Marathon · 1970s

Frank Shorter

The win that started the American running boom, executed exactly as planned.

Munich

Olympic marathon gold, 1972

Munich

Olympic marathon gold in 1972, the first American to win it since 1908. He made a decisive move around fifteen kilometres and ran alone from there, which requires having decided beforehand that you are willing to.

The imposter at the finish

A hoaxer entered the stadium ahead of him and the crowd noise he ran into was confusion rather than celebration. He has been dry about it ever since. It is a good example of race day handing you something nobody rehearsed.

Montreal

Silver four years later, behind a runner later heavily implicated in a state doping programme. Shorter went on to be a founding figure in anti-doping administration, which is not a coincidence.

What the win caused

American road racing participation climbed steeply through the seventies, and most histories put his win at the front of it. One race, on television, changed what ordinary people thought running was for.

What to steal

Decide in advance that you are willing to go alone, and have the plan ready for when the finish is strange.

Where they come up

Checkpoint 09Race DayOlympic marathon gold in Munich in 1972 and silver in Montreal four years later. In Munich he made his decisive move around 15km, alone, and simply held the pace to the stadium. It was not a surprise attack so much as a plan he had already decided to run. The race was settled by a decision made before the start.

All 26 case studies. Profiles are factual and drawn from the public record. Where a performance carries an asterisk, this app says so rather than leaving it out.