1952 Olympic Memorabilia - University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
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ted28285
N 40° 48.647 W 077° 51.344
18T E 259128 N 4521677
On display at the Penn State All Sports Museum are some of Horace Ashenfelter, 1952 Olympic gold medalist items including his Gold Medal.
Waymark Code: WM15W2R
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 03/06/2022
Views: 3
On display are some of Horace Ashenfelter Olympic clothing, and his Gold Medal from the 1952 Olympic Game held in Helsinki, Finland. Horace Ashenfelter competed in the 3000-meter Steeplechase.
Text from the display: " Steeplechase over hurdles and water jumps. Steeplechase challenges runners to 28 hurdles and seven water jumps over 3000 meters.
A slip can mean the difference between winning or losing. In 1977 Penn Relay champion George Malley set an American record of 8:22.54 at the National AAU National Championships.
Decades before Horace Ashenfelter ran a storybook race in Helsinki. Battling world record holder Vladimir Rockzjack in 1952. Ashenfelter landed firmly on the ground at the last water jump while the Soviet runner faltered. Ashenfelter, by then a FBI agent, upset the Russian to win the gold medal in an Olympic record time of 8:45.4. and returned to a hero's welcome.
"Horace Ashenfelter's name should be said with reverence. The only American to win the Olympic gold medal in the steeplechase, Ashenfelter broke the Olympic record in the heats and then by six seconds, broke the world record in the final, taking the gold medal."Source
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