Norbert Sander

Last updated
Norbert Sander
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born(1942-08-21)21 August 1942
United States
Died17 March 2017(2017-03-17) (aged 74)
Sport
CountryFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Sport Sport of athletics
Event Marathon
Achievements and titles
Personal best
  • Marathon: 2:23:38 (1972)

Norbert Sander (August 21, 1942 - March 17, 2017) was an American physician and runner who won the New York City Marathon in 1974. He has been described as "one of the most influential track and field figures in the city's history." [1] [2]

Dr. Norbert Sander remains the only male New Yorker to win the New York City Marathon. He prevailed when the 26.2-mile event was held in Central Park, two years before it became the five-borough race it is today. More than a decade later, while practicing family medicine in the Bronx, Sander came across the Armory, a formerly famed indoor track and field facility in the Washington Heights neighborhood where he raced as a boy.

The Fort Washington Avenue Armory facility had become a “dilapidated, overcrowded homeless shelter” in the 1980s, according to the New York Road Runners. There were about 2,000 homeless men housed in unsanitary conditions. Every window was broken, according to Fordham Preparatory School, from which Sander graduated in 1960.Sander, as president, CEO and founder of the Armory Foundation, helped the homeless relocate to better living conditions. He lobbied city corporations and athletic companies to raise money to restore the Armory. Efforts by those including Sander netted $25 million to restore the building, according to Fordham Prep. Track and field competition returned to the Armory in 1993 after a seven-year hiatus, according to The New York Times. Now, it’s a national historic landmark, houses the National Track and Field Hall of Fame and hosts the Millrose Games every February, arguably the most prestigious annual indoor track and field meet. The Millrose Games feature not only Olympic and world champions, but also youth and high school races.

In 2014, Sander received the Abebe Bikila Award from the New York Road Runners for his “outstanding commitment and contributions to the sport of distance running.” The award was named after the Ethiopian marathoner who became the first sub-Saharan African to win an Olympic gold medal. “Dr. Sander was a partner to USATF who cared passionately about the sport and even more about the kids who benefit from the Armory’s track and field, educational and enrichment programs,” USA Track and Field CEO Max Siegel said in a statement. “Countless young people have been impacted by his work.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberto Salazar</span> Cuban-born American long-distance runner, and later, track coach

Alberto Salazar is an American former track coach and long-distance runner. Born in Cuba, Salazar immigrated to the United States as a child with his family, living in Connecticut and then in Wayland, Massachusetts, where Salazar competed in track and field in high school. Salazar won the New York City Marathon three times in the early 1980s, and won the 1982 Boston Marathon in a race known as the "Duel in the Sun". He set American track records for 5,000 m and 10,000 m in 1982. Salazar was later the head coach of the Nike Oregon Project. He won the IAAF Coaching Achievement Award in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wanamaker Mile</span> Annual elite indoor mile race

The Wanamaker Mile is a prestigious indoor mile race for elite middle distance runners held annually at the Millrose Games in New York City. Alongside Oslo's Dream Mile and Eugene's Bowerman Mile, the Wanamaker Mile is among the world's premier mile races. It is the signature and concluding event of the Millrose Games, and is named in honor of department store owner Rodman Wanamaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Lagat</span> Kenyan-American runner

Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat is a Kenyan-American former middle and long-distance runner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millrose Games</span> Annual indoor athletics meet

The Millrose Games are an annual indoor athletics meet held each February in New York City. Among the world's most prestigious indoor track meets, the games started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after having taken place in Madison Square Garden from 1914 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mile run</span> Common middle-distance running event

The mile run is a middle-distance foot race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galen Rupp</span> American long-distance runner

Galen Rupp is an American long-distance runner. He competed in the Summer Olympics in 2008 in Beijing, 2012 in London, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and 2021 in Tokyo. He won the silver medal in the men's 10,000 meters in London and the bronze medal in the men's marathon in Rio de Janeiro. Rupp competed for the University of Oregon and trained under Alberto Salazar as a member of the Nike Oregon Project. He won the 2017 Chicago Marathon, becoming the first American to do so since Khalid Khannouchi in 2002. Rupp won the marathon at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta with a time of 2:09:20, and qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, where he finished eighth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Cummings</span> American distance runner (1953–2001)

Paul Richard Cummings was a world-class middle and long distance runner who ran competitively from the 1,500 meters to the marathon, breaking several American records and one world record. His ability to have a middle distance runner's kick and also have the stamina to compete in distances up to the marathon place him as one of the most versatile American track and road racers of his era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Kipyego</span> Kenyan-born American long- and middle-distance runner

Sally Jepkosgei Kipyego is a Kenyan-born American long- and middle-distance runner. She was the silver medalist in the 10,000 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the silver medalist in the same race at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She has a personal record of 30:38.35 minutes for that event and her 5000 metres best of 14:30.42 minutes makes her the second fastest Kenyan woman for the distance.

Raymond P. Flynn is a retired middle-distance runner who today works as a sports agent. Over the course of his racing career, Flynn ran a total of 89 sub-four minute miles, with his best time of 3:49.77 on 7 July 1982 in Oslo, Norway at the Bislett Games Dream Mile. He also held the Irish 1500 metres record for 41 years after running 3:33.5, in the same Oslo race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Washington Avenue Armory</span> Armory in Manhattan, New York

The Fort Washington Avenue Armory, also known as the Fort Washington Armory, The Armory, and the 22nd Regiment Armory, is a historic 5,000-seat arena and armory building located at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, between West 168th and 169th Streets, in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is a brick Classical Revival building with Romanesque Revival elements, such as the entrance arch, and is currently home to the non-profit Armory Foundation, National Track and Field Hall of Fame, Nike Track and Field Center, and other organizations including the Police Athletic League of New York City.

Craig Alford Masback is a retired American middle-distance runner who specialized in the mile and 1500 meters, recording 30 sub-four-minute miles, including a best of 3:52.02, winning the U.S. Indoor Championships at the mile distance in 1980, establishing an American record at 2000 meters in 1982, and representing the United States 10 times in international competition between 1976 and 1985.

Thure Johansson was a Swedish long-distance runner who is credited by the International Association of Athletics Federations for setting a world's best of 2:40:34 in the marathon on August 31, 1909. Johansson's record was reportedly set on a 368-meter indoor track at the Idrottsparken Velodrome Marathon in Stockholm, Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molly Huddle</span> American long-distance runner

Molly Huddle is an American long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. She held the American record in the 5000 meters set in 2014 in Monaco (14:42.64), which has since been lowered by Shannon Rowbury, Shelby Houlihan and Alicia Monson. Huddle held also the American record in the 10,000 meters set at the 2016 Rio Olympics with a time of 30:13.17, which has since been lowered by Alicia Monson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara Hall</span> American runner

Sara Hall is an American professional distance runner for ASICS. Hall's personal best time for the marathon is 2:20:32 set at the Marathon Project in Chandler, Arizona on December 22, 2020, making her the third-fastest American woman in history. She is the second-fastest American woman ever to run the half marathon, running 1:07:15 on January 16, 2022–an American record at the time.

The Armory Foundation is a non-profit organization located in New York City that operates the historic Fort Washington Avenue Armory. The Armory hosts over 100 track meets and over 220,000 athlete visits each year, including the prestigious Millrose Games. The Armory is home to more track & field records than any other facility in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Webb (runner)</span> American middle distance runner

Alan Webb is an American former track and field athlete and former triathlete. He held the American national record in the mile, with a time of 3 minutes 46.91 seconds, from July 2007 to September 2023. Webb represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the men's 1500-meters race. He competed professionally for Nike until the end of 2013. He retired after the 2014 Millrose Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yomif Kejelcha</span> Ethiopian long-distance runner

Yomif Kejelcha Atomsa is an Ethiopian distance runner. He holds the current world record in the short track mile, and the half marathon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karissa Schweizer</span> American runner (born 1996)

Karissa Schweizer is an American middle- and long-distance runner, Olympian and World Record holder in the women's 4x1500 meters relay. She competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters events finishing 11th and 12th, respectively. In 2020, she set the indoor 3000 meters American Record with a time of 8:25.70.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Klecker</span> American distance runner

Joe Klecker is an American long-distance runner. After a successful collegiate career with the Colorado Buffaloes he turned professional in 2020 joining the On Athletics Club coached by Dathan Ritzenhein. Klecker holds personal bests of 3:37.00 for 1500m, 7:34.14 for 3000m, 12:54.99 for 5000m, and 27:07.57 for 10000m, all set as a part of the On Athletics Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Flanagan</span> Canadian middle and long-distance runner.

Benjamin "Ben" Flanagan is a Canadian long-distance runner. He is currently the Canadian record holder in the 5 km and 10 km road races. He is also a 3-time winner of the Falmouth Road Race, having won the race in 2018, 2021, and 2022.

References

  1. "'Jogger'naut". 17 August 2007.
  2. "Only New York man to win NYC Marathon dies at 74". 18 March 2017.