Martin William Liquori (born September 11, 1949) is a retired American middle distance

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

. Liquori rose to fame when he became the third American high schooler to break the

four-minute mile A four-minute mile is the completion of a mile run (1609 m) in four minutes or less. It was first achieved in 1954 by Roger Bannister, at age 25, in 3:59.4. As of April 2021, the "four-minute barrier" has been broken by 1,663 athletes, and is n ...

by running a 3:59.8 in 1967, three years after

Jim Ryun James Ronald Ryun (born April 29, 1947) is an American former Republican politician and Olympic track and field athlete, who at his peak was widely considered the world's top middle-distance runner. He won a silver medal in the 1500 m at the 1 ...

first did it. He grew up in

Cedar Grove, New Jersey Cedar Grove is a township in north central Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 12,411, reflecting an increase of 111 (+0.9%) from the 12,300 counted in the 2000 Census, w ...

and attended

Essex Catholic High School Essex Catholic Boys High School (formally known as Bishop Francis Essex Catholic High School after 2000) was a four-year Catholic high school located in Newark and East Orange, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The high school opened ...

. After high school, Liquori enrolled at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

. There he was coached by Jumbo Elliott. Liquori made the U.S.

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 ...

team in 1968 as a nineteen-year-old freshman. He reached the finals of the 1,500 meter run but suffered a stress fracture and finished 12th. He was the youngest person ever to compete in the final. In 1969, he finished second to Ryun in the NCAA indoor mile, then won the

NCAA 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 ...

and AAU outdoor mile championships by turning the tables on Ryun and beating him. He repeated the AAU outdoor in 1970 and had his best year in 1971, winning the NCAA and AAU outdoor titles, and a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in the 1,500 m at the Pan-American Games. Also in 1969 and 1971, he was ranked number 1 in the world for 1500 meters/mile. In 1977 he was ranked number 1 in 5000 meters and set a U.S. record of 13:15.1 while finishing second to

Miruts Yifter Miruts Yifter (, affectionately known as "Yifter the Shifter", 15 May 1944 – 22 December 2016) was an Ethiopian long-distance runner and winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics. His date of birth is often given as 15 May 1944, t ...

in the inaugural World Cup. On May 16, 1971, Liquori lowered his personal best to 3:54.6 in the Dream Mile in Philadelphia and beat Ryun by a few steps. But Liquori was injured later that year. He didn't return to competition until 1973. In 1975, he ran a personal best 3:52.2 in the mile, finishing second to

Filbert Bayi Filbert Bayi Sanka (born June 23, 1953) is a Tanzanian former middle-distance runner who competed throughout the 1970s. He set the world records for 1500 metres in 1974 and the mile in 1975. His world record in the 1500 m was also the Comm ...

(who broke Ryun's world record in that race by 0.1 second with a 3:51.0), and set a United States record of 8:17.12 in the 2 mile. Liquori retired from competitive distance running in 1980. He has written an autobiography, ''On The Run'', and he also wrote ''Guide to the Elite Runner'' and ''Home Gym Workout''. He was a founder of The Athletic Attic Footwear chain in 1972. Liquori lives in

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

. Liquori did commentary at The Munich,Montreal,Sidney,Barcelona,Seoul,Athens Olympic Games and the New York and Boston Marathons .Liquori produced and hosted “Running and Racing” on Espn for 14 years and Fitness Adventures on the Outdoor Life Network. Liquori was diagnosed with

chronic lymphocytic leukemia Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). Early on, there are typically no symptoms. Later, non-painful lymph node swelling, feeling tired, fever, nigh ...

(CLL), which is now in remission. Liquori has been inducted into The New Jersey Sports Hall of Fame, National Track and Field Hall of Fame, Italian American Hall of Fame, National High School Hall of Game, National Distance Running Hall of Fame. In 2022 Liquori was inducted into the Cosida Academic All American Hall of Fame.

References

Audio interview

TheFinalSprint.com's interview with Olympian Marty Liquori
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liquori, Marty 1949 births Living people American male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Essex Catholic High School alumni Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Pan American Games People from Cedar Grove, New Jersey Sportspeople from Essex County, New Jersey Track and field athletes from New Jersey Villanova Wildcats men's track and field athletes Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games