Horace Ashenfelter

From WikiRun

Horace "Nip" Ashenfelter, III (1923-) is an American athlete who competed in the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics. He competed in international athletics from 1947 to 1956 after service in World War II and the completion of his degree at Penn State.

Ashenfelter was one of America's finest runners during his career but he was outpaced by many international performers. During his career he won 15 national AAU titles and three collegiate national titles. During a long career, Ashenfelter won three AAU outdoor titles, was the indoor two mile champion for five successive years (1952-56) and over the same five-year period he led the New York AC to victory in the cross-country team event. In three of those years (1954-56), he also won the individual cross-country.

Although he was considered a long shot, Ashenfelter was the surprise winner of the steeplechase at the 1952 Summer Olympics at Helsinki. He finished ahead of Vladimir Kazantsev of USSR and broke Kazantsev's unofficial world record (the IAAF did not accept official records in the steeplechase until 1954) in the process. After leaving Penn State, Ashenfelter joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation in November 1951. Since Ashenfelter worked for the FBI, it led to humorous comments about him being the first American spy who allowed himself to be chased by a Russian. In addition, Ashenfelter won the Sullivan Award as outstanding amateur athlete for the year 1952. When he retired from competition after the 1956 Olympics, he also resigned from the Bureau and took a post in business, as a salesman for various metallurgy firms.

Honors

In 1975, Ashenfelter was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame and the RRCA Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey in 1998. The indoor track facility at his alma mater, Penn State, is named in his honor.

A race, the Ashenfelter 8k Classic, is held annually in his honor in Glen Ridge, NJ. It is attended by runners throughout the region. The event's logos frequently depict the legend himself.

Ashenfelter has a sandwich named in his honor at State College, Pennsylvania's Fraser Street Deli.

References

• Wallechinsky, David and Jamie Loucky (2008). "Track & Field (Men): 3000-Meter Steeplechase". In The Complete Book of the Olympics - 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 169-70.