Gene Venzke

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Gene Venzke , full name Eugene George Venzke , (born June 27, 1908 in Leaf Valley Township , Minnesota ; † February 14, 1992 in Reiffton , Pennsylvania ) was an American middle-distance runner who did the mile and 1,500 meters Set indoor world records.

Gene Venzke began his sports career in 1925 with a cross-country run . In the following years he competed in 353 middle-distance competitions. At first Venzke wasn't interested in athletics at all . He tried his hand at basketball, baseball, ice hockey, and boxing. Over time, he realized that his strength was running. Leaving high school, he went to work and trained on the track and field facility of his former school. In 1931 he became unemployed and returned to high school. The following year he graduated and received a scholarship from the University of Pennsylvania . That year he was US indoor champion over 1500 m. He was able to successfully defend the title in 1933.

At the Millrose Games , an annual indoor meeting in New York , on February 6, 1932, he set the indoor world record in the mile run with a time of 4: 11.2 minutes. He had thus improved the record held by his compatriot Joie Ray and the Finn Paavo Nurmi by 0.8 s. Eleven days later, also in New York, he improved his own record by 1.2 seconds to 4: 10.0 minutes. Venzke set another indoor world record over 1500 m on February 27th. In Madison Square Garden it ran a time of 3: 53.4 minutes and was 2.4 seconds faster than the previous record.

After he was able to improve the US outdoor record over 1500 m in June, Gene Venzke was considered a beacon of hope for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles . But a muscle injury, which sentenced him to six weeks off, prevented him from preparing for the Olympic qualifications in Palo Alto . As fourth over 1500 m, he just missed the jump into the Olympic team.

In the following seasons, Venzke's main competitors were Glenn Cunningham , who finished fourth in the 1932 Olympic Games over 1500 m, and William Bonthron. At the US Championships in Milwaukee in 1934 Venzke ran 3: 50.5 min over 1500 m, but Bonthron was able to improve the world record to 3: 48.8 min. Venzke stayed in third place. In 1935 he was second behind Cunningham.

In 1935 Gene Venzke became the US indoor champion over 1500 m for the third time. Not only could he defeat Cunningham, he also improved the indoor world record to 3: 49.9 minutes. At the Olympic qualifications for Berlin in 1936 he was able to qualify this time for the 1,500 meter run as third. World record holder Bonthron, on the other hand, was fourth and missed the Olympic ticket. In Berlin, Venzke won his lead in 4: 00.4 minutes. In the final, which New Zealander Jack Lovelock won with the world record of 3: 47.8 minutes, he was ninth with 3: 55.0 minutes.

At a sports meeting in London , Venzke ran together with Charles Hornbostel , Archie San Romani and Glenn Cunningham in a milestone. The season beat the British selection and set a world record with 17: 17.2 minutes. Venzke continued his career for seven years. In 1940 he achieved his personal best in the mile run with 4: 08.2 min. On March 11, 1943, he ran his last race, a competition over 1000 yards, in which he was second. Venske mainly trained according to the interval principle so that he could get in shape all year round.

After his athletics career, Venzke became an investor. He developed a ball machine for golf balls and a special grass trimmer. He was also involved in the development of military parachutes and wrote articles for The Saturday Evening Post . He opened a golf course in Reiffton, Pennsylvania.

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ List of results in the USA Track & Field portal
  2. ↑ Article in the Lewiston Daily Sun of February 8, 1932 (Eng.)
  3. ↑ Article in the Berkeley Daily Gazette of February 17, 1932 (Eng.)
  4. ↑ Article in Reading Eagle, February 28, 1932
  5. ↑ Result lists of the US championships over 1500 m (English) ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.trackandfieldnews.com
  6. ↑ Article in Lawrence Journal-World of August 15, 1936 (Eng.)
  7. ↑ Arnd Krüger : Many roads lead to Olympia. The changes in training systems for medium and long distance runners (1850–1997) . In: N. Gissel (Hrsg.): Sporting performance in change . Czwalina, Hamburg 1998, pp. 41-56.
  8. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19840115&id=yYFVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LT8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=5335,2613798 auf. 2nd February 2017
personal data
SURNAME Venzke, Gene
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Venzke, Eugene George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American middle distance runner
DATE OF BIRTH June 27, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH Leaf Valley Township , Minnesota
DATE OF DEATH February 14, 1992
Place of death Reiffton , Pennsylvania