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Show THE HISTORY BLAZER A7E11' S OF UTAH'S PAST FROM THE Utah State ~ istoricaSl ociety 300 Rio Grande Salt Lake Cite ' I'T 84101 ( 801) 533- 3500 FAX ( 801) 533- 3503 Clint Larson Held the Collegiate High Jump Record for 17 Years IT HAD BEEN A FAIRLY UNEVENTFUL DAY- AT.. THE. PENN RELAYS annual track- and field meet at Philadelphia in April 1917. The 20,000 spectators were searching for a thrill, but none expected it to wme from the high jumpers. Utahn Alma Richards, the 1912 Olympic champion, was not competing, and few anticipated any excitement in that event. Then the announcer blared that Clint Larson, another native Utahn representing Brigham Young University, would attempt the bar at six feet five and three- eighths inches. Many in the crowd searched their programs for the cumnt collegiate record; they found that Richards had set it in 1915 at six feet five inches. Larson was trying a record- breaking height. A Philadelphia sports writer described the Utah athlete's attempt: ' Larson stepped back f i b n yards and without the usual fiddling and fussing indulged in by many high strung athletes measured the bar with his eye. The 20,000 held their breath and half raised from their seats straining to help him as Larson slipped up to his take off, shot into the air, and neatly cleared" the bar. The crowd leaped to its feet and cheered with excitement. Larson broke the only record of the day and in doing so became the intercollegiate high jump champion of the world. His record would last for 17 years. Larson was born December 16, 1892, to John and Henrietta Larson of St. George, Utah. He began his athletic career at Dixie High School, and after establishing the state record rep~ sent-ing Dixie advanced to college competitions. Larson wntinued to excel following his success at the Pem Relays. In 1918 he took first place in the United States Championships at Madison Square Garden. At another meet later that year Larson took first in the high jump, running broad jump, low hurdles, high hurdles, and pole vault, and seoond place in the 100- yard dash. All of which won him the all- around championship. In 1919 Larson participated in the Inter- Allied Games in Paris. Again, he walked off with the top honors. Five years later, in his tlurty- second yea., he was still topping the charts. In Magna, Utah, at an exhibition he jumped to a world record six feet nine and a half inches. Perhaps the feat was to be expected from a man who emphasized physical conditioning. In his mid- 40s he could still jumped to a respectable height on special occasions like the Fourth of July Larson remained involved in athletics throughout his life. He became a wach and teacher of physical education in Salt Lake County's Granite School District for many years. He organized the first Amateur Athletic Union ( AAU) track and field meet in Utah and worked in the Inter-mountain AAU h m 1927 to 1950. He served as National AAU vice- chairman in track and field ( more) and was also an official during the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Larson's illustrious athletic career ended on January 22, 1952, when he died at his home in Salt Me City. In 1974 he was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame. C Sowas: Salt Lake Herald Republiaan, May 4, 1917; Wmhington County Nnus, January 31, 1952; William T. Black, Mormon Athletes ( Salt Lake City: Desemt Book Company, 1980). THEH JSTORYB UZER is produced by the Utah State Historical Society and hdedi n part by a grant from the Utah Statehood Centennial Commission. For more information about the Historical Society telephone 533- 3500. . . .. . . . . . , . . - . . . . * - . . - . r . - - 950817 ( PR) |
