Jearl Miles Clark, Dyrol Burleson, Roy Cochran, Ralph Craig and James Dunaway Elected to National Track and Field Hall of Fame

by: USATF Communications
November 5, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS – All-time track and field greats Jearl Miles Clark, Dyrol Burleson, Roy Cochran, Ralph Craig and journalist James Dunaway have been elected to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame, USA Track & Field announced on Thursday.

The Class of 2010 will be inducted Saturday evening, December 4, at the Jesse Owens Awards and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, held in conjunction with USATF’s 2010 Annual Meeting in Virginia Beach, Va.

A five-time Olympic team member and numerous national champion, Jearl Miles Clark was one of the greatest combination 400m/800m runners in American track and field history.

Dyrol Burleson was a two-time Olympic finalist in the 1,500 meters, who twice won the Olympic Trials.

The 1948 Olympic Games gold medalist in the 400m hurdles, Roy Cochran was a world record holder in the 440y hurdles.

One of the most accomplished sprinters in the early days of track and field in the U.S., Ralph Craig won the 100m and 200m gold medals at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, and held the world record in the 220y straight dash.

 Track and field journalist James Dunaway has covered every summer Olympic Games since 1956 and has written countless articles about the sport and its athletes that have appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times. Dunaway was elected to the Hall of Fame in the Contributors category.

“Induction into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame is the greatest tribute anyone involved with our sport may achieve, and each member of the Class of 2010 richly deserves this honor,” said USATF President and Chairman of the Board Stephanie Hightower.  “Each of these remarkable individuals have made indelible and unique contributions to our sport, and we all look forward to honoring them as they take their rightful place in the Hall of Fame.”

Also elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010 balloting was distance legend and three-time Olympic team member Craig Virgin, who is the only U.S. male athlete ever to win an individual World Cross Country Championships title (1980 & 1981).  At his request, Virgin has deferred his induction into the Hall of fame until 2011, when the ceremony will be held in St. Louis, near his current home. The 1976 NCAA Cross Country champion while at the University of Illinois, Virgin set seven U.S. national records in road and track events. 

About the National Track & Field Hall of Fame

There are four categories in which individuals may be voted into the Hall of Fame. Those categories are: Modern Athletes, retired less than 25 years; Veteran Athletes, retired more than 25 years; Coaches; and Contributors. Each category has its own selection committee that chooses the finalists from the list of nominations. Members of the selection committees examine the nominations and evaluate their merit based on objective criteria. Elections for Modern and Veteran athletes are held each year. Beginning in 2005, elections for Coaches are held in odd numbered years, with Contributors elections in even numbered years. Hall of Fame inductees, members of the National Track & Field Hall of Fame Board and Committees and members of the media comprise the electorate for the National Track & Field Hall of Fame.

Class of 2010 biographies

Biographies for the “Class of 2010” for the National Track & Field Hall of Fame follow:

MODERN ATHLETE

JEARL MILES CLARK

Born: September 4, 1966 in Gainesville, Florida

In a career recognized for its excellence as well as its longevity, Jearl Miles Clark achieved tremendous success in both the 400m and 800m.  The 1993 World Outdoor champion, 1995 & 1997 World Outdoor Championships bronze medalist  and 1997 World Indoor champion at 400 meters, Miles Clark was a two time Olympian in the 400m (1992 - 5^th in semis & 1996 - 5^th in final), and competed in the 800m at two Olympic Games (2000- 5^th in semis & 2004 - 6^th in final). A five-time Olympic Team member, Miles Clark is a three-time Olympic 4x400m relay medalist (1992, silver, 1996 & 2000 gold), and she also won 4x400m relay medals at six World Outdoor Championships (1991 silver – 1993 gold – 1995 gold – 1997 silver – 1999 silver – 2003 gold).  A six-time World Indoor Championships competitor, who captured the 400m gold medal in 1997 and bronze medals in 1993 and 1999, Miles Clark won two 4x400m relay medals at that event (1991 bronze & 1997 silver).  She won USA Outdoor 400m titles in 1993, ’95, ’97 & ‘02 and captured USA Outdoor 800m crowns in 1998, ’99, ’03 & ’04.  Posted the American women’s outdoor 800m record three times including the current AR of 1:56.40 in 1999. Miles Clark won USA Indoor 400m titles in 1993, ‘95 ’97, ’98 & ‘99 and captured the USA Indoor 800m title in 2001.  Note:  The original edition of this release did not mention that Miles Clark’s gold medal in the 4x400m relay at the 2000 Olympic Games, revoked due to a doping disqualification by one of her teammates, was restored to her in 2010.

VETERAN ATHLETES

DYROL BURLESON
Born: April 27, 1940 in Cottage Grove, Oregon
A two-time Olympic finalist in the men’s 1,500m (6^th in 1960, 5^th in 1964), Burleson won that event at the Olympic Trials in both those years. Burleson was a three-time NCAA champion (1,500m/Mile: 1960 1,500m, 1961 mile, 1962 mile) at the University of Oregon, who twice held the U.S. outdoor 1,500m record (3:41.3 & 3:40.9, 1960) and the U.S. outdoor mile record (3:58.6 in 1960 & 3:57.6 in 1961).  In 1965 he set the U.S. indoor 1,500m record of 3:42.8, and in 1961 he set the U.S. mile record of 4:03.8.  He also held the U.S. 2-mile record when he ran 8:42.5 in 1962, and was a member of the quartet that set the 4xMile world record of 16:09 in 1962. He was ranked top ten in the world at 1,500m on seven occasions, and was ranked #1 globally in 1961.  Burleson was the first runner ever to break the four-minute mile barrier at the University of Oregon’s famed Hayward Field. 

ROY COCHRAN

Born:  January 6, 1919 in Richton, Miss.
Died:  September 26, 1981

One of America’s great 400m hurdlers, Cochran is best known for winning the gold medal in that event at the 1948 Olympic Games in London by a margin of more than five meters in the Olympic record time of 51.1.  The ninth of ten children, Cochran ran the third leg of the U.S. gold medal winning 4x400m relay in London. Cochran won U.S. 400m hurdles titles in 1939 and 1948, in addition to winning at the Olympic Trials that same year.  Cochran posted the 440-yard hurdles world record when he ran 52.2 in 1942.  He was ranked #1 in the world in the 400m hurdles in 1939 and 1948.  Cochran was an All-American at Indiana University, where he won four Big Ten Conference titles.

RALPH CRAIG

Born:  June 21, 1889 in Detroit, Mich.
Died:  July 24, 1972

Craig won the 100m (10.8) and led a U.S. medal sweep in that event at the 1912 Olympic Games.  He also captured the 200m gold medal at those Games (21.7).  In 1910, Craig posted the world record in the 220-yard straight with his time of 21 1/5 and equaled that time again in 1911. In 1912 he set the American records at 100m (10 4/5) and at 200m (21.7). He ended the 1910, 1911 and 1912 seasons ranked #1 in the world at 200m and was ranked first globally at 100m following the 1912 campaign.  Craig returned to the U.S. Olympic Team 36 years following his 1912 glory in Stockholm as a reserve for the U.S. Yachting Team at the 1948 Games in London.  Craig served as the Team USA delegation flag bearer in London.

CONTRIBUTOR

JAMES DUNAWAY
Born:  August 17, 1927 in Houston, Texas

Jim Dunaway started covering track meets for money as well as enjoyment at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, and has covered every Games since then, 14 in all. He has also covered every World Track and Field Championships but one, 52 NCAA outdoor championships, and more than 100 indoor and outdoor AAU, TAC, and USA National Championships. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, Signature, The Runner, Runners' World, Track & Field News, American Track & Field, and many other magazines and newspapers. Author of the best-selling Sports Illustrated Book of Track & Field: Running Events, he was twice (1990-2001) and (2005-2007) elected president of the Track and Field Writers of America.

For more information on USA Track & Field and the National Track & Field Hall of Fame, visit: www.usatf.org.

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