Oldest sub 4 miler....

Who is the oldest man to run a sub 4 mile? What was the time and how old was he?Is it Eamon Coglan? And while we are at it I remember that Steve Scott and John Walker both ran over 100 sub 4 miles and are way out ahead of everyone else. How many did each run (so we know who has the most) and who is 2nd and 3rd etc.

Re: Oldest sub 4 miler....

Ol' King of the Boards himself has to be the oldest. He was the first over 40 runner to do it, and the last.

Re: Oldest sub 4 miler....

John Walker has 129ish I think he ran his last in 1990, and remembering the 74 com games, I think he must have gone sub-4 in 72-73. That gives him seventeen to eighteen years of sub-4 running, really very impresseive.

[Bob Duncan]

Re: Oldest sub 4 miler....

From the excellent Sub-4 Chronicle web site at easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~rsparks/sub4.htm, the most prolific sub-4 milers are:

Steve Scott-USA (137)
John Walker-NZ (127)
Marcus O'Sullivan-IRE (100)
Ray Flynn-IRE (89)
Eamonn Coghlan-IRE (78)

Scott ran his last sub 4 at age 36. Walker ran his last one at age 38. Coghlan got his last one on February 20, 1994 in Allston, MA, running 3:58.15 at age 41.

Kenya's Mike Boit and Wilson Waigwa were also running well under 4:00 late into their 30's. Waigwa had a go at it after 40 in several highly publicized efforts but didn't make it. There was speculation that Boit would do the same but apparently he never made any serious post-40 efforts.

Re: Oldest sub 4 miler....

I'll bet most world class guys end up not giving a damn about whether they can run sub 4 after 40. They've already competed at the highest levels anyway.

Re: Oldest sub 4 miler....

Thanks for the good responses--especially Bob Duncan...all my questions answered with exactness! I am amazed that some men can run so fast for so long. Steve Scott and John Walker were able to run sub 4 miles for 17-18 years!!

[dj]

Re: Oldest sub 4 miler....

Coghlan was the obvious answer, having been the only masters runner to break 4:00.

But let's convolute the question--and I'll ask it without knowing the answer or looking it up (yet):

What's the oldest birthdate of anyone to have broken 4:00. Obviously the answer is going to be someone from the mid-1950s.

My one stab is for Murray Halberg.

Re: Oldest sub 4 miler....

Gunnar Nielsen? born in 1928. (Halberg '30, Roszavolgyi '29, Landy '30)

[billthedog]

Re: Oldest sub 4 miler....

If I remember correctly, I think John Manners believed that Boit was actually over 40 when he ran some of his fast races, probably including a sub-4 mile.

Re: Oldest sub 4 miler....

Good point. If we are going to accuse the Kenyans of using overage athletes in Junior Championships, we should give them credit for being older than they claim at the end.

[dj]

Re: Oldest sub 4 miler....

bforsyth is correct regarding the oldest birthdate of a sub-4 miler. Gunnar Nielsen is the correct answer.

Re: Oldest sub 4 miler....

>Good point. If we are going to accuse the Kenyans
>of using overage athletes in Junior
>Championships, we should give them credit for
>being older than they claim at the end.

Nah. Giving a guy who's 29 credit at the end is no big deal. Just as hailing him when he's a fast "teen" at 23 is ridiculous. People bend over backward in order to not be critical of third world athletes.

Re: Oldest sub 4 miler....

I fully expect that some day there will be a Kenyan who set both a World Junior Record and a World Masters Record---in the same year1