Mark Fricker

Mark Fricker was a sub-Four-minute miler of the 1980s.^[1] He is not so famous for his personal accomplishments on the track, as for the great accomplishments his presence caused to happen. Fricker failed to win many of the races he attempted because he did not possess the fast finishing kick of his contemporaries like Steve Scott, John Walker, Eamon Coughlan, Sydney Maree, Ray Flynn and the other legends of 1980's mile racing. His only possible strategy to win was to run hard from the beginning of the race. Those now famous athletes all achieved outstanding results, benefitting from that fast pace.

The mile run, perhaps more than any other race, frequently becomes a strategic battle, where those who possess that fast finish refuse to sacrifice the opportunity to win in search of a fast time. Most contemporary elite mile or 1500 metres races have paid Pacemakers who set up the circumstances for a fast race, then drop out. In the time when professionalism in Track and Field was still relatively new, Fricker became a popular addition to major races because he set up the competition to run fast times.^[2] The additional benefit to his presence is that he could not be ignored like some paid pacemakers because he was a legitimate competitor and threat to win the race.

A high school star from Hemet High School, in 1977 he won the mile at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational^[3] and finished second in the CIF California State Meet, losing on the last lap to kicker Mark Stillman.^[4] He then ran for Oregon State University, where he still holds the school record for the 1500.^[5]

1982 was his peak year, when he barely managed to achieve the number 10 ranking amongst milers in the United States.^[6] He and his bright red hair got lots of TV time in the lead of big races, like the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships ^[7] only to be engulfed by the fast finishers. Steve Scott's on-line training log credits Fricker^[8] Scott set the American Record, Walker set the New Zealand National Record and Flynn set the Irish National Record in the 1982 Bislet Dream Mile in Oslo, Norway following Fricker's pacesetting.^[9][10] To date, of those three records, only the American record has been improved upon, once, over 25 years later.

In 1984, Fricker finished ninth in the U.S. Olympic Trials.^[11]

Fricker's career extended for most of the 1980s based on his ability to set up great races^[12][13]

His personal record in the 1500 ranks him number 658 on the all time list^[14]

References

1. ^ http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/archive/ussub4s.html Track and Field News 4 Minute Milers
2. ^ http://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/Oregon_State_University_Beaver_Yearbook/1983/Page_243.html E-Yearbook
3. ^ http://www.dyestatcal.com/news/tr2007/April/06Arcadia/History/YearsSummary1968-.html Arcadia History
4. ^ http://www.dyestatcal.com/ATHLETICS/TRACK/1977/stateres.htm DyestatCal State Meet Results
5. ^ http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/w-xc/spec-rel/080508aac.html OSU Beavers
6. ^ http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/rankings/men/1500usranking.pdf Track and Field News 1500 annual U.S. list
7. ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19820621&id=Eo0yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-ucFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4634,3836120 Lawrence Journal-World - Jun 21, 1982
8. ^ http://www.bunnhill.com/BobHodge/TrainingLogs/scott1981.htm Steve Scott Training log
9. ^ http://www.flotrack.org/videos/speaker/45-steve-scott/420-1982-bislett-games-dream-mile-video Flotrack
10. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQZNrtSRrUY
11. ^ http://www.usatf.org/statistics/champions/OlympicTrials/HistoryOfTheOlympicTrials.pdf Olympic Trials results
12. ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1119500/2/index.htm Sports Illustrated 1985 UCLA Mile
13. ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1065714/index.htm 1987 Wannamaker Mile
14. ^ http://hem.bredband.net/athletics/atb-m06.htm World men's all-time best 1500m

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