Charles Christian Hornbostel (September 26, 1911 – January 13, 1989) was an American

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

. He made two

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

finals at

800 meters The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

and once tied the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

at 880 yards.

Career

As a sophomore at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

, Hornbostel won the 800 meters at the 1932 NCAA Championships in a meeting record time of 1:52.7. 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

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. At the Olympics in

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Hornbostel won his heat, running 1:52.4 and beating the eventual silver medalist, Alex Wilson of

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. In the final he placed sixth, again running 1:52.7. Hornbostel repeated as NCAA champion in 1933, beating mile champion

Glenn Cunningham Glenn Cunningham may refer to: * Glenn Cunningham (athlete) (1909–1988), American runner, Olympic Games medalist *Glenn Cunningham (Nebraska politician) (1912–2003), American politician, mayor of Omaha, and congressman for Nebraska *Glenn Cunni ...

by inches as both clocked 1:50.9 for 880 yards. This equalled

Ben Eastman Benjamin Bangs Eastman (July 19, 1911 – October 6, 2002), alias "Blazin' Ben", was an American middle distance runner. He was born in Burlingame, California, and graduated from Stanford University in 1933. He competed for the United ...

's world record from the previous year. Two weeks later Cunningham beat Hornbostel at the

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

in 1:51.8 (800 m). Hornbostel won the NCAA championship for a third and final time in 1934, this time in 1:51.9 (880 yards). At the

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

Invitational, however, he was decisively beaten by Eastman, who ran 1:49.8 to break his own and Hornbostel's record. Hornbostel was some five yards behind in 1:50.7, also under the old record. Hornbostel qualified for the Olympics again in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, placing second to eventual gold medalist John Woodruff at the

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in 1:51.3. In the slow and tactical Olympic final Hornbostel finished fifth. 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. Prior to the Berlin Olympics, he earned an MBA from Harvard Business School

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hornbostel, Chuck 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 people