Bruce Emery Bickford (born March 12, 1957) is a retired
long-distance runner
Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength.
Within e ...
from the United States. He claimed the gold medal at the
1987 Pan American Games
The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...
in the Men's 10,000 metres, and represented his native country in the
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
.
He set his personal best (27:37.17) in the 10,000 metres in 1985 in
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropoli ...
. Bickford won a gold medal in the 1989 United States Olympic Festival Half Marathon.
Running career
High school
Bickford graduated from Lawrence High School of Fairfield, Maine where he began his climb to stardom under the direction of his late coach, David F. Martin. Bickford played basketball in his freshman year of high school, and ran cross country for the first time as a sophomore.
As a high-schooler, Bickford set the state record for Maine in the indoor
2-mile, with a time of 9:09.5, which he set in 1975 at the Dartmouth Relays.
Collegiate
He then went on to
Northeastern University
Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...
and was elected to the Northeastern University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991. He was also inducted into the Maine Running Hall of Fame and the Maine Sports Hall of Fame. In 1977, Bickford set and still holds one of Northeastern University's longest standing track records in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, with a time of 8:33.6.
Post-collegiate
After his undergraduate studies, Bickford's first professional affiliation was with New Balance.
[ Later into the 1980s he also raced in the Athletics West singlet, and was coached by Bob Sevene. Bickford finished second overall in the 1986 Philadelphia Distance Run behind New Balance teammate ]Mark Curp
Mark Curp (born January 5, 1959, in Chillicothe, Missouri) held the world record for the half marathon from 1985 until 1990. He continued holding the American record in the half marathon until a new record was set by Ryan Hall in 2007.
Curp atte ...
, finishing the half marathon in 1:01:57.
References
External links
* GoNU.com Hall of Fame Profil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bickford, Bruce
1957 births
Living people
American male long-distance runners
American male steeplechase runners
Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Olympic track and field athletes of the United States
People from Benton, Maine
Northeastern Huskies men's track and field athletes
Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games
Saint Joseph's College of Maine people
Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States
Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games