Little known factoid: Keino was the first African to break 4:00 for the mile. I don't remember the year, but believe that it was mid-60's.
This was kind of amazing to me considering how many Americans and Europeans had done it, and how long ago it had been done. Also, it had long since been achieved indoors. Can anyone name who and when a man from every continent broke the 4:00-mile? Most of these are no-brainers, but I am curious about (what year)/(who did it) for Asia, Africa, and South America. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2002 1:18 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: t-and-f: Keino (was:: Solution for 1500m standard problem) Question for those familiar with the U.S. elite track scene of the mid-60's- (about ten years before my time) (the recollection of the Keino trademark hat-tossed-onto-the- infield-when-it-was-time-to-sprint made me wonder this question) Was Kip Keino the first African runner to compete on the U.S. "circuit" ?- which at that time included some of the world's preeminent meets- i.e. Compton, Modesto, U.S. vs Commonwealth, etc... To what degree was his fame and familiarity to a U.S. audience (via widespread U.S. TV coverage of the 'circuit' in those days) due not just to the signature tossed hat and the close duels with Jim Ryun, but also his being something of a 'novelty' competitor? Did he have teammates competing in these meets too? I know that the Australians and New Zealanders, like Ron Clarke and Peter Snell, competed on this U.S. circuit, but what about the prominent Europeans- like Bodo Tummler, Michel Jazy, Ron Hill, Jacques Boxberger and Harald Norpoth? RT
