Frank Shorter

Frank Shorter (born October 31, 1947) is an American distance runner and winner of the marathon race at the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Born in Munich, Germany, where his father, physician Samuel Shorter, served in the army, Frank Shorter grew up in Middletown, New York and attended and graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon School, Yale University, and the University of Florida.

Career

He first achieved fame by winning the 1969 NCAA 10,000 m title. He won his first U.S. national titles in 1970 in the 5000 m and the 10,000 m. He also was the U.S. national 10,000 m champion in 1971, 1974, 1975 and 1977.

Shorter won the U.S. national cross-country championships four times (1970-1973). He was the U.S. Olympic Trials Champion in both the 10,000 m and the marathon in both 1972 and 1976. He also won both the 10,000 m and the marathon at the 1971 Pan American Games. Shorter was a four-time winner of the Fukuoka Marathon (1971-1974). He was successful on the road racing circuit as well, winning the Peachtree Road Race in 1977 and the Falmouth Road Race in 1975 and 1976.

But his greatest fame came when Shorter won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Olympics. He also finished fifth in the 1972 Olympic 10,000 m final. He was the 1972 recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. Shorter earned his Juris Doctor (law) degree in 1975 from the University of Florida. He finished second in the marathon at the 1976 Summer Olympics behind surprise winner Waldemar Cierpinski of East Germany. Evidence has since come to light that many of the East German athletes in the 1970s and 1980s had been using anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/26/sports/othersports/26STER.html?ex=1390453200&en=bc039fed4c6ea23a&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND "East German Steroids' Toll: 'They Killed Heidi'"] , New York Times, 26 January 2004] ; Shorter, a licensed attorney, has fought a protracted court battle since the late 1990s to strip Cierpinski of the unfairly-earned gold medal that was denied Shorter on the Montreal course.

Shorter decided to retire from athletics after the 1977 season to start his own athletic supply company but then returned to road racing competition in 1979, with high placings at several competitive races and wins at the Chicago Classic and the Badgerland 10 miler, setting the American 10 mile Road record with a time of 47:34. He ended the year ranked #3 in the U.S. at 10,000 meters on the track and #5 in the North American Road Rankings by Track and Field News magazine. He also has worked in television as a sports commentator. He is former Chairman of the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

Shorter, along with Charlie Jones, provided the voices of the TV announcers for a fictionalized staging of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials in the 1982 film, "Personal Best".

Shorter was also featured as a prominent character, played by Jeremy Sisto, in the 1998 film "Without Limits". The film follows the life of Shorter's contemporary, Olympic teammate and sometime rival Steve Prefontaine. Shorter was one of the last people to see Prefontaine alive before he died in a car wreck.

Shorter was the World Masters Biathlon Champion in 1989.

Frank Shorter was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1984, the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1989, and the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in 1998.

Video Interviews

* [http://www.flocasts.com/flotrack/search.php?q=frank+shorter Flotrack.com Video Interview with Frank Shorter]

Track & Field News World Rankings

Marathon

* 1971 - first
* 1972 - first
* 1973 - first
* 1974 - second
* 1976 - second

10,000 m

* 1970 - second
* 1972 - fifth
* 1974 - fifth
* 1975 - second

5,000 m

* 1975 - tenth

Track & Field News U.S. Rankings

Marathon

* 1971 - first
* 1972 - first
* 1973 - first
* 1974 - first
* 1976 - first

10,000 m

* 1969 - third
* 1970 - first
* 1971 - first
* 1972 - first
* 1973 - fifth
* 1974 - first
* 1975 - first
* 1976 - second
* 1977 - first
* 1979 - third

5,000 m

* 1969 - sixth
* 1970 - second
* 1971 - fourth
* 1972 - tenth
* 1973 - seventh
* 1974 - fourth
* 1975 - third
* 1976 - fifth
* 1977 - seventh

Personal Records

Track

* 3 miles - 12:52
* 5000 m - 13:26.60 (1977)
* 10,000 m - 27:45.91 (1975)

Road

*Marathon (42,195 m): 2:10:30 (1972)

References