1932 United States Olympic trials (track and field)
1932 United States Olympic trials (track & field) | |
---|---|
Dates | July 15–July 16 |
Host city | 1936 → |
The 1932 United States Olympic trials for track and field were held on July 15 and July 16, 1932 and decided the
Official world records were set in the men's meet by
Organization
The
Qualifying
As in previous years, athletes qualified for the men's Olympic trials by competing in preliminary and semi-final tryouts; the two major collegiate championship meets (the
Some events held as part of the national championships did not have Olympic qualifying status (due to those events not being contested at the Olympics), while some Olympic qualifying events were held separately from the trials proper and did not in all cases have national championship status. The
Men
The men's Olympic trials were held at
Track
Event | First | Second | Third | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
100 meters | Ralph Metcalfe | 10.6 | Eddie Tolan | 10.7e | George Simpson |
10.8e |
200 meters straight | Ralph Metcalfe | 21.5 | Eddie Tolan | 21.7e | George Simpson |
21.7e |
400 meters | Bill Carr | 46.9 | Ben Eastman | 47.1e | James Gordon | 47.4e |
800 meters | Edwin Genung | 1:52.6 | Chuck Hornbostel | 1:52.8e | Edwin Turner | 1:52.9e |
1500 meters | Norwood Hallowell | 3:52.7 | Frank Crowley | 3:53.3e | Glenn Cunningham | 3:53.8e |
5000 meters | Ralph Hill | 14:55.7 | Paul Rekers | 130 yds bh | Daniel Dean | 20 yds bh2 |
10,000 meters | Tom Ottey | 32:18.2 | Eino Pentti | 40 yds bh | Lou Gregory | 20 yds bh2 |
3000 meter steeplechase | Joe McCluskey | 9:14.5 WB | Walter Pritchard | 20 yds bh | Glen Dawson | 2 yds bh2 |
110 meter hurdles | Jack Keller | 14.4 =WR | George Saling | 14.6e | Percy Beard | 14.6e |
400 meter hurdles | Joe Healey | 53.9e | Morgan Taylor | 2 yds bh | Glenn Hardin | 53.5 (DQ) |
Metcalfe, Tolan and Simpson qualified for the Olympics in both of the short sprints.
In the 400 meters, the United States had by far the best depth of any country. Ben Eastman, a Stanford runner, had set world records at both
Eddie Genung won his third consecutive national title in the 800 meters, defeating NCAA champion Hornbostel; the Americans went on to place fourth, fifth and sixth at the Olympics, but the absence of Eastman cost the United States an excellent medal chance.[4] The 1500 meters saw an upset, as the leading favorite, Gene Venzke, only placed fourth and failed to qualify; Venzke had set a world record during the indoor season and an American record outdoors, but had lost his best shape after an injury in training. NCAA champion Cunningham, who had also broken the previous American record in 1932, was an upcoming talent; at the Olympics he was the best American in fourth place, but his best years were still ahead of him.[2]: 72 [4][6]
In the 5000 and 10,000 meters the American teams were relatively weak with the exception of Ralph Hill, who won his race easily; in Los Angeles he took a close silver in a controversial race, as Finland's world record holder Lauri Lehtinen obstructed Hill's attempts to pass him in the final straight.[2]: 73 [7]
McCluskey's time in the 3000-meter steeplechase was an unofficial world best; the IAAF did not start ratifying official world records in the steeplechase until 1954.[3]: 109 At the Olympics, McCluskey won bronze in an extra-long race after a mistake by the lap counter resulted in the athletes running one additional lap.[8] In the 110 m hurdles, the United States fielded an extremely strong team; Keller, Saling and Beard all set both official and unratified world records during their careers, as did the man in fourth, Johnny Morriss.[3]: 117, 118 [4] Keller's winning time, 14,4, equaled the world record; his Kirby time was 14.53, also a world best. The wind reading was -0.2 m/s; Keller's world record was the first to have an official wind reading.[3]: 117
Glenn "Slats" Hardin crossed the finish line in first place in the 400 m hurdles, but was disqualified for running in the wrong lane. As only two other athletes finished the race (the fourth man in the final, Eugene Beatty, fell and failed to finish), the disqualification did not cost Hardin his place on the team.[1] Morgan Taylor had won Olympic gold in 1924 and bronze in 1928; he won his third consecutive medal in Los Angeles, placing third behind Ireland's Bob Tisdall and Hardin.[4]
Field
Event | First | Second | Third | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
High jump | Cornelius Johnson George Spitz Bob Van Osdel |
6 ft 6+5⁄8 in (1.99 m) |
||||
Pole vault | Bill Graber | 14 ft 4+3⁄8 in (4.37 m) WR |
Bill Miller | 14 ft 1+5⁄8 in (4.30 m) |
George Jefferson | 13 ft 10+1⁄4 in (4.22 m) |
Long jump | Dick Barber | 25 ft 4+3⁄8 in (7.73 m) |
Ed Gordon | 25 ft 3+3⁄8 in (7.70 m) |
Lambert Redd | 25 ft 2+1⁄8 in (7.67 m) |
Triple jump | Sidney Bowman | 48 ft 11+1⁄4 in (14.91 m) |
Rolland Romero | 48 ft 10+1⁄4 in (14.89 m) |
Levi Casey | 48 ft 4+3⁄4 in (14.75 m) |
Shot put | Leo Sexton | 52 ft 8 in (16.05 m) |
Nelson Gray | 50 ft 11+7⁄8 in (15.54 m) |
Harlow Rothert | 50 ft 11+1⁄2 in (15.53 m) |
Discus throw | John Anderson | 165 ft 6+3⁄8 in (50.45 m) |
Paul Jessup | 158 ft 4 in (48.26 m) |
Henri LaBorde | 158 ft 1⁄8 in (48.16 m) |
Hammer throw | Frank Conner | 170 ft 10+3⁄4 in (52.09 m) |
Pete Zaremba |
168 ft 11+3⁄4 in (51.51 m) |
Grant McDougall | 168 ft 2+1⁄4 in (51.26 m) |
Javelin throw | Kenneth Churchill | 222 ft 3+5⁄8 in (67.76 m) |
Malcolm Metcalf | 219 ft 7+5⁄8 in (66.94 m) |
Lee Bartlett | 214 ft 2+3⁄4 in (65.30 m) |
Johnson, Spitz and Van Osdel shared first place (and the national championship) in the high jump. Spitz had set a world record indoors and was generally considered the favorite, but he suffered from on-and-off injuries through the summer of 1932; at the Olympics, his ankle bothered him and he only placed ninth as Van Osdel took silver.[9]
The pole vault competition had the highest quality of any in the world yet; Graber broke both the amateur world record of Lee Barnes and the unofficial professional record of Charles Hoff, while Miller equaled the Barnes record. Four vaulters (Jefferson, Don Zimmerman, Fred Sturdy and Bud Deacon) cleared 13 ft 10+1⁄4 in; the third and final Olympic spot was decided by a jump-off, in which Jefferson prevailed. The United States dominated pole vault at the time; that the Americans only won gold (Miller) and bronze (Jefferson) at the Olympics was seen as a disappointment.[2]: 74, 75 [4]
In the long jump (then still usually called the
The triple jump (contemporarily
Both Leo Sexton and
Returning Olympian John Anderson was an expected champion in the discus; although Jessup held the world record, he had not been as good as Anderson in 1932. Anderson and LaBorde took gold and silver at the Olympics.: 76
Other qualifying events
Event | Location | First | Second | Third | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decathlon | Evanston, Illinois June 24–25 |
James Bausch |
8103 | Wilson Charles | 7378 | Clyde Coffman | 7360 |
Marathon | Boston, Massachusetts April 19 |
Paul de Bruyn | 2:33:36.4 | James Henigan | 2:34:32 | Ville Kyrönen |
2:34:55 |
Cambridge-Salisbury, Massachusetts May 28 |
Hans Oldag | 2:38:00 | Albert Michelsen | 2:43:45 | Hugo Kauppinen |
2:48:00 | |
Los Angeles, California June 25 |
Albert Michelsen | 2:44:11 | Franklin Suhu | 3:05:14 | Andy Myyra | 3:20e | |
50 km walk | New York City June 5 |
Ernest Crosbie | 5:30:46 | Bill Chisholm | 5:31:17 | Rudolph Hantke | 5:39:03 |
Los Angeles, California July 3 |
Harry Hinkel | 5:12:57 | Michael Pecora | 8 mins bh | Eugene Newton |
The decathlon tryouts, which doubled as AAU championships, were held in
Marathon selections were based on three races, including the
Other AAU championship events
Event | First | Second | Third | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
220 yd low hurdles | George Saling | 23.6 | Lee Sentman | 4 ft bh | Jimmy Payne | 3 in bh2 |
56 pound weight throw | Leo Sexton | 35 ft 2 in (10.72 m) |
Frank Conner | 34 ft 4 in (10.46 m) |
Pat McDonald |
33 ft 9+1⁄4 in (10.29 m) |
These non-Olympic events were contested in Stanford Stadium as part of the AAU national championships.[15] McDonald, who placed third in the weight throw, was almost 54 years old; he had won the event at the 1920 Olympics when it was still part of the Olympic program, and was a multiple national champion. He won one more AAU title in 1933, becoming the oldest ever AAU champion.[16]
Women
The women's Olympic trials were held in Dyche Stadium on July 16. The star of the meet was Mildred "Babe" Didrikson, who won three of the five Olympic qualifying events and three of the five additional individual AAU events; she took part in all of the trials events, the only athlete ever to do so.[2]: 77 She represented Employers Casualty of Dallas, Texas, who won the women's team championship despite not entering any other athletes; Employers Casualty scored 30 points, while the Illinois Women's Athletic Club placed second with 22 points.[17]
Although some of Didrikson's marks were cited as "world records" in both contemporary and later sources, she did not set any official world records at the 1932 trials; some of her marks were superior to the listed world records, but inferior to still-pending marks by other athletes that were subsequently ratified.[2]: 9, 78 [3]
Trials
Event | First | Second | Third | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
100 meters | Ethel Harrington | 12.3 | Wilhelmina von Bremen | 12.4e | Elizabeth Wilde | 12.4e |
80 meter hurdles | Babe Didrikson |
12.1 | Evelyne Hall | 12.1e | Simone Schaller | |
High jump | Babe Didrikson Jean Shiley |
5 ft 3+3⁄16 in (1.60 m) AR |
Annette Rogers | 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) | ||
Discus throw | Ruth Osburn | 133 ft 3⁄4 in (40.55 m) AR |
Margaret Jenkins | 127 ft 1⁄2 in (38.72 m) |
Lillian Copeland | |
Javelin throw | Babe Didrikson |
139 ft 3 in (42.44 m) |
Nan Gindele | Gloria Russell |
The 100 meters was Babe Didrikson's weakest event; she was eliminated in the semi-finals. Harrington, the eventual winner, mistook the finish line in the preliminaries and stopped running too early; although she was eliminated from the AAU championships as a result, she was allowed to run in the final for trials purposes. Von Bremen, who finished second, won the AAU title.[2]: 77 [18]
In the 80 m hurdles, Didrikson and Evelyne Hall almost dead-heated, but Didrikson was declared the winner; the same thing happened again at the Olympics.[2]: 77 [19] In the high jump, Didrikson and Jean Shiley tied for first, both setting a new American record.[2]: 78 Osburn set an American record in the discus throw, winning from Jenkins and the eventual Olympic champion, Copeland; Didrikson, who was relatively unfamiliar with this event, placed fourth.[20] Nan Gindele had set a world record in the javelin four weeks before the trials, but failed to replicate that form at the trials; Didrikson won with a personal best.[2]: 78
Other AAU championship events
Event | First | Second | Third | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
50 yards | Dorothy Nussbaum | 6.3 | Mary Ladewig | Alice Monk | ||
220 yards | Olive Hasenfus | 26.5 | Marie DeMay | Olive Kruger | ||
4 × 110 yards relay | Illinois Women's AC | 49.4 | Illinois Women's AC B | Tower Grove Quarry AC | ||
Long jump | Babe Didrikson | 17 ft 6+1⁄8 in (5.33 m) |
Nellie Todd | Margaret Jordan | ||
Shot put | Babe Didrikson | 39 ft 6+1⁄4 in (12.04 m) |
Rena MacDonald | Carolyn Yetter | ||
Baseball throw | Babe Didrikson | 272 ft 2 in (82.95 m) |
Gloria Russell | Nan Gindele |
These events were not contested at the Olympics, but were part of the AAU national championships. Apart from the relay, the 50 yard and 220 yard dashes were the only events in the 1932 program in which Didrikson did not compete; she won all of the other AAU-only events, though she did not approach her baseball world best of 296 ft (90.22 m) from the 1931 championships.[20]
References
- ^ The Milwaukee Journal. July 18, 1932. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Hymans, Richard (2008). "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field" (PDF). USA Track & Field. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 23, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
- ^ International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
- ^ Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö.
- ^ "Guide to the Arnold G. Adams track memorabilia". Bates College. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
- ^ "Gene Venzke Runs On Hard Work". Reading Eagle. January 15, 1984. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
- ^ Stiles, Maxwell (1959). "Back Track: Lehtinen vs. Hill". Track & Field News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
- ^ "Finland Cops Steeplechase Title; Bausch Wins Decathlon". Reading Eagle. August 7, 1932. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ "Athletics at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's High Jump". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- Urbana Daily Courier. July 26, 1932. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ "Frank Connor Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ "Coach Hamilton and Four Athletes Leave for West Coast". Lawrence Journal-World. July 11, 1932. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ Gould, Alan (July 12, 1932). "Sport Slants". Reading Eagle. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- Santa Ana Register. July 4, 1932. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- Daily Illini. July 17, 1932. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ "Pat McDonald Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ "Miss Didrikson Wins Three Places On Team". Reading Eagle. July 17, 1932. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ "Billie von Bremen Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ISBN 9780786402199. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ a b Stiles, Maxwell (1959). "Back Track: Babe Didrikson". Track & Field News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2015.