Jack Keller (athlete)

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Jack Keller
Keller in 1929
Personal information
BornOctober 23, 1911
DiedJune 3, 1978 (aged 66)
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Height193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight77 kg (170 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
EventHurdles
ClubOhio State Buckeyes
Achievements and titles
Personal best120 ydH – 14.1 (1933)[1][2]

John Alton Claude Keller (October 23, 1911 – June 3, 1978) was an American hurdler who set world records in both 120 yard/110 meter and 220 yard events. He won the 110 m hurdles at the 1932 United States Olympic Trials, but narrowly missed out on a medal at the Olympics, placing a close fourth.[1]

Hurdling career[edit]

Jack Keller studied at Ohio State University and succeeded sprinter George Simpson as the Ohio State Buckeyes' leading track and field star.[3] As a sophomore in 1931, he won the 220 yard hurdles in 23.5 at the Big Ten conference meet;[4] he was favored in the 120 yard hurdles as well,[5] but was narrowly defeated by Illinois's Lee Sentman in a world-record-equaling 14.4.[6][7][note 1] He then led Ohio State to a second-place finish in the NCAA Championships, winning both the 120 yard hurdles (14.6) and the 220 yard hurdles (23.8) in difficult conditions and tying for highest points scorer of the meet.[10][11][12]

Keller continued to improve in 1932 and won that year's Big Ten 120-yard title in a world-record-breaking 14.0, defeating Iowa's new star George Saling.[13] However, due to wind assistance this time could not be ratified as a record.[13] Keller and Saling then split the two races at the NCAA Championships on June 11, both running under the respective world records: Saling won the 120 yard hurdles in 14.1 as Keller placed third,[14] while Keller defended his title in the longer race, beating Saling by a step in 22.7 to break Charles Brookins's world record of 23.0.[14][15] However, neither time was ratified as a world record.[11]

At the Olympic Trials on July 16 Keller again came out on top in the 110 meter hurdles, running 14.4 into a headwind to defeat Saling and the previous year's national champion, Percy Beard.[16] His winning time equaled the world record for the metric hurdles; automatically timed as 14.53, it was the first hurdling record to have been automatically timed.[16][17] The three Americans were clear favorites for the Olympics and were expected to sweep the medals.[18]

At the Olympics in Los Angeles Keller easily advanced from the first two rounds, winning his heat in 14.9 and the first semi-final in 14.5, an Olympic record.[1] However, that record only lasted for a few minutes, as the other semi-final was won by Saling in 14.4.[19] In the final Keller led for the first four hurdles, but hit the fifth hurdle and was caught first by Beard and then the eventual winner, Saling.[9] He was originally thought to have come in third and was presented with the Bronze Medal; however, after review of the Kirby Two-Eyed Camera films, officials determined that Britain's Don Finlay was the bronze medalist and they asked Keller to give the medal to Finlay.[20][21]

Saling died in a car accident in April 1933,[22] leaving Keller on top.[23] After watching Keller win the 120 yard hurdles at the 1933 Penn Relays in 14.3, 1920 Olympic champion and former world record holder Earl Thomson called him the "world's greatest hurdler", saying Keller was easily better than he had been.[24] Keller won that year's Big Ten championships in 14.1 (a world record) and 23.5.[4][25][26] However, at the NCAA Championships he fell in his heat in the 120 yard hurdles and failed to qualify for the final; the knee gashes he suffered in that fall spoiled his performance in the 220 yard hurdles as well.[27]

Keller retired from hurdling after the 1933 season,[25][28] and went on to become the managing editor of the Columbus, Ohio Citizen Journal.[21] He attempted a brief comeback in 1936.[28][29]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Keller himself had run 14.3 several weeks earlier at the Ohio Relays. However, that time wasn't ratifiable as a world record as he had knocked down two hurdles.[8] Although modern rules do not prohibit the toppling of hurdles, those valid in 1931 specified that knocking down any hurdles would make a mark invalid for record purposes and that knocking down three or more hurdles would lead to disqualification.[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Jack Keller Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on September 24, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  2. ^ Jack Keller. trackfield.brinkster.net
  3. ^ "New Colored Track Star May Prove Greatest of His Race". Reading Eagle. February 21, 1934. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Kopriva, Don. "All-Time Big 10 Men's Winners: 1901–2001". Track & Field News. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  5. ^ Powers, Francis J. (May 22, 1931). "Michigan, Illinois Again Favored in Big Ten Meet". The Deseret News. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  6. ^ Kirksey, George (May 25, 1931). "Sentman-Keller Dual is Epic". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  7. ^ "Wisconsin Captures Big 10 Meet; Lee Sentman Ties Record in Hurdles". The Milwaukee Journal. May 23, 1931. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  8. ^ "Two Records Are Broken". The Milwaukee Sentinel. May 3, 1931. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  9. ^ a b Jukola, Martti (1935). Huippu-urheilun historia (in Finnish). Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö.
  10. ^ Kirksey, George (June 7, 1931). "Southern California Wins Track Championship Again". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  11. ^ a b Hill, E. Garry. "A History of the NCAA Championships". Track & Field News. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  12. ^ "Trojans Smash Records to Win College Title". The Reading Eagle. June 7, 1931. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  13. ^ a b "Jack Keller Runs Hurdles in 14 Seconds". The Milwaukee Journal. May 21, 1932. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Metcalfe Cracks Three World Records". The Montreal Gazette. June 13, 1932. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  15. ^ Kuechle, Oliver E. (June 12, 1932). "When Ralph Metcalfe, Hilltop's Meteor, Runs the Cinders Burn". The Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  16. ^ a b Hymans, Richard. "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field". Track & Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 18, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  17. ^ Butler, Mark; IAAF Media & Public Relations Department, IAAF Statistics Handbook Daegu 2011, International Association of Athletics Federations
  18. ^ Gould, Alan (July 21, 1932). "American Should Win the Hurdles". The Evening Record. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  19. ^ "Athletics at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's 110 metres Hurdles Semi-Finals". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  20. ^ "Athletics at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's 110 metres Hurdles". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  21. ^ a b Greene, Bob (March 1, 2017). "An Athlete Who Had an Olympic Medal – and Then Didn't". The Wall Street Journal. p. A19.
  22. ^ "George Saling, World Champion Hurdler, Is Killed in Automobile Accident". Spokane Daily Chronicle. April 15, 1933. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  23. ^ "Keller King of Hurdlers". Lawrence Journal-World. May 12, 1933. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  24. ^ "Four Records Shattered At Penn Relays". Reading Eagle. April 29, 1933. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  25. ^ a b "Keller of Ohio Plans to Retire". The Milwaukee Journal. May 22, 1933. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  26. ^ "Big Six Marks in Track Compare Well With Those of Other Conference Meets". Lawrence Journal-World. June 2, 1933. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  27. ^ "Northwest Men Crash Way Into Track Finals". Spokane Daily Chronicle. June 16, 1933. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  28. ^ a b Gould, Alan (March 20, 1936). "America Seems Likely to Win Hurdle Events". The Miami News.
  29. ^ Kuechle, Oliver E. (June 22, 1936). "Trojan Athletes Here for Saturday's Meet". The Milwaukee Journal.
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