William Robert Bonthron (November 1, 1912 – January 17, 1983) was an American

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

who held the

world record 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 ...

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

for two years.

Career

Bonthron studied at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

. In 1933, his junior year, Bonthron was IC4A champion at both

800 meters The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

and

and then set an American record in a

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 Engli ...

race against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

's Jack Lovelock. Bonthron led most of the way and attempted to pull away in the final backstretch, only to be overhauled by Lovelock, who ran the last lap in 58.9 seconds to set a new world record of 4:07.6. Bonthron finished seven yards back in 4:08.7, also under

Jules Ladoumègue Jules Ladoumègue (10 December 1906 – 2 March 1973) was a French middle-distance runner. He became a running star as the sport enjoyed a huge resurgence at the start of the Great Depression, fueled in large part by newsreel coverage. His caree ...

's old world mark. In February 1934 Bonthron defeated

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hir ...

and

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

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 ...

champion Glenn Cunningham in an indoor meet in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

by several inches. On June 16 Bonthron was again on the losing end of a mile world record, as Cunningham beat him in the

Invitational Mile in 4:06.7. However, Bonthron came back to beat Cunningham at the NCAA championships on June 23 in a new meeting record time of 4:08.9. A week later at the national championships in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, Bonthron defeated Cunningham again. The race was over 1500 meters; Cunningham went out hard and was still well ahead a hundred yards from the tape, but Bonthron came through with a blistering sprint to win by two feet in a new

time of 3:48.8. Cunningham's time was 3:48.9, also inside Luigi Beccali's previous record of 3:49.0. Bonthron won the 1934 Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. Although Bonthron originally intended to retire from running after graduating, he ended up not doing so; he, Cunningham and Gene Venzke remained America's leading milers in 1935. However, Bonthron was not in his best shape in 1936 and only placed fourth at the

Olympic Trials 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 bet ...

(behind Cunningham, Archie San Romani and Venzke), failing to make the Olympic team and subsequently retiring. In April, 1936, Bonthron, along with many other sports champions and stand outs, was honored at a banquet in

Detroit, MI Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Qg8_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=jk4MAAAAIBAJ&pg=6215%2C5649943 This Banquet was the first celebration of Champions Day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonthron, Bill 1912 births 1983 deaths American male middle-distance runners Princeton Tigers men's track and field athletes World record setters in athletics (track and field) Track and field athletes from Detroit