Texas’ Thompson Marveled In NCAA Distance Events
Which one of Jerry Thompson’s three titles at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships is the most memorable?
We asked him and he didn’t hesitate on his response: “The 1947 2-mile in Salt Lake City,” the Texas grad replied.
That was almost 74 years ago, and Thompson still remembers it well at the age of 97 – making him the oldest-known living NCAA champion, at least in track & field.
Thompson became known nationally in 1943, winning the NCAA 2-mile at age 19. Then he missed three years of school serving in the Navy during World War II.
The 1947 NCAA 2-mile served up a great duel between Thompson and Penn State’s Curtis Stone, who came in with the year’s fastest time at 9:11.8 from winning the IC4A Championships. Thompson owned a PR of 9:17.1 from back in 1943, but the fastest he ran in 1947 was 9:30.6 as he tripled and quadrupled in most meets.
Thompson says he didn’t feel well in the 1947 NCAA race. “It was held on a cold night and I wasn’t used to running in those conditions,” Thompson remembers. “It took me a few laps to get warmed up.”
As the race came down to the eighth and final lap, Thompson was ready “to give it everything I’ve got.” On the backstretch he pulled even with Stone as both began to sprint furiously. On the final turn Thompson was able to move ahead before cruising home to win by some 5 yards in 9:22.9.
Thompson won again in 1948, but this time the NCAA ran the 5000 meters instead due it being an Olympic year. Stone and Thompson met a few more times, including the 1948 Olympic Trials and Olympics as both made the U.S. 5K team for London.
The NCAA and collegiate track & field will mark a momentous milestone in the spring of 2021 -- the 100th anniversary of the NCAA Championships and with that, the NCAA Track & Field Championships. In June 1921, the University of Chicago hosted the first track & field championships in NCAA history.
This point can’t be emphasized enough: Not only was the event the first for NCAA track & field, but the first championships for any sport under the sponsorship of the NCAA.
To celebrate, over each of the next 365 days, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) will celebrate moments, student-athletes, and coaches that have made a century’s worth of championships special. From humble beginnings to important historical milestones to the modern-day, collegiate track & field has evolved with the American society.
The 2021 edition of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships begin with preliminary round action on May 27-29 in Jacksonville, Fla., and College Station, Texas. The championships final site and culmination of the celebration is slated for June 9-12, 2021 at the newly rebuilt Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
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