Reinstated: USATF’s Vin Lananna
On December 5 CAS ruled that the “temporarily suspended” president of USATF should be reinstated.
Died: Karin Balzer, 81
On December 17, in Leipzig, Germany; after a short illness. The East German won gold in the 80m hurdles at the ’64 Olympics, placed 5th in ’68 and returned for bronze in the 100H in ’72. She set 1 World Record over the 80H and 6 over the 100H. She World Ranked 11 times 1960–72, with No. 1s in ’64 and ’69, ’70 & ’71. She remains the No. 3 scorer in World Rankings history.
Died: Miguelina Cobián, 77
On December 1, in Havana; after a long illness. Twice an Olympic 100 finalist (5th in ’64, 8th in ’68) she won Mexico silver on the Cuban 4×1. She was a 6-time scorer in the 100 World Rankings, thrice reaching No. 5. In the 200 she scored 5 times with a high of No. 3.
Died: Graham Crouch, 71
On November 28, in Lengenfeld, Germany; of cancer. The Aussie placed 8th in the ’76 Olympic 1500. A 3-time national champion, he had had his sights on silver in the final stretch of the Commonwealth 1500 of ’74, only to finish 5th in a national record 3:34.22 as Filbert Bayi and John Walker both went under the World Record.
Died: Peter Snell, 80
On December 12 in Dallas, from heart problems. See here for our tribute to the Kiwi legend. ◻︎
