Frank Shorter
Encyclopedia
Frank Charles Shorter is a former American long-distance runner who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics
. His victory is credited with igniting the running boom in the United States of the 1970s.
, Germany
, where his father, physician Samuel Shorter, served in the U.S. Army. He grew up in Middletown, New York
. After earning his high school
diploma from the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Gill, Massachusetts
in 1965, Shorter then graduated from Yale University
in New Haven, Connecticut
with a bachelor of arts
degree
(B.A.) in 1969, and the University of Florida
College of Law in Gainesville, Florida
with a juris doctor
degree (J.D.
) in 1974.
In the October 2011 issue of Runner's World, an article by John Brant detailed the traumatic household life Frank and his siblings suffered at the hands of his father and the buckled end of his belt. While his father enjoyed great prominence in his community, his behavior may have reflected, "a profound narcissistic personality disorder" according to Barbara duPlessis, Frank's sister. With the publication of the Runner's World article, Mr. Shorter will begin to elaborate on stopping similar cycles of violence in more detail and in public.
(NCAA) 10,000-meter title during his senior year at Yale. He won his first U.S. national titles in 1970 in the 5000-meter and 10,000-meter events. He also was the U.S. national 10,000-meter champion in 1971, 1974, 1975 and 1977.
After graduating from Yale, Shorter chose to pursue a law degree at the University of Florida
in Gainesville because of the excellence of the environment and the opportunity to train with Jack Bacheler
as members of the Florida Track Club (FTC) founded by Jimmy Carnes
, then the head coach of the Florida Gators track and field team. Bacheler was, at that time, regarded as America's best distance runner, having qualified for the finals of the 5,000-meter race at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. The FTC's core nucleus of Shorter, Bacheler and Jeff Galloway
qualified for the 1972 Olympics and their success made Gainesville the Mecca of distance running on the East Coast in the early 1970s.
Shorter won the U.S. national cross-country championships four times (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973). He was the U.S. Olympic Trials
Champion in both the 10,000-meter run and the marathon in both 1972 and 1976. He also won both the 10,000-meter and the marathon at the 1971 Pan American Games
. Shorter was a four-time winner of the Fukuoka Marathon
(1971, 1972, 1973, 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.
Shorter won his greatest recognition, however, as a marathon runner, and is the only American athlete to win two medals in the Olympic marathon event. Shorter won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics
in Munich, Germany, after finishing fifth in the Olympic 10,000-meter final. He received the James E. Sullivan Award
as the top amateur athlete in the United States afterward. He won the silver medal in the marathon at the 1976 Summer Olympics
in Montreal, Canada, finishing second behind previously unheralded gold medalist Waldemar Cierpinski
of East Germany.
From 2000 to 2003, Shorter was the chairman of the United States Anti-Doping Agency
, a body that he helped to establish.
Shorter was featured as a prominent character, played by Jeremy Sisto
, in the 1998 film Without Limits
. The film follows the life of Shorter's contemporary, training partner, Olympic teammate and some-time rival Steve Prefontaine
.
Shorter was the last person to see Prefontaine alive before he died in a car wreck.
Shorter was inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame in 1984 and the USA National Track and Field Hall of Fame
in 1989.
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
. His victory is credited with igniting the running boom in the United States of the 1970s.
Early life and education
Frank Shorter was born in MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where his father, physician Samuel Shorter, served in the U.S. Army. He grew up in Middletown, New York
Middletown, Orange County, New York
Middletown is a city in Orange County, New York, United States. It lies in New York's Hudson Valley region, near the Wallkill River and the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains. Middletown is situated between Port Jervis and Newburgh, New York. The city's population was 25,388 at the 2000 census...
. After earning his high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
diploma from the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Gill, Massachusetts
Gill, Massachusetts
Gill is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 1,363 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area...
in 1965, Shorter then graduated from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
with a bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
(B.A.) in 1969, and the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
College of Law in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
with a juris doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree (J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
) in 1974.
In the October 2011 issue of Runner's World, an article by John Brant detailed the traumatic household life Frank and his siblings suffered at the hands of his father and the buckled end of his belt. While his father enjoyed great prominence in his community, his behavior may have reflected, "a profound narcissistic personality disorder" according to Barbara duPlessis, Frank's sister. With the publication of the Runner's World article, Mr. Shorter will begin to elaborate on stopping similar cycles of violence in more detail and in public.
Athletics career
Shorter first achieved distinction by winning the 1969 National Collegiate Athletic AssociationNational Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) 10,000-meter title during his senior year at Yale. He won his first U.S. national titles in 1970 in the 5000-meter and 10,000-meter events. He also was the U.S. national 10,000-meter champion in 1971, 1974, 1975 and 1977.
After graduating from Yale, Shorter chose to pursue a law degree at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville because of the excellence of the environment and the opportunity to train with Jack Bacheler
Jack Bacheler
Jack Bacheler , is an American distance runner and two-time U.S. Olympian . Bacheler was a founding member of the Florida Track Club at Gainesville, Florida in the late 1960s, and personally designed the club's distinctive "orange" logo...
as members of the Florida Track Club (FTC) founded by Jimmy Carnes
Jimmy Carnes
James Jerome "Jimmy" Carnes was an American track and field athlete, coach and administrator. A successful coach at the high school, college and international levels, Carnes compiled a 161–11 career dual meet record, highlighted by four college conference championships and six state high...
, then the head coach of the Florida Gators track and field team. Bacheler was, at that time, regarded as America's best distance runner, having qualified for the finals of the 5,000-meter race at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. The FTC's core nucleus of Shorter, Bacheler and Jeff Galloway
Jeff Galloway
Jeff Galloway is a former American Olympian and the author of Galloway's Book on Running....
qualified for the 1972 Olympics and their success made Gainesville the Mecca of distance running on the East Coast in the early 1970s.
Shorter won the U.S. national cross-country championships four times (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973). He was the U.S. Olympic Trials
United States Olympic Trials (track and field)
The United States Olympic Trials for the sport of Track and Field is the quadrennial meet to select the United States representatives at the Olympic Games. Since 1992, the meet has also served as the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Because of the depth of competition in some events,...
Champion in both the 10,000-meter run and the marathon in both 1972 and 1976. He also won both the 10,000-meter and the marathon at the 1971 Pan American Games
Pan American Games
The Pan-American or Pan American Games are a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Pan American Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics...
. Shorter was a four-time winner of the Fukuoka Marathon
Fukuoka Marathon
The , held in Fukuoka, Japan, is an international men's marathon race established in 1947. It is usually held on the first Sunday in December.The course record is held by Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia, running 2:05:18 in 2009 to best his own record from the previous year.-Men's winners:Winners of the...
(1971, 1972, 1973, 1974). He was successful on the road racing circuit as well, winning the Peachtree Road Race
Peachtree Road Race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race 10K is a 10 kilometer road race held annually in Atlanta, Georgia on July 4, Independence Day. The Peachtree Road Race was until recently the world's largest 10 kilometer race , a title it has held since the late 1970s...
in 1977 and the Falmouth Road Race
Falmouth Road Race
The Falmouth Road Race is an annual 7-mile road race on Cape Cod from Woods Hole, a village in the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts, to Falmouth Heights.-History:...
in 1975 and 1976.
Shorter won his greatest recognition, however, as a marathon runner, and is the only American athlete to win two medals in the Olympic marathon event. Shorter won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
in Munich, Germany, after finishing fifth in the Olympic 10,000-meter final. He received the James E. Sullivan Award
James E. Sullivan Award
The James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the American Amateur Athletic Union , is awarded annually in April to "the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States". Often referred to as the Oscar of sports awards, it was first presented in 1930. The award is named for the AAU's founder and past...
as the top amateur athlete in the United States afterward. He won the silver medal in the marathon at the 1976 Summer Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
in Montreal, Canada, finishing second behind previously unheralded gold medalist Waldemar Cierpinski
Waldemar Cierpinski
Waldemar Cierpinski is a former East German athlete and two time Olympic Champion in the marathon. He is living in Halle an der Saale.-Career:...
of East Germany.
From 2000 to 2003, Shorter was the chairman of the United States Anti-Doping Agency
United States Anti-Doping Agency
The United States Anti-Doping Agency , is a non-profit organization and the national anti-doping organization for the United States. The organization is charged with managing the anti-doping program for the U.S...
, a body that he helped to establish.
Shorter was featured as a prominent character, played by Jeremy Sisto
Jeremy Sisto
Jeremy Merton Sisto is an American actor. Sisto has had recurring roles as Billy Chenowith on the HBO series Six Feet Under and Detective Cyrus Lupo on Law & Order on television and also starred in the films Jesus, Clueless and Thirteen.-Early life:Sisto was born in Grass Valley, California, the...
, in the 1998 film Without Limits
Without Limits
Without Limits is a 1998 biographical film about the relationship between record-breaking distance runner Steve Prefontaine and his coach Bill Bowerman, who later co-founded Nike, Inc....
. The film follows the life of Shorter's contemporary, training partner, Olympic teammate and some-time rival Steve Prefontaine
Steve Prefontaine
Steve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine was an American middle and long-distance runner. Prefontaine once held the American record in the seven distance track events from the 2,000 meters to the 10,000 meters...
.
Shorter was the last person to see Prefontaine alive before he died in a car wreck.
Shorter was inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame in 1984 and the USA National Track and Field Hall of Fame
National Track and Field Hall of Fame
The National Track and Field Hall of Fame located within the Armory Foundation at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, between 168th and 169th Streets, in Washington Heights, in the New York City borough of Manhattan, is a museum operated by The Armory Foundation in conjunction with USA Track & Field...
in 1989.
10,000 Meters
- 1969 - third
- 1970 - first
- 1971 - first
- 1972 - first
- 1973 - fifth
- 1974 - first
- 1975 - first
- 1976 - second
- 1977 - first
- 1979 - third
5,000 Meters
- 1969 - sixth
- 1970 - second
- 1971 - fourth
- 1972 - tenth
- 1973 - seventh
- 1974 - fourth
- 1975 - third
- 1976 - fifth
- 1977 - seventh