Bill Rodgers (athlete)

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Bill Rodgers won the Amsterdam Marathon in 1977

Bill Rodgers (actually William Henry Rodgers ; * December 23, 1947 in Hartford , Connecticut ) is a former American long-distance runner who achieved extraordinary success in the marathon from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s .

He won the Boston Marathon in 1975 and was the first US runner to run a time below 2:10. In 1978, 1979 and 1980 he was able to repeat this victory, in 1979 with a new US best time and his personal record of 2:09:27. From 1976 to 1979 he won the New York City Marathon four times in a row , and in 1977 the Fukuoka Marathon .

At the marathon of the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal he was handicapped by an injury and came in 40th. For the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980 he was a huge favorite until the boycott of these games by the United States prevented his participation.

In 28 marathons it stayed below 2:15 - only the Ethiopian Abebe Mekonnen was able to undercut this mark more often.

Best times

  • Hours run : 20,568 m, current US record
  • 30,000 m: 1: 31: 48.9, current US record
  • 10 km road run : 28:16 min.
  • 15 km road run: 43:25 min.
  • 25 km road run: 1:17:23 hours
  • Marathon: 2:09:27 hours

Rodgers also holds the US records in the M 45 age group over 10 km, half marathon and 30 km.

Publications

  • with Joe Concannon: marathoning. 1980, ISBN 0-671-25087-6
  • with Joe Henderson and Priscilla Welch: Masters Running and Racing. Rodale Books, 1995, ISBN 0-87596-330-7
  • Bill Rodgers' Lifetime Running Plan. Definitive Programs for Runners of all Ages and Levels. 1996, ISBN 0-06-273386-9
  • with Scott Douglas: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Running. 2nd Edition. 2003, ISBN 0-02-864466-2

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Rodgers, Bill
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rodgers, William Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American long distance runner
DATE OF BIRTH December 23, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Hartford, Connecticut