Wes Santee
Wedding of Wes Santee and Anna Lou Denning on April 19, 1954 | ||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||
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Born | March 25, 1932 Ashland, Kansas, U.S.[1] | |||||||||||
Died | November 14, 2010 (aged 78) Eureka, Kansas, U.S. | |||||||||||
Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||
Weight | 68 kg (150 lb) | |||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||
Event | 800–5000 m | |||||||||||
Club | Kansas Jayhawks, Lawrence | |||||||||||
Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||
Personal best(s) | 800 m – 1:47.8 (1955) 1500 m – 3:42.8 (1954) Mile – 4:00.5 (1955) 5000 m – 14:32.0 (1952)[1][2] | |||||||||||
Medal record
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David Wesley Santee (March 25, 1932 – November 14, 2010) was an American middle distance runner and athlete who competed mainly in the 1,500 meters and mile events.
Born in Ashland, Kansas, Santee was nicknamed the "Ashland Antelope." Santee attended high school in Ashland, where he set a state record in the mile run. He later attended the University of Kansas where he set records in cross country and the mile and two-mile events. He was the Individual NCAA Cross Country Champion in 1953, while leading his team to the overall championship.
Santee competed in the 5,000 meters in the 1952 Summer Olympics at Helsinki, Finland, but did not win a medal. Three years later, Santee won the silver medal in the 1,500 meters at the 1955 Pan American Games in Mexico City.[3]
During this period, Santee was one of the top milers in the world, aspiring to become the first man to run a four-minute mile. His chief competitors were Great Britain's Roger Bannister and Australia's John Landy. On May 6, 1954, Bannister became the first to break the barrier with a time of 3:59.4. Seven weeks later, Landy surpassed Bannister's mark.
In June 1954, Santee set the a world 1,500-meter record of 3:42.8 on his way to a crushing mile win over Olympic champion Josy Barthel, but after sprinting past Barthel he slowed slightly, finishing the mile at 4:00.7.[4][5]
In early 1955, Santee came close to a four-minute mile of his own, with a time of 4:00.5, but he would never surpass this time. Shortly afterwards, Santee was suspended by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) in a dispute over his amateur status. AAU rules at that time limited amateurs to $15 per diem expenses to cover food and lodging, and the costs of air travel. For three track meets over a nine-day period in May 1955, Santee had been paid $1,127.85 of expenses [6]
In 1956, Santee was permanently barred from amateur events, ending his chance to surpass Bannister and Landy and also costing him a place in the 1956 Summer Olympics at Melbourne, Australia. Santee had previously been banned from competing internationally because of early questions surrounding his status as an amateur.[1]
During his abbreviated career, Santee set world records in the 1,500 meter run, indoor 1,500 meter run and indoor mile.[1] In 2005 he was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.[7] Santee's track career, including his rivalry with Bannister and Landy and his troubles with the AAU, is chronicled in Neal Bascomb's 2004 book The Perfect Mile.
He died of cancer at home in Eureka, Kansas on November 14, 2010.[8][9][10]
References
- ^ a b c d Wes Santee. sports-reference.com
- ^ Wesley Santee. trackfield.brinkster.net
- ^ "Former KU track great, Olympian Wes Santee dies at 78". Salina Journal. November 15, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
- ^ "Wes Santee: US runner who came agonisingly close to breaking the". Independent.co.uk. December 22, 2010.
- ^ "Wes Santee, 78; track great nearly broke 4-minute mile". Boston.com. November 15, 2010.
- ^ "The Santee Situation", in "Events and Discoveries", Sports Illustrated, November 14, 1955, p15; in current dollars, the amount would be more than $8,500
- ^ Wes Santee. National Track and Field Hall of Fame
- ^ "Runner hoped to break record for mile". Washington Post. November 16, 2010. p. B7.
- ^ "National Track & Field Hall of Famer Wes Santee dies". USATF. November 15, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
- ^ "Wes Santee dies at 78; track star set records in 1,500 meters and indoor mile" Los Angeles Times November 16, 2010
External links
- Kansas Sports Hall of Fame – Wes Santee
- v
- t
- e
New York Athletic Club
- 1876M: Harold Lambe (CAN) * Cornelius Vought
- 1877M: Richard Morgan
- 1878M: Thomas Smith
NAAAA
- 1879M: Henry Pellatt (CAN) * William Duffy
- 1880–83M: Harry Fredericks
- 1884M: Percy Madeira
- 1885M: George Gilbert
- 1886–87M: Edward Carter
- 1888MNote 1: Thomas Conneff
Amateur Athletic Union
- 1888MNote 1: G.M. Gibbs (CAN) * Thomas Conneff
- 1889–90M: Albert George
- 1891M: Thomas Conneff
- 1892M: George Orton (CAN) * Ernest Hjertberg
- 1893-5M: George Orton (CAN) * A.J. Walsh
- 1896M: George Orton (CAN) * Mortimer Remington
- 1897–98M: John Cregan
- 1899M: Alex Grant
- 1900M: George Orton (CAN) *Alex Grant
- 1901–03M: Alex Grant
- 1904M: David Munson
- 1905M: Jim Lightbody
- 1906M: Albert Rodgers
- 1907M: James Sullivan
- 1908M: Herbert Trube
- 1909M: Joe Ballard
- 1910M: Joe Monument
- 1911–12M: Abel Kiviat
- 1913M: Norman Taber
- 1914M: Abel Kiviat
- 1915M: Joie Ray
- 1916M: Ivan Meyers
- 1917–23M OT: Joie Ray
- 1924–25M: Ray Buker
- 1926M: Lloyd Hahn
- 1927M-28OT: Ray Conger
- 1929M: Leo Lermond
- 1930M: Ray Conger
- 1931M: Leo Lermond
- 1932OT: Norwood Hallowell
- 1933: Glenn Cunningham
- 1934: Bill Bonthron
- 1935–38: Glenn Cunningham
- 1939: Blaine Rideout
- 1940: Walter Mehl
- 1941: Leslie MacMitchell
- 1942–43: Gil Dodds
- 1944: William Hulse
- 1945: Roland Sink
- 1946: Lennart Strand (SWE) * Leslie MacMitchell
- 1947: Gerry Karver
- 1948: Gil Dodds
- 1949–50: John Twomey
- 1951: Len Truex
- 1952–53M: Wes Santee
- 1954M: Fred Dwyer
- 1955M: Wes Santee
- 1956: Jerome Walters
- 1957M: Merv Lincoln (AUS) * Bob Seaman
- 1958M: Herb Elliott (AUS) * Ed Moran
- 1959: Dyrol Burleson
- 1960: Jim Grelle
- 1961M: Dyrol Burleson
- 1962M: Jim Beatty
- 1963M: Dyrol Burleson
- 1964: Tom O'Hara
- 1965–67M: Jim Ryun
- 1968: John Mason
- 1969M: Marty Liquori
- 1970M: Howell Michael
- 1971M: Marty Liquori
- 1972: Jerome Howe
- 1973M: Leonard Hilton
- 1974: Rod Dixon (NZL) * Tom Byers
- 1975: Leonard Hilton
- 1976: Eamonn Coghlan (IRL) *Michael Manke
- 1977–79: Steve Scott
The Athletics Congress
- 1980: Steve Lacy
- 1981: Sydney Maree (SAF) * Steve Scott
- 1982–83: Steve Scott
- 1984–85: Jim Spivey
- 1986: Steve Scott
- 1987: Jim Spivey
- 1988: Mark Deady
- 1989: Terrance Herrington
- 1990: Joe Falcon
- 1991: Terrance Herrington
- 1992OT: Jim Spivey
USA Track & Field
- 1993: Bill Burke
- 1994: Terrance Herrington
- 1995–96OT: Paul McMullen
- 1997: Seneca Lassiter
- 1998: Jamey Harris
- 1999: Steve Holman
- 2000OT: Gabe Jennings
- 2001: Andy Downin
- 2002: Seneca Lassiter
- 2003: Jason Lunn
- 2004–05: Alan Webb
- 2006: Bernard Lagat
- 2007: Alan Webb
- 2008: Bernard Lagat
- 2009–10: Lopez Lomong
- 2011: Matthew Centrowitz
- 2012: Leonel Manzano
- 2013: Matthew Centrowitz
- 2014: Leonel Manzano
- 2015–16: Matthew Centrowitz
- 2017: Robby Andrews
- 2018: Matthew Centrowitz
- 2019: Craig Engels
- 20212020 OT: Cole Hocker
- 2022: Cooper Teare
- 2023: Yared Nuguse
- Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships
- M: Denotes that the race was run over a mile rather than 1500 m
- OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932, 1992, 1996 & 2000 championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
- 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.