Anthony "Tony" B. Sandoval (born May 19, 1954) is a former world-class

marathon runner The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road running, road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also w ...

, most noted for winning the 1980 U.S. Olympic Marathon trials, in the year the U.S. boycotted the

Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

. Sandoval's 2:10:19 performance in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, on May 24, 1980, was a US Olympic Trials record and faster than the 1980 Olympic Marathon winning time of 2:11:03.

Career

In his first attempt to make the Olympic team "Sandoval took a crack at the ' 76 Olympic Marathon Trial. He'd run a 2:19 debut in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

the previous December. In the trial, held in Eugene, Oregon, Sandoval ran well but it was his first near-miss: fourth-place ith the top three making the teamin 2:14:58." In the late 1970s, Sandoval worked towards becoming a

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and competed in marathons on unusually light training. Following the 1976 trials, he trained by running 35 miles per week and ran "a 2:14:37 for second place at the Nike-Oregon Track Club Marathon in Eugene in 1978. After that, he ran 2:15:23 for 15th place in the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...

in 1979." In September 1979, Sandoval finished the

Nike OTC Marathon The Nike OTC Marathon (sometimes styled "Nike/Oregon Track Club Marathon") was a marathon held annually from 1973–1984 in Eugene, Oregon. It was organized by the Oregon Track Club (OTC) and sponsored by Nike, Inc., Nike. The women's world record ...

tied for first with

Jeff Wells Jeff Wells (born 25 May 1954) is a marathon runner and pastor, originally from Madisonville, Texas, United States. Running Wells attended Rice University, majored in history, and was named an All-American four times in cross country and track. ...

with a time of 2:10:20, with the two runners crossing the finish line hand-in-hand. "'We were running together,' says Sandoval, 'At the finish, I just put my arm out and Jeff put his arm out. No words were spoken.'" Following the 1980 Trials "Sandoval made attempts in subsequent marathon trials. He ran 2:12:42 for sixth place in 1984 and 2:22:37 for 27th place in 1988. In the 1992 trials in Columbus, Ohio, Sandoval popped an Achilles tendon at 8 miles and was a dnf id not finish 'That was the last time I ran hard,' he says." Sandoval's lifetime best for 10,000 meters came at the Mt. Sac relays in 1984, where he ran 27:47.0 for fifth place. Sandoval was inducted into the

Road Runners Club of America Founded in 1958, the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) is the oldest and largest distance running organization in the United States with over 1,500 running club and event members representing 200,000 individual runners active in their running c ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in 1999. Sandoval is currently a cardiologist in

Los Alamos, New Mexico Los Alamos is an census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, that is recognized as the development and creation place of the atomic bomb—the primary objective of the Manhattan Project by Los Alamos National Labora ...

, US. Sandoval is referenced in the 2010 novel '' Again to Carthage'' by

John L. Parker Jr. John L. Parker Jr. (born 1947) is an American writer and the author of the cult classic novel '' Once A Runner'' and the more recently published '' Again to Carthage'' and '' Racing the Rain''. The trilogy chronicles the struggles of Quenton Ca ...

Achievements

References

External links

*https://archive.today/20070529173324/http://www.theharrier.com/marcbloomrunning/worldclassrunners/sandoval.php *http://digilander.libero.it/atletica3/Stagionali/WRL/1984/10000.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandoval, Tony 1954 births American male long-distance runners American cardiologists Living people Place of birth missing (living people) People from Los Alamos, New Mexico