), born in Jackson, Mississippi (d. 1971)
• 1908-12-26 Ralph Hill, American athlete (Olympic silver 5,000m 1932; same time as winner Lauri Lehtinen), born in Klamath Falls, Oregon (d. 1994)
• 1909-10-24 Bill Carr, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 4 x 400m 1932), born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas (d. 1966)
• 1909-10-29 Frank Wykoff, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1928, 32, 36), born in Des Moines, Iowa (d. 1980)
• 1910-01-05 Jack Lovelock, New Zealand athlete (Olympic gold 1,500m 1936), born in Crushington, New Zealand (d. 1949)
• 1910-02-12 Gunnar Höckert, Finnish athlete (Olympic gold 5,000m 1936), born in Helsinki, Finland (d. 1940)
• 1910-05-29 Ralph Metcalfe, American athlete, politician (Rep-D-Ill; joint world record 100m, Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1936), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 1978)
• 1910-07-01 Glen Hardin, American athlete (Olympic gold 1936 400m hurdles), born in Derma, Mississippi (d. 1975)
• 1910-12-02 Taisto Mäki, Finnish athlete (WR 2 miles, 5,000m and 10,000m simultaneously 1939-42), born in Rekola, Finland (d. 1979)
• 1911-02-19 Bill Bowerman, American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1999)
• 1911-04-03 Stanislawa Walasiewicz [Stella Walsh], Polish-American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1932), born in Wierzchownia, Poland (d. 1980)

• 1911-07-28 Gerhard Stöck, German athlete (Olympic gold javelin, bronze shot put 1936), born in Kaiserswalde, Germany (d. 1985)
• 1912-06-18 Glenn Morris, American athlete (Olympic gold decathlon 1936) and actor (Tarzan's Revenge; Hold That Co-ed), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1974)
• 1912-08-29 Sohn Kee-chung, Korean athlete and long-distance runner, born in Sinuiju, North Korea (d. 2002)
• 1912-11-01 Bill Bonthron, American athlete (world 1,500m record 3:48.8 1934), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1983)
• 1913-04-19 Ken Carpenter, American athlete (Olympic gold discus 1936), born in Compton, California (d. 1984)

• 1913-10-22 Annette Rogers, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1932, 36), born in Chelsea, Massachusetts (d. 2006)
• 1913-10-31 Milton Green, American athlete (WR 45-yard high hurdles 5.8s 1935; WR 60m high hurdles 7.5s 1936), born in Lowell, Massachusetts (d. 2005)
• 1913-11-26 Foy Draper, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m relay 1936 WR 39.8s), born in Georgetown, Texas (d. 1943)

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• 1945-06-02 Athlete Jim Thorpe (57) weds Patricia Askew
• 2006-03-31 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Jana Pittman (23) weds track and field athlete Chris Rawlinson (33) at Morning Star Estate on Mornington Peninsula in Australia

• 2016-05-01 Paralympic athlete Aimee Mullins (39) weds "Homeland" star Rupert Friend (34) in a magical hobbit-y compost shed

Deaths 1 - 100 of 236

• 1905-10-29 Etienne Desmarteau, Canadian athlete (b. 1873)
• 1908-01-06 George Dixon, Canadian boxer (World Bantamweight title, 1892; World Featherweight champion, 1891-97 & 1898-1901; 1st Black athlete to win a World C'ship in any sport), dies of liver failure at 37
• 1913-02-10 Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, Greek athlete (Olympic gold standing long jump, bronze high jump 1912, 2 x silver 1908), dies from meningitis at 24
• 1915-03-31 Wyndham Halswelle, British athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1908), dies in WWI action at 32
• 1923-04-02 Michel Théato, Luxembourgian athlete (Olympic gold representing France, marathon 1900), dies at 45
• 1924-04-01 Stan Rowley, Australian athlete (Olympic gold 5,000m team, bronze 60m, 100m, 200m 1900), dies at 47

• 1927-12-18 Harry Barrett, British athlete (WR marathon 2:42:31 1909), dies at 47
• 1928-01-06 Alvin Kraenzlein, American track and field athlete (4 Olympic gold 1900), dies at 51
• 1929-02-14 Tom Burke, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 400m 1896), dies at 53
• 1931-08-02 Kinue Hitomi, Japanese athlete (World record women's 100m, 200m, long jump, triple jump; Olympic silver 800m 1928), dies from pneumonia at 24
• 1932-07-23 Tenby Davies, Welsh athlete (world half-mile professional champion 1909), dies at 48
• 1933-06-02 Frank Jarvis, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1900), dies at 54
• 1934-03-12 Harry Green, English athlete (WR marathon 2:38:16.2 1913), dies from pneumonia at 37

• 1937-09-29 Ray Ewry, American track and field athlete (8 Olympic golds 1900, 04, 08), dies at 63
• 1940-02-11 Gunnar Höckert, Finnish athlete (Olympic gold 5,000m 1936), dies of war wounds at 29
• 1942-01-15 Mel Sheppard, American athlete (Olympic gold 800m, 1,500m, medley relay 1908; 4x400 metre relay 1912), dies at 58
• 1942-02-07 Dorando Pietri, Italian athlete (Olympic-famous DQ gold marathon 1908), dies from a heart attack at 56
• 1942-12-20 Dan Ahearn, Irish-American athlete (men's triple jump WR 15.52m 1911-24), dies at 54
• 1943-02-01 Foy Draper, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m relay 1936 WR 39.8s), dies in action as a USAF pilot at 31
• 1944-04-26 Violette Morris, French athlete & spy for Nazi Germany, dies at 51
• 1945-08-09 Harry Hillman, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 200/400m hurdles 1904; silver 400m hurdles 1908), dies of coronary thrombosis at 63
• 1946-01-09 Dimitrios Golemis, Greek athlete (b. 1874)
• 1946-06-14 Kristian Hellström, Swedish athlete (Olympic bronze 1,500m 1906) and executive (first Secretary-General International Association of Athletics Federations 1913-14), dies at 65
• 1946-08-18 Georg Åberg, Swedish athlete (Olympic silver triple jump; bronze long jump 1912), dies at 53
• 1948-02-02 Bevil Rudd, South African athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1920), dies at 53
• 1949-01-09 Tom Longboat, Canadian athlete (Boston Marathon 1907 record time 2:24:24), dies at 61
• 1949-03-10 James Rector, American athlete (b. 1884)
• 1949-12-28 Jack Lovelock, New Zealand athlete (Olympic gold 1,500m 1936), dies in rail accident at 39
• 1951-11-05 Reggie Walker, South African athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1908), dies at 62
• 1952-01-28 Thomas Hicks, English athlete (Olympic gold marathon 1904), dies at 76
• 1952-07-21 Silvio Cator, Haitian athlete and long jumper (Olympic silver 1928), dies at 51
• 1953-03-02 Jim Lightbody, American athlete (Olympic gold 800m, 1500m, 2590m Steeplechase 1904), dies at 70

• 1954-04-12 Pim Mulier, Dutch sports organizer, founded the Dutch Football and Athletics Association, Koninklijke HFC, established hockey in the Netherlands and President of the International Skating Union (1892-94), dies at 89
• 1956-06-29 Max Emmerich, American athlete and gymnast (Olympic gold, triathlon 1904), dies at 77

• 1957-01-20 James Connolly, American athlete and author, 1st Modern Olympic Champion in 1896, dies at 88
• 1957-11-02 Ted Meredith, American athlete (Olympic gold 800m in world record 1:51.9s 1912), dies at 64
• 1957-11-09 Peter O'Connor, Irish athlete (1st recognised world long jump record 1901), dies at 85
• 1958-01-08 Paul Pilgrim, American athlete (Olympic gold 1904, 06), dies at 74
• 1958-06-26 George Orton, Canadian athlete (b. 1873)
• 1959-03-04 Maxie Long, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1900), dies at 80
• 1959-10-18 Boughera El Ouafi, Algerian athlete (Olympic gold marathon 1928), dies of gun wounds at 61

• 1961-02-27 Platt Adams, American field athlete (Olympic gold standing high jump 1912), dies at 75
• 1966-01-14 Bill Carr, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 4 x 400m 1932), dies at 56
• 1966-07-22 Edward Gourdin, American athlete (long jump WR 7.69 m 1921; Olympic silver 1924) and jurist, dies at 68
• 1966-09-05 Dezső Lauber, Hungarian athlete (b. 1879)
• 1968-04-25 Walter Tewksbury, American track and field athlete (Olympics, 1920 - 2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze), and dentist, dies at 92 [1]
• 1969-01-01 Bruno Söderström, Swedish athlete (Olympic silver pole vault & bronze javelin 1906; bronze pole vault 1908; popularized bowling in Sweden), dies at 87
• 1969-01-08 Albert Hill, British athlete (b. 1889)
• 1969-06-23 Volmari Iso-Hollo, Finnish athlete (Olympic gold 3,000m steeplechase 1936), dies at 62
• 1970-08-12 Glenn Hartranft, American athlete (discus WR 47.89m 1925; Olympic silver shot putt 1924), dies at 68
• 1970-12-26 Lillian Board, British 400m athlete (Olympic silver 1968), dies at 22
• 1971-09-05 Ed Gordon Jr, American athlete (Olympic gold long jump 1932), dies at 63
• 1972-07-21 Ralph Craig, American athlete (Olympic gold 100/200m 1912), dies at 83

• 1974-01-31 Glenn Morris, American athlete (Olympic gold decathlon 1936) and actor (Tarzan's Revenge; Hold That Co-ed), dies of congestive heart failure at 61
• 1975-02-16 Morgan Taylor, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m hurdles 1924; bronze 1928, 32), dies at 71
• 1975-03-06 Glen Hardin, American athlete (Olympic gold 1936 400m hurdles), dies at 64
• 1975-10-21 Charles Reidpath, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 4×400m relay 1912), dies at 86
• 1976-06-23 Dehart Hubbard, American athlete (Olympic gold -long jump,1924; first African American to win individual event; WR 7.89m 1925), dies at 72
• 1978-01-14 Harold Abrahams, British athlete (Olympic gold 100m, silver 4x100m 1924; depicted in film "Chariots of Fire"), dies at 78
• 1978-10-10 Ralph Metcalfe, American athlete, politician (Rep-D-Ill; joint world record 100m, Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1936), dies of a heart attack at 68
• 1979-01-22 Ali Hassan Salameh [Abu Hassan], killed by car bomb; believed to have helped mastermind massacre of 1972 Munich Olympics athletes
• 1979-05-01 Taisto Mäki, Finnish athlete (WR 2 miles, 5,000m and 10,000m simultaneously 1939-42), dies at 68
• 1979-09-25 Tapio Rautavaara, Finnish athlete, actor, and singer (Me tulemme taas, Rion yö), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 64
• 1980-01-01 Frank Wykoff, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1928, 32, 36), dies at 70

• 1980-12-04 Stanislawa Walasiewicz [Stella Walsh], Polish-born American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1932), dies when shot during an armed robbery, at 69
• 1981-03-19 Frank Lane, American MLB executive (GM Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, KC Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers), dies at 85
• 1982-11-29 Percy Williams, Canadian athlete (Olympic gold 100m / 200m 1928), dies from self inflicted gunshot wounds at 74
• 1983-01-17 Bill Bonthron, American athlete (world 1,500m record 3:48.8 1934), dies at 70
• 1983-09-12 Sabin Carr, American athlete (Olympic gold pole vault 1928; WR 4.27m 1927), dies at 79
• 1984-03-15 Ken Carpenter, American athlete (Olympic gold discus 1936), dies at 70
• 1984-05-01 Jüri Lossmann, Estonian athlete (Olympic silver marathon 1920), dies at 93
• 1984-12-26 Tebbs Lloyd Johnson, English race walker (Olympic bronze 50k 1948; oldest Olympic medal-winning athlete; 48 years and 115 days), dies at 84
• 1985-03-29 Gerhard Stöck, German athlete (Olympic gold javelin, bronze shot put 1936), dies at 73
• 1985-06-15 Andy Stanfield, American athlete (Olympic gold 200m, 4x100m relay 1952, silver 200m 1956; WR 200m: 20.60 1952), dies at 57
• 1986-01-05 Ilmari Salminen, Finnish athlete (Olympic gold 10,000m 1936), dies at 83
• 1986-10-26 Jackson Scholz, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m 1920, 200m 1924), dies at 89
• 1988-07-08 Ray Barbuti, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 400m relay 1928), dies at 83
• 1989-06-21 Lee Calhoun, American athlete (Olympic gold 110m hurdles 1956, 60), dies at 56
• 1989-08-18 Imry Németh, Hungarian athlete (Olympic gold hammer throw 1948, bronze 1952; WR 1959 59.88m), dies at 72
• 1989-09-19 Willie Steele, American athlete (Olympic gold long jump 1948), dies at 66
• 1991-02-13 Ron Pickering, British athletics coach (GB 1964 Summer Olympics) and broadcaster (BBC), dies after a heart bypass operation at 60
• 1991-04-09 Forrest Towns, American athlete (Olympic gold 110m hurdles 1936), dies at 77
• 1991-08-24 Abel Kiviat, American athlete (Olympic gold 3000m team race, silver 1500m 1912), dies at 99
• 1992-05-06 Gaston Reiff, Belgian athlete (Olympic gold 5,000m 1948), dies at 71
• 1993-01-16 Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Icelandic strength athlete (b. 1960)
• 1993-02-01 Sven Thofelt, Swedish athlete (Olympic gold pentathlon 1928; silver team épée 1936, bronze 1948), dies at 88
• 1993-06-24 Archie Williams, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1936), dies of a heart attack at 78
• 1993-11-01 George Sheehan, American doctor, athlete and author ("Running & Being: The Total Experience," NY Times best seller), dies of prostate cancer at 74
• 1994-01-01 Arthur Porritt, New Zealand athlete (Olympic bronze 100m 1924) and 11th governor-general of New Zealand 1967-72, dies at 93
• 1994-01-17 Helen Stephens, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m & 4x100m relay 1936), dies at 75
• 1994-08-29 Marea Hartman, English athletics administrator who integrated women's sports, dies at 74
• 1994-10-01 Bud Houser, American field athlete (Olympic gold discus & shot put 1924, discus 1928), dies at 93
• 1994-10-17 Ralph Hill, American athlete (Olympic silver 5,000m 1932; same time as winner Lauri Lehtinen), dies at 85

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