Frank Shorter was a driving force in the distance running boom that started in the U.S. in the late 1970s. He captured the imagination of runners throughout the country and worldwide when he won the 1972 Olympic marathon, finishing more than two minutes ahead of his closest competitor. A Yale University graduate, Shorter won his first major championship when he took the NCAA six-mile title in 1969. The following year, he won the 10,000 meters in the USA-USSR dual meet. In 1971, he won both the 10,000 and the marathon at the Pan American Games and followed up by taking the first of four successive victories in Japan's prestigious Fukuoka Marathon. His crowning moment came in 1972 in Munich, the city of his birth. There, he finished fifth in the 10,000 meters before his victory in the marathon. A 24-time national champion, Shorter's 1972 Olympic win earned him the Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete. In 1976, he took the silver medal in the Olympic marathon. Shorter earned a law degree in 1974 and later started his own athletic supply company. He also works in television as a sports commentator. Shorter was elected to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1984.
1972 Olympics: 10,000 m (5th) 1972 Olympics: marathon (1st) 1976 Olympics: marathon (2nd) 1971 Pan-Am Games: 10,000 m (1st) 1971 Pan-Am Games: marathon (1st) 1969 NCAA: 6 mi. (1st)
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