Many of us runners in the 70's got our start because of
Frank Shorter's Marathon victory in the 1972 Olympics. I personally had a great poster of Frank on the wall even before I took my first run. It was a track race and next to Frank was
Mohammed Gammoudi. After becoming aware of him and seeing his stellar record, I became a fan of his too. It seemed he was in just about every photo from the big races of the days stretching from
Billy Mills' 1964 10,000 M Olympic victory to 1972 and beyond. The iconic photo of Mohammed winning the 1968 Olympic 5,000 M ahead of
Kip Keino at Mexico City heralded the new age of African dominance in the distance events still with us today. I even tried to emulate Mohammed's hand raising finish from that stellar image in all my big race victories in high school,
which unfortunately didn't last into college, but then I was mixing it up with all the Big Boys like you! I wish I could find that same poster today.
The wonders of the internet has recently allowed me to thank Mohammed for his influence on my early running career. Facebook has linked us through many miles and a few years. Thanks, Mohammed. I'm sure there are others among PSU Track Alumni who remember your running exploits fondly as well. It looks like even today you could lace up some spikes and do yourself proud on the track.
That is a great poster and a great memory. Thank you Dave.
ReplyDeleteHi Dave, I was/am a huge fan of his as well. -Phil
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