Raymond Milton Conger (November 12, 1904 – October 23, 1994) was an American middle-distance runner. He held the world record for the 1,000 yards and the American record for the 1,500 metres. In the U.S. national championships, Conger was a three-time winner in both the 1,000 yd and 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 the 1928 Summer Olympics in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, he won his qualifying heat for the

1,500 m The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics (sport), athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Champi ...

but did not finish in the final. In 1929, Conger became the first and only athlete to defeat

Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" or the "Phantom Finn", as he dominated distance running in the 1920s. Nurmi set 22 official world ...

in the mile, beating the "

Flying Finn "The Flying Finn" ( fi, Lentävä suomalainen, sv, Flygande finländaren) is a nickname given to several Finnish athletes who were noted for their speed. Originally, it was given to several Finnish middle and long-distance runners. The term w ...

" to the win in the indoor

Wanamaker Mile The Wanamaker Mile is an indoor mile race held annually at the Millrose Games in New York City. It was named in honour of department store owner Rodman Wanamaker. The event was first held in 1926 inside Madison Square Garden, which was the venue ...

of the

Millrose Games The Millrose Games is an annual indoor athletics meet (track and field) held each February in New York City. They started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after having taken place in Madison Square Garden from 1914 to 2011 ...

. Although Conger was modest about his win, he would be known as "the man who beat Nurmi" for decades. Conger also scored wins over

Otto Peltzer Otto Paul Eberhard Peltzer (8 March 1900 – 11 August 1970) was a German middle distance runner who set world records in the 1920s. Over the 800 m Peltzer improved Ted Meredith's long-standing record by 0.3 seconds to 1:51.6 min in London in ...

and

Edvin Wide Emil Edvin Wide (22 February 1896 – 19 June 1996) was a Swedish middle-distance and long-distance runner. Biography Born in Finland as Emil Edvin Hermansson, Wide moved to Sweden in 1918. He competed for Sweden at the 1920 Summer Olympics in ...

, and went on to be undefeated in the mile for two seasons. He retired from running in 1932. Conger ran track for

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

in college, later obtained a master's degree in physiology, and then did further graduate work at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. From 1931 to 1936 he taught zoology at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he also coached track. He then joined the faculty at the Pennsylvania State University and was a long-time professor of professor of physical education preceding his retirement in 1970. In 1963, he was inducted into the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame. He was born and raised in Riceville, Iowa.

References

1904 births 1994 deaths American male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Iowa State Cyclones men's track and field athletes Columbia University alumni Carleton College faculty Pennsylvania State University faculty People from Riceville, Iowa Track and field athletes from Iowa {{US-middledistance-athletics-bio-stub

See also

References