Maxie Long

athletics
gold	1900	400 m

Maxie Long (actually: Maxwell Warburn Long ; born October 16, 1878 in Waverley , Massachusetts , † March 4, 1959 in New York City ) was an American athlete and Olympic champion .

Long was a student at Columbia University and the first sprinter in sports history to specialize in the 400-meter (quarter mile) run . His running talent was already evident at the age of 19 when he won his first title at the championships of the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada (AAUofC) over 220  yards in 1897 . He defended this title for three more years until 1900. Biographers therefore suspect that Maxwell Long, like George Orton at that time, had Canadian citizenship. However, there are no usable historical records on this.

As a member of the New York Athletic Club Long won in 1898 at the championships of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) , which corresponded to the national championships of the USA, over 440  yards another title. He repeated this success in 1899 and won the championship over 220 yards that year. Also at the championships of the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) , which corresponded to the student championships in the USA, he was unbeatable over 440 yards in 1899.

The year 1900 began disappointingly for Maxwell Long. At the championships of the IC4A he lost over 440 yards to Dixon Boardman and Harry Lee . All three traveled to Paris for the 1900 Olympic Games . During a stopover in England , just a few days before the start of the athletics competitions in Paris, he took part in the championships of the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) , which corresponded to the British championships. He won the run over 440 yards.

Long had now specialized in the quarter-mile route and only took part in the 400-meter run in Paris. He qualified for the finals as did Boardman and Lee. However, his two opponents did not take part in the final competition, which was held on a Sunday, because their beliefs forbade them to do any sport on a Sunday. It was such an easy win for Maxwell Long. Its running time of 49.4 seconds was an Olympic record .

The rankings at the Olympic Games for Maxwell Warburn Long:

• II. Olympic Games 1900, Paris
  • 400 m - gold with 49.4 s (silver to William Holland , USA with 49.6 s; bronze to Ernst Schultz , DEN with an unknown time)

Two months after the Olympics, Maxwell Long made a name for himself with extremely impressive performances. On September 15, he participated again in the championships of the AAU and won the titles over 100 yards and 440 yards, only over 220 yards he had to be content with third place. A week later on September 22nd, he participated in the championships of the AAUofC , where he won on all three courses (100, 220 and 440 yards).

Another week later, on September 29th, he took part in the club championships of the New York Athletic Club , which were held on Travers Island in Long Island Sound . The run over 440 yards was a handicap run. The 7 opponents of Maxey Long were given a distance between 10 and 24 yards. Still, Long won by 10 yards and a time of 47.8 seconds. This time was recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) as the first world record over 400 m. Long's record was ultimately one of the twenty longest unbroken world records in track and field history and was only beaten almost 16 years later.

Nevertheless, it was Maxwell Long again, who again completed a grandiose run over 440 yards a week later at a sports festival on an old horse racing track in Guttenberg (New Jersey) . At just 47.0 s, it was below the record it had set recently. However, the route was a straight track and not a stadium lap, so this time was not counted as a record by the IAAF .

In the years that followed, Long's performance fell sharply. He participated in numerous running events, but he no longer lived up to his reputation as the fastest quarter mile. The name Maxwell Long slowly disappeared from reports and results lists. There is no usable biographical data about his further life.

Web links

• Maxie Long in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )