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Follow me along on a 24-year trip, virtually a generation, spanning from Tokyo, Japan to Beijing, China and finally culminating in Daegu, South Korea. The destinations may seem like they belong on a checklist of a Westerner visiting the continent of Asia for the first time.
However, in the lore of American 1500 meter running, the cities represent a journey from competitiveness to irrelevance and perhaps all the way back in the contemporary middle distance landscape. Tokyo, Beijing, and Daegu are three hosts of global championships that represent the former heights American 1500 meter running reached, the depths to which it plunged, and where it might witness a rebirth.
Tokyo: A Bronze for Spivey Wraps up an Era of Competitiveness
In 1987, Jim Spivey’s bronze at the World Championships in Tokyo made him the last athlete who spent his formative years training in America to earn a medal at a major championship. The 1980s also saw Steve Scott make his mark...
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