Wait....WHAT!? I bet you're thinking "What are you talking about? That's never happened." Well, I've got news for you, it did, and it happened to someone right in our own backyard.
Blaine Lindgren was born on June 26, 1939 and attended Cyprus High School in Salt Lake City, UT. During his junior year at Cyprus, Blaine joined the track team thinking that it would help him get into better shape for football. His coach thought that Blaine would make a good hurdler because of his natural speed and height. The day that Blaine stepped out onto a track and cleared his first hurdle, he never looked back. From there, he never lost a race in high school in both the high and low hurdles. He then went on to the University of Utah in 1957 and continued his winning streak for the next four years. While competing in the Skyline Conference for Utah, Blaine earned all-American honors twice and won every conference race he ever competed in except one.
Challenging himself on the world stage was the next logical step. After graduating from the Utah in 1962, Lindgren started training with the Southern California Striders and traveled the world competing for team USA. In 1963, Lindgren won gold in the 110 meter high hurdles at the Pan American Games and became a favorite to win gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. After winning both his preliminary and semifinal heats, everything seemed to be going Blaine's way leading up to the 110 meter hurdle final in Tokyo.
Everyone in attendance was looking forward to the much anticipated showdown between Lindgren and teammate Hayes Jones. When the gun sounded, Lindgren and Jones bursted out of their blocks and remained neck and neck until finally Lindgren pulled slightly ahead and leaned forward across the finish line just before Jones.
I can't image what it's like to win an Olympic gold medal. There are only a few on this earth that actually know what it's like. Can you imagine the sheer joy and happiness that was running through him in that moment? All that hard work. All that traveling. All the long hours and late nights he had spent on the track. All those bumps, bruises, cuts, and scars that come from training on hurdles had finally paid off for him in the biggest way possible. "They actually announced me as the winner," said Lindgren. "That lasted for about 45 minutes."
"In those days," Lindgren explained, "you had to break the tape to win. All through the preliminary heats, there was only one white line at the finish. But in the final, to help calibrate the photo finish apparatus, they put five white lines, a meter apart, leading up to the finish. I came off the last hurdle in the lead, and leaned for the first line, five meters early. I actually went under the tape." Because Lindgren went under the tape and failed to break it, the gold went to Jones who broke the tape first, even though Lindgren crossed the finish line before him. (see the photo finish below)
Ok, heart break story told. Now what? What do we do about this? What can we do? I'll tell you what we can do. We can petition the Olympic Committee to award a gold medal to Lindgren. Why should you think that's even possible? Here's why:
- Ties for gold medals are an actual thing. There have been multiple circumstances in Olympic competition where there have been 2 gold medalists and no silver medalist. The most recent example of this was in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in women's alpine skiing. If the Olympic Committee feels that they cannot take Hayes Jones' gold medal away from him, they can at least award a second gold medal to Lindgren as well.
- Jim Thorpe finally got the medals he deserved. It took about 70 years, but in 1983 the International Olympic Committee, after a passionate plea from the president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, finally reinstated Thorpe's medals. This proves that even though so many years have passed, there is still hope for Lindgren.
- It would restore some faith in Olympic sprinting again. For literally years, Olympic sprinting has battled against the terrible stories of athletes using performance enhancing drugs during competition. Awarding a much deserved gold medal to an athlete who earned it the right way would bring some much needed positive PR to Olympic track and field.
When the Winter Olympics came to Salt Lake City in 2002, Lindgren stated that he often felt overlooked or forgotten. "There aren't a whole lot of Utah Olympians. You'd think there'd be a way to get us involved." Well Mr. Lindgren, we haven't forgotten you. We think that you're worth the effort. What do you think Utah? Should we make our voices known? Here's how we do it.
TWITTER:
Use the following tweet template with #BlaineforGold and a link back to this page:
Template: @TeamUSA ____*your personal message*_____ #BlaineforGold
Example: @TeamUSA Blaine Lindgren deserves a '64 Tokyo Gold medal! #BlaineforGold
Or you can apply that same template and tweet @ any of the U.S Olympic Committee board members. Here are some of their handles:
- Anita L DeFrantz - @ADeFrantz
- Angela Ruggiero - @AngelaRuggiero
- Whitney Ping - @wping
- Scott Blackmun - @ScottBlackmun
- Dan Doctoroff - @DanDoctoroff
FACEBOOK:
Share the video above. It's also on our Facebook page. You can tag us in it if you want, but make sure you include #BlaineforGold.
Let's make our voices heard! Let's shoot for 10,000 social media mentions. Again, remember to use #BlaineforGold. We can do this! Spread the word and maybe, together, we can give Blaine the long awaited honor he deserves.
Let's make our voices heard! Let's shoot for 10,000 social media mentions. Again, remember to use #BlaineforGold. We can do this! Spread the word and maybe, together, we can give Blaine the long awaited honor he deserves.
That picture is after the finish line. The tape can be seen clearly around bob. There is no substantial evidence here supporting Blaine’s story and no record of him being awarded the gold and a 45 minute wait.
ReplyDelete