Thomas Conneff
Thomas Conneff (ca. 1866–1910) was an amateur Irish runner who held the amateur record for the fastest mile (4:15+3⁄5) from 1895 to 1911.
Thomas "Tommy" Conneff was born in Kilmurray, Clane Co. Kildare on the 10th of December 1867 to James and Marcella (nee Rourke) Conneff. He emigrated to the United States in 1888 and generally specialized in longer distances, winning the national 10-mile championship four years in a row starting in 1888. [1] He also ran the mile and won national titles in 1888 and 1891,[2] but did not truly start to dominate the event until 1893, when under the coaching of Mike Murphy, he improved his mile form to emerge as a top amateur miler. He was a member of the Manhattan Athletic Club.[1]
On August 26, 1893, at Holmes Field in Cambridge Mass., Conneff, representing Holy Cross Lycuem, started from scratch and easily overtook other runners who had long starts. His first lap split time was 59 seconds, his second lap 2:00. After three laps, he was at 3:07. He started to fall off his pace as he finished the race, but he nevertheless set a new amateur record of 4:17+4⁄5. (Walter George had run 4:12+3⁄4 in 1886 as a professional.)
That record lasted to 1895 as Frederick Bacon ran 4:17 at the AAA Championships at Stamford Bridge, London on 6 July.
Conneff wanted to regain his record, so after a 4:21 tune-up on 10 August at Weehawken, New Jersey, he ran a 3/4 mile race at Travers Island, New York on 21 August in 3:02+4⁄5, a time which would not be bettered for 36 years.
Returning to Travers Island a week later, Conneff was paced by 4:21+1⁄5 miler George Orton, who led him to the quarter in 62+2⁄5 and the half in 2:06+3⁄5. At the 3/4 mark, Conneff was at 3:10+4⁄5. Two-time AAU champion Eddie Carter paced Conneff for the last 300 yards as Conneff started to slow. He crossed the finish line and stopped the clock at 4:15+3⁄5 to regain his amateur mile record.
He followed that record run on 21 September with a race against some of the top British runners. He ran a first-lap 65, then was at 2:10+3⁄5 at the half, again paced by Orton. William Lutyens, who had run a 4:19+4⁄5 the year before and had paced Bacon to his record, was forced to drop out of the race, leaving Conneff to trot home in 4:18+1⁄5.
Reporter William B. Curtis described Conneff after the race: "He never was in such fine mettle as during the past four weeks. He could at any time have beaten his own world's best amateur record of 4:15+3⁄5 and might have equalled or surpassed the world's best professional record, 4:12+3⁄4... He is one of those athletes who speedily makes their handlers go gray-haired, is restive under the restrictions of training, and prone to stray outside the bounds laid down for athletic aspirants. He is now 29 years old and can hardly hope to improve hereafter."
His amateur mile record would stand until 1911.
References
- ^ "Archived". Retrieved 15 May 2023.[dead link]
- Cordner Nelson and Roberto Quercetani, The Milers, Tafnews Press, 1985, ISBN 0-911521-15-1, pp. 11–12
- v
- t
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New York Athletic Club
- 1876M: Harold Lambe (CAN) * Cornelius Vought
- 1877M: Richard Morgan
- 1878M: Thomas Smith
NAAAA
- 1879M: Henry Pellatt (CAN) * William Duffy
- 1880–83M: Harry Fredericks
- 1884M: Percy Madeira
- 1885M: George Gilbert
- 1886–87M: Edward Carter
- 1888MNote 1: Thomas Conneff
Amateur Athletic Union
- 1888MNote 1: G.M. Gibbs (CAN) * Thomas Conneff
- 1889–90M: Albert George
- 1891M: Thomas Conneff
- 1892M: George Orton (CAN) * Ernest Hjertberg
- 1893-5M: George Orton (CAN) * A.J. Walsh
- 1896M: George Orton (CAN) * Mortimer Remington
- 1897–98M: John Cregan
- 1899M: Alex Grant
- 1900M: George Orton (CAN) *Alex Grant
- 1901–03M: Alex Grant
- 1904M: David Munson
- 1905M: Jim Lightbody
- 1906M: Albert Rodgers
- 1907M: James Sullivan
- 1908M: Herbert Trube
- 1909M: Joe Ballard
- 1910M: Joe Monument
- 1911–12M: Abel Kiviat
- 1913M: Norman Taber
- 1914M: Abel Kiviat
- 1915M: Joie Ray
- 1916M: Ivan Meyers
- 1917–23M OT: Joie Ray
- 1924–25M: Ray Buker
- 1926M: Lloyd Hahn
- 1927M-28OT: Ray Conger
- 1929M: Leo Lermond
- 1930M: Ray Conger
- 1931M: Leo Lermond
- 1932OT: Norwood Hallowell
- 1933: Glenn Cunningham
- 1934: Bill Bonthron
- 1935–38: Glenn Cunningham
- 1939: Blaine Rideout
- 1940: Walter Mehl
- 1941: Leslie MacMitchell
- 1942–43: Gil Dodds
- 1944: William Hulse
- 1945: Roland Sink
- 1946: Lennart Strand (SWE) * Leslie MacMitchell
- 1947: Gerry Karver
- 1948: Gil Dodds
- 1949–50: John Twomey
- 1951: Len Truex
- 1952–53M: Wes Santee
- 1954M: Fred Dwyer
- 1955M: Wes Santee
- 1956: Jerome Walters
- 1957M: Merv Lincoln (AUS) * Bob Seaman
- 1958M: Herb Elliott (AUS) * Ed Moran
- 1959: Dyrol Burleson
- 1960: Jim Grelle
- 1961M: Dyrol Burleson
- 1962M: Jim Beatty
- 1963M: Dyrol Burleson
- 1964: Tom O'Hara
- 1965–67M: Jim Ryun
- 1968: John Mason
- 1969M: Marty Liquori
- 1970M: Howell Michael
- 1971M: Marty Liquori
- 1972: Jerome Howe
- 1973M: Leonard Hilton
- 1974: Rod Dixon (NZL) * Tom Byers
- 1975: Leonard Hilton
- 1976: Eamonn Coghlan (IRL) *Michael Manke
- 1977–79: Steve Scott
The Athletics Congress
- 1980: Steve Lacy
- 1981: Sydney Maree (SAF) * Steve Scott
- 1982–83: Steve Scott
- 1984–85: Jim Spivey
- 1986: Steve Scott
- 1987: Jim Spivey
- 1988: Mark Deady
- 1989: Terrance Herrington
- 1990: Joe Falcon
- 1991: Terrance Herrington
- 1992OT: Jim Spivey
USA Track & Field
- 1993: Bill Burke
- 1994: Terrance Herrington
- 1995–96OT: Paul McMullen
- 1997: Seneca Lassiter
- 1998: Jamey Harris
- 1999: Steve Holman
- 2000OT: Gabe Jennings
- 2001: Andy Downin
- 2002: Seneca Lassiter
- 2003: Jason Lunn
- 2004–05: Alan Webb
- 2006: Bernard Lagat
- 2007: Alan Webb
- 2008: Bernard Lagat
- 2009–10: Lopez Lomong
- 2011: Matthew Centrowitz
- 2012: Leonel Manzano
- 2013: Matthew Centrowitz
- 2014: Leonel Manzano
- 2015–16: Matthew Centrowitz
- 2017: Robby Andrews
- 2018: Matthew Centrowitz
- 2019: Craig Engels
- 20212020 OT: Cole Hocker
- 2022: Cooper Teare
- 2023: Yared Nuguse
- Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships
- M: Denotes that the race was run over a mile rather than 1500 m
- OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932, 1992, 1996 & 2000 championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
- 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0720/1154433-thomas-conneff-runner-co-kildare-little-irish-wonder-speedy-son-of-erin/