This day in track and field history marks several significant events. On July 13, 1912, Jim Thorpe won the Olympic decathlon in Stockholm, Sweden. The event spanned three days and included ten disciplines. Thorpe had already secured a gold medal in the pentathlon six days earlier. His performance led the King of Sweden to declare him “the greatest athlete in the world,” to which Thorpe replied, “Thanks, King.”
The same day saw Charles Reidpath set an Olympic record in the men’s 400 meters with a time of 48.2 seconds. The U.S. team also won the “team 3000” race, an event no longer contested at the Olympics.
In 1924, a U.S. lineup set a world record in the 4×100 relay at the Paris Olympics with a time of 41.0 seconds. The American team also broke another record in the 4×400 relay with a time of 3:16.0.
Fast forward to July 13, 1973, Dave Bedford broke Lasse Viren’s world record for the 10,000 meters by running it in 27:30.80 in London.
In other records, Yuri Stepanov cleared seven feet one inch in high jump on this day in 1957, breaking Charlie Dumas’s previous world record.
The article also highlights Sergey Bubka’s achievements on July 13th over different years. In both 1984 and again on this date in subsequent years, he set new records for pole vaulting heights.
Lastly, Cordell Tinch is mentioned as a notable athlete born on this day who achieved significant success later in his career.
Information from this article can be found here.
