Western Hemisphere Marathon
The Western Hemisphere Marathon was a marathon that was held in the USA from 1948 to 2001 primarily in Culver City . It is one of the oldest marathons in the world that has been held regularly over a long period of time and, with 54 official events, is one of the most frequently held marathons. The event set standards for women's sport by achieving four world best times between 1963 and 1974.
history
After World War II , several Los Angeles businessmen had plans to run a marathon on the west coast of the United States as a counterpart to the Boston Marathon and Yonkers Marathon . So that the run would also attract attention, the route of the marathon had been chosen for the premiere at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles . The winning prize was one of the country's most valuable sports trophies at the time, valued at US $ 20,000 .
The first run was held on May 21, 1948. The winner was the Canadian Gérard Côté in 2:42:07 h. When he reached his destination, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum , the gate was still locked. Opened in a hurry, he found himself on a running track on which hurdles were set up for a hurdle race that was just beginning , all of which he had to go around on his final lap.
In 1949 the race was moved to the city of Culver City, which also became an official sponsor .
In the 1960s, there was still a general belief that running a marathon was dangerous for women, which is why there was an official start ban. In 1963, two women secretly mingled with the other 65 runners at the start of the Western Hemisphere Marathon. While one had to give up after 28 km, Merry Lepper , a 20-year-old student, not only went undetected, a time was recorded for her. Up to now there were hardly any reference times of other runners, so it was hardly surprising that Lepper's time of 3:37:07 h was published as the world's best.
In 1967, the Amateur Athletic Union officially approved a run for women that was longer than a mile . It was a 10 mile run that was part of the marathon event.
In 1970, the Western Hemisphere Marathon was one of the first marathons in which women were officially allowed to participate. There were still only a few of these marathon events in the world, so it was not surprising when in 1971, 1973 and 1974 a new world record was set in the women's marathon.
With the first Los Angeles marathon in 1986, the Western Hemisphere Marathon was facing enormous competition. The number of participants fell, the level deteriorated accordingly and the financial situation got worse. After the 2001 run, the criticism was so great that the organizers gave up. The last Western Hemisphere Marathon took place on December 2nd, 2001.
particularities
- In 1950 the temperature was 37 ° C. All favorites gave up the race. Strangely enough, the winner was a runner from Alaska with a time of over three hours, the worst winning time of all runs.
- The 1964 event was a qualification run (US Olympic Trials) to determine the US participants in the Tokyo Olympics .
- The Western Hemisphere Marathon held three national marathon championships for men and one national championship for women.
statistics
World best times
The International Athletics Federation, International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), kept a list of unofficial world record times in marathon running until January 1, 2004. Only then were world best times and world records officially recognized by the IAAF after course standards had been set. This also included special logging of the route measurement. The Association of Road Running Statisticians (ARRS) then assumes that the route was shortened in 1963 and does not rate the run as the world's fastest time. The IAAF, however, has not corrected its list of unofficial world best times.
IAAF list of unofficial world best times in the Western Hemisphere Marathon:
- Women:
- 3:37:07 h, Merry Lepper ( USA ), 1963, not ARRS
- 2:49:40 h, Cheryl Bridges ( USA ), 1971
- 2:46:37 h, Michiko Gorman ( USA ), 1973
- 2: 43: 54.5 h, Jacqueline Hansen ( USA ), 1974
Course records
- Men:
- 2:15:21 h, William Scobey ( USA ), 1971
- Women:
- 2: 43: 54.5 h, Jacqueline Hansen ( USA ), 1974
Most wins
- Men:
- 4 wins by Robert Cons ( USA ), 1949, 1953–1955
- Women:
- 3 wins Jacqueline Hansen ( USA ), 1972, 1974, 1977
Winners list
The winners list includes some top national runners given the importance of the event in the early years. From 1970 to 1977, it was mainly American top runners who appeared in the winners' lists of the marathon as worth mentioning. After that, the winners are mostly local and regional runners.
The complete list of winners can be found on the ARRS website.