Posted on Sep 10, 2022
50 years after winning the Olympic Marathon, Frank Shorter reflects on the games marked by...
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After 11 Israeli athletes died in a terrorist attack, American runner Frank Shorter was sure the 1972 Olympics were over. Nothing's worth more than human life, he thought: "We're going home."
But once the decision was made to continue the games, Shorter never hesitated. He would run in his event, the marathon, because not competing would mean "they win" — the terrorists. So on Sept. 10, 1972, Shorter toed the starting line in Munich, West Germany, where he had been born in 1947 while his father worked there as a military doctor, and he ran for the gold medal. He finished the 26.2-mile race in 2 hours, 12 minutes and 19 seconds, more than 2 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher.
Shorter was the first American winner of the Olympic Marathon since 1908 and no man from the United States has won it since. Joan Benoit won the women's Olympic marathon in 1984, the first time the event was held for women. She's the only American winner of the women's event.
But once the decision was made to continue the games, Shorter never hesitated. He would run in his event, the marathon, because not competing would mean "they win" — the terrorists. So on Sept. 10, 1972, Shorter toed the starting line in Munich, West Germany, where he had been born in 1947 while his father worked there as a military doctor, and he ran for the gold medal. He finished the 26.2-mile race in 2 hours, 12 minutes and 19 seconds, more than 2 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher.
Shorter was the first American winner of the Olympic Marathon since 1908 and no man from the United States has won it since. Joan Benoit won the women's Olympic marathon in 1984, the first time the event was held for women. She's the only American winner of the women's event.
50 years after winning the Olympic Marathon, Frank Shorter reflects on the games marked by...
Posted from wbur.org
Olympics
Running
Marathons
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Excellent share Brother Chip. I ran Marathons when I was in the Marines. My training workout was around ten miles per day. After about seven miles I couldn't even feel my legs any longer, they were on auto pilot! My fastest time was three hours, twelve minutes; a far sight longer than Frank Shorter! However, it put me in great shape for the PFT's. I always did the three miles run in less than eighteen minutes for maximum score on the run part.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Today, Shorter and his wife Michelle live in Falmouth, moving to Massachusetts from Colorado last year. Falmouth just happens to be home to a very famous road race (which the couple ran for the first time in August as residents) and part of the reason it’s famous is Shorter. A local bartender named Tommy Leonard watched him win the Olympic Marathon and thought, wouldn’t it be great if we could get Shorter to run on Cape Cod?
It took a couple of years but it happened. Shorter won his first Falmouth in 1975, repeated as champion the next year, and his duels with Bill Rodgers became the stuff of legend. And it’s partly thanks to that day in Munich, a day that also had a much bigger impact, way beyond Cape Cod. It helped launch a running boom in America, with countless people buying their first pair of running shoes and hitting the roads. Including me."
..."Today, Shorter and his wife Michelle live in Falmouth, moving to Massachusetts from Colorado last year. Falmouth just happens to be home to a very famous road race (which the couple ran for the first time in August as residents) and part of the reason it’s famous is Shorter. A local bartender named Tommy Leonard watched him win the Olympic Marathon and thought, wouldn’t it be great if we could get Shorter to run on Cape Cod?
It took a couple of years but it happened. Shorter won his first Falmouth in 1975, repeated as champion the next year, and his duels with Bill Rodgers became the stuff of legend. And it’s partly thanks to that day in Munich, a day that also had a much bigger impact, way beyond Cape Cod. It helped launch a running boom in America, with countless people buying their first pair of running shoes and hitting the roads. Including me."
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