Albert Richard "Whitey" Michelsen (December 16, 1893 – July 7, 1964) was an American long-distance runner who is recognized as having set a world's best in the
marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
on October 12, 1925, with a time of 2:29:01 at the inaugural Port Chester Marathon in
Port Chester, New York
Port Chester is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the largest part of the town of Rye (town), New York, Rye in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County by populat ...
.
[
] According to the
International Association of Athletics Federations
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...
, Michelsen held this record until
Fusashige Suzuki posted a 2:27:49 performance in
Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
on March 31, 1935.
Michelsen represented the United States in the marathon at the
1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, where he finished 9th, as well as the
1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where he finished 7th.
Michelsen again won the Portchester Marathon in 1927. Around that time, he was a
plumber
A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, and for sewage and drainage in plumbing systems. from
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...
.
Notes
His Grandma was from Germany
References
External links
*
Brief obituary in ''The Eugene Register-Guard''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michelsen, Albert
1893 births
1964 deaths
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
American male marathon runners
American male long-distance runners
Olympic track and field athletes of the United States
Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics