Harold William Manning (January 9, 1909 – January 26, 2003) was an American

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 ...

. He held the American record in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase from 1934 to 1952 and briefly held the

world best 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 ...

in 1936. He represented the United States in the steeplechase at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

, placing fifth.

Biography

Manning was born in

Sedgwick, Kansas Sedgwick is a city in Harvey and Sedgwick counties in the State of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,603. History For millennia, the land now known as Kansas was inhabited by Native Americans. In 1803, most of ...

on January 9, 1909. He took up running as a schoolboy; in 1927, his

senior year Senior Year may refer to: * Senior (education), the final year in high school or college * ''Senior Year'' (2010 film), the 2010 film by Filipino director Jerrold Tarog * ''Senior Year'' (2022 film), a film starring Rebel Wilson * The Lockheed U-2 ...

at Sedgwick High School, he won the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

at both the Kansas state meet and the national interscholastic meet in Chicago. After graduating from high school Manning went to

Wichita University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 ...

on an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

. In 1929 Manning placed second in the

two-mile run The 2 mile (10,560 feet or 3,218.688 metres) is a historic running distance. Like the mile run, it is still contested at some invitational meets due its historical chronology in the United States and United Kingdom. It has been larg ...

at the

NCAA championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

; he led for most of the way, but lost a close final lap duel against defending champion Dave Abbott of Illinois. At that year's United States outdoor championships, organized by the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU), Manning placed third in the mile. Manning won the two miles at the 1930 NCAA meet, becoming Wichita University's first national champion; his winning time, 9:18.1, broke Abbott's meeting record from 1928 and missed

Tell Berna Tell Schirnding Berna (July 24, 1891 – April 5, 1975) was an American middle-distance and long-distance runner. His 1912 American record at two miles stood for twenty years. He competed for the United States in the 1912 Summer Olympics h ...

's collegiate record from 1912 by only three-tenths of a second. Manning graduated from Wichita University in 1931. Manning attempted to qualify for the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in the 3000-meter steeplechase; he won at the Midwestern Tryouts in 9:20.1, then his personal best. He entered the final United States Olympic Trials as one of the favorites to make the American team, but failed to replicate his earlier form; he placed fifth in 9:35.0, missing third place and the final Olympic spot by approximately eighty yards. Manning won his first AAU championship title in the steeplechase in 1934, outkicking defending champion

Joe McCluskey Joseph Paul McCluskey (June 2, 1911 – August 31, 2002) was an American track and field athlete. During his running career, he won 27 national titles in various distance events and captured the steeplechase title a record nine times in a 13-ye ...

in 9:13.1; he broke McCluskey's American record of 9:14.5 from the 1932 Olympic Trials. At the 1935 AAU championships Manning placed second behind McCluskey, but he regained the title in 1936.

World best and Olympics

The 1936 United States Olympic Trials were held at

Randall's Island Stadium Downing Stadium, previously known as Triborough Stadium and Randall's Island Stadium, was a 22,000-seat stadium in New York City. It was renamed Downing Stadium in 1955 after John J. Downing, a director at the New York City Department of Parks a ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on July 11 and July 12, a week after the 1936 AAU championships. Closing with a fast sprint, Manning won the 3000-meter steeplechase in 9:08.2, qualifying for the Olympic Games; his time broke

Volmari Iso-Hollo Volmari "Vomma" Fritijof Iso-Hollo (5 January 1907 – 23 June 1969) was a Finnish runner. He competed at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics in the 3000 m steeplechase and 10000 m and won two gold, one silver and one bronze medals. Iso-Hollo was one of ...

's world mark of 9:09.4 from 1933. In his record run Manning hurdled the water jumps without touching the barriers, then a new technique. The warm conditions at the Trials (which were held during the

1936 North American heat wave The 1936 North American heat wave was one of the most severe heat waves in the modern history of North America. It took place in the middle of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s and caused catastrophic human suffering and an enormous ...

) were not conducive to setting records in long-distance races; interviewed after the race, Manning noted he was used to hot weather. The

International Amateur Athletic Federation 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 ...

(IAAF) did not ratify world records in the steeplechase before 1954, so Manning's time was only a

; it was officially ratified as an American record but not as a world record. Manning's record made him one of the favorites for the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, although Iso-Hollo, who was the defending Olympic champion, was still expected to take the gold again. Manning's chances were damaged when he fell ill en route to the Olympics and recovered slowly. In Berlin he placed second behind Iso-Hollo in his heat; in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

he stayed in medal contention for most of the way but was outkicked at the end and placed fifth in 9:11.2. Iso-Hollo, who won in 9:03.8, regained the world best; the other medalists (

Kaarlo Tuominen Kaarlo Jalmari Tuominen (9 February 1908 – 20 October 2006) was a Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish la ...

and

Alfred Dompert Alfred Dompert (23 December 1914 – 11 August 1991) was a German runner who won a bronze medal in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was the German champion in this event in 1937, 1947 and 1950. After retiring from compet ...

) also broke Manning's Trials mark. Manning's American record lasted until 1952, when

Horace Ashenfelter Horace Ashenfelter III (January 23, 1923 – January 6, 2018) was an American athlete. He competed in international athletics from 1947 to 1956. During his career he won fifteen national AAU titles and three collegiate national titles. Bio ...

ran 9:06.4 at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Manning died in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

on January 26, 2003. He was inducted into the Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1980, and was posthumously named to the

Kansas Sports Hall of Fame The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in Wichita, dedicated to preserving the history of sports in the state of Kansas. The museum provides exhibits, archives, facilities, services, and activities to honor those individuals and te ...

and the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, Harold 1909 births 2003 deaths People from Sedgwick, Kansas Track and field athletes from Kansas American male long-distance runners American male steeplechase runners Wichita State Shockers men's track and field athletes Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field)