Chuck Hornbostel
Charles Christian Hornbostel (September 26, 1911 – January 13, 1989) was an American middle-distance runner. He made two Olympic finals at 800 meters and once tied the world record at 880 yards.
Career
As a sophomore at Indiana University, Hornbostel won the 800 meters at the 1932 NCAA Championships in a meeting record time of 1:52.7.[1] As the NCAA Championships were simultaneously an early Olympic tryout meet, he qualified for the Olympic Trials in Stanford, where he placed second behind Edwin Genung and qualified for the team.[2] At the Olympics in Los Angeles Hornbostel won his heat, running 1:52.4 and beating the eventual silver medalist, Alex Wilson of Canada.[3] In the final he placed sixth, again running 1:52.7.[3]
Hornbostel repeated as NCAA champion in 1933, beating mile champion Glenn Cunningham by inches as both clocked 1:50.9 for 880 yards.[1][4][5][nb 1] This equalled Ben Eastman's world record from the previous year.[4][5][7] Two weeks later Cunningham beat Hornbostel at the national championships in 1:51.8 (800 m).[8]
Hornbostel won the NCAA championship for a third and final time in 1934, this time in 1:51.9 (880 yards).[1] At the Princeton Invitational, however, he was decisively beaten by Eastman, who ran 1:49.8 to break his own and Hornbostel's record.[9] Hornbostel was some five yards behind in 1:50.7, also under the old record.[3][5]
Hornbostel qualified for the Olympics again in 1936, placing second to eventual gold medalist John Woodruff at the Trials in 1:51.3.[10] In the slow and tactical Olympic final Hornbostel finished fifth.[11] After the Olympics he took part in two world-record-setting relays on the same day, running 4 x 880 yards in 7:35.8 and 4 x Mile in 17:17.2.[3][12]
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d Hill, E. Garry. "800 Meters" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved May 19, 2013.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Hymans, Richard. "The History of the United States Olympic Trials - Track & Field". Track & Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Chuck Hornbostel Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ^ a b "Hard to Predict Outcome in Metcalfe-Owens Race". The Milwaukee Journal. June 20, 1933. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ^ a b c Jukola, Martti (1935). Huippu-urheilun historia (in Finnish). Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö.
- ^ "Track and Field Statistics". trackfield.brinkster.net. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ^ "Track Star Busy". Lawrence Journal-World. June 20, 1933. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ^ Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian; Track & Field News. "A History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2011". Track & Field News. Archived from the original on 2013-05-23. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ "Princeton Ace, Bill Bonthron, Trails Kansan". The Palm Beach Post-Times. June 17, 1934. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ^ Hymans, Richard. "The History of the United States Olympic Trials - Track & Field". Track & Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ^ "Athletics at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games: Men's 800 metres". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ "New 4-Mile Mark". Lawrence Journal-World. 15 August 1936. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners
- 1911 births
- 1989 deaths
- American male middle-distance runners
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics
- Indiana Hoosiers men's track and field athletes
- Olympic track and field athletes for the United States
- Sportspeople from Evansville, Indiana
- Harvard Business School alumni
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners