Ralph Anthony Hill (December 26, 1908 – October 17, 1994) was an American runner. He set an American record over the mile in 1930 and won a silver medal in the 5000 m event at the 1932 Olympics. Hill studied at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

when competing in 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' ...

on the 5000 m. In an exciting race on August 5, 1932, he came in second behind

Lauri Lehtinen Lauri Aleksanteri Lehtinen (10 August 1908 – 4 December 1973) was a Finnish long-distance runner, winner of a controversial 5000 m race at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Lehtinen ran a new world record in 5000 m (14:17.0) just ...

, with each runner recording a time of 14:30.0. The judges deliberated for an hour before deciding not to disqualify Lehtinen, as he had appeared to block Hill twice. Hill refused to file a protest, stating that he believed Lehtinen's obstruction was accidental. Lauri Virtanen came in third 14 seconds behind. After college Hill made a career of farming near Klamath Falls. The local Henley High School renamed its football field in September 1992 after its alumnus Hill.

References

1908 births 1994 deaths People from Klamath Falls, Oregon American male long-distance runners Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Oregon Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Grand River Academy alumni {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub