Eino Pentti
Eino Iisakki Walter Pentti (October 18, 1906 – January 24, 1993) was an American long-distance runner. He represented the United States in the 10,000 meters at the 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics.
Pentti placed second in the 10,000 meters at the 1932 United States Olympic Trials, qualifying for the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles;[1] at the Olympics he failed to finish, due to being sick with fever, as did the two other Americans.[2]: 73 [3] He captured his first Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championship title in the 10,000 meters in 1934; he won the championship again in 1937 and 1938.[3][4] At the 1936 Olympic Trials Pentti placed second a hundred yards behind Don Lash, who set a new American record of 31:06.9.[5] He qualified for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, where he placed 16th.[3] In 1938 he returned to Berlin for the Germany - USA games and this time won the 10,000 meters race.
Pentti set his personal best for 10,000 meters, 30:54.6, in Helsinki on September 17, 1938; the time broke Lash's American best.[6]
Eino Pentti's life was colorful and filled with sports. He was born in Detroit[7] to Finnish emigrants, and had dual citizenship of both the US and Finland. He was schooled in Finland and that's where his love of long-distance running was cultivated, running for Tampereen Pyrintö sports club. At age 24, he returned to the US to stay. He quickly gained recognition as a long-distance runner. Besides being a well known Olympic Athlete, Eino Pentti was also a military man, and put his cross country skiing skills learned as a child in Finland to good use training U.S. Army recruits to cross country ski. He also became a licensed physiotherapist and worked as a well respected massage therapist in New York, mostly with the New York Athletic Club. His celebrity clientele including such famous actors as Marlon Brando, Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra and Al Pacino.[8]
References
- ^ Waters, William J. (June 13, 1932). "The Sport Tower". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, NY. p. 10. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hymans, Richard (2008). "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field" (PDF). USA Track & Field. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 20, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Eino Pentti Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
- ^ "USA Outdoor Track & Field Champions: Men's 10,000 m". USA Track & Field. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
- ^ "Don Lash Sets American Mark In 10,000 Meters". Chicago Tribune. July 4, 1936. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
- ^ "USA Records Progression: Men, 10000 m". Track and Field Statistics. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
- ^ Johns, Walter (March 17, 1936). "Olympic Roll Call: Eino Pentti—10,000 Meters". The Evening Independent. Massillon, OH. p. 9. Retrieved December 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Orbituary". Helsingin Sanomat. February 2, 1993.
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New York Athletic Club
- 1876–79: Not held
NAAAA
- 1880: James Gifford
- 1881: W. C. Davies
- 1882–83: Tom Delaney
- 1884: Geo. Stonebridge
- 1885: Peter Skillman
- 1886–87: Edward Carter
- 1888Note 1: Thomas Conneff
Amateur Athletic Union
- 1888–91Note 1: Thomas Conneff
- 1892–93: William Day
- 1894: Charles Bean
- 1899: Alex Grant
- 1900: Arthur Newton
- 1901: Frank Kanahy
- 1902: Alex Grant
- 1903: Not held
- 1904: John Joyce
- 1905: Frank Verner
- 1906: Wm. Nelson
- 1907: John Daly
- 1908: Fred Bellars
- 1909: Harry McLean
- 1910: William Kramer
- 1911: George Bonhag
- 1912: Hannes Kolehmainen (FIN) * Harry Smith
- 1913: Hannes Kolehmainen (FIN) * Joie Ray
- 1914: Ville Kyrönen (FIN) * H. E. Weeks
- 1915: Hannes Kolehmainen (FIN) * Oliver Millard
- 1916: Joie Ray
- 1917–19: Charles Pores
- 1920OT: Not held
- 1921–23: Earle Johnson
- 1924: Ilmar Prim
- 1925: George Lermond
- 1926: Phillip Osif
- 1927: Willie Ritola (FIN) * Russell Payne
- 1928OT: Joie Ray
- 1929-31: Lou Gregory
- 1932OT: Tom Ottey
- 1933: Lou Gregory
- 1934: Eino Pentti
- 1935: Tom Ottey
- 1936: Don Lash
- 1937–38: Eino Pentti
- 1939: Lou Gregory
- 1940: Don Lash
- 1941: Lou Gregory
- 1942: Joe McCluskey
- 1943: Lou Gregory
- 1944: Norm Bright
- 1945: Ted Vogel
- 1946–48: Edward O'Toole
- 1949: Fred Wilt
- 1950: Horace Ashenfelter
- 1951–54: Curt Stone
- 1955: Dick Hart
- 1956: Max Truex
- 1957: Doug Kyle
- 1958: John Macy
- 1959:
- 1960: Al Lawrence (AUS) * Max Truex
- 1961: John Gutknecht
- 1962: Bruce Kidd (CAN) * Peter McArdle
- 1963–64: Peter McArdle
- 1965: Billy Mills
- 1966: Tracy Smith
- 1967: Van Nelson
- 1968: Tracy Smith
- 1969–70: Jack Bacheler
- 1971: Frank Shorter
- 1972: Greg Fredericks
- 1973: Gordon Minty (GBR) * Ted Castaneda
- 1974–75: Frank Shorter
- 1976: Ed Leddy
- 1977: Frank Shorter
- 1978–79: Craig Virgin
- 1980: Rodolfo Gómez
- Garry Bjorklund
The Athletics Congress
- 1981: Alberto Salazar
- 1982: Craig Virgin
- 1983: Alberto Salazar
- 1984: Jon Sinclair
- 1985: Bruce Bickford
- 1986–87: Gerard Donakowski
- 1988: Steve Taylor
- 1989: Pat Porter
- 1990: Steve Plasencia
- 1991: Shannon Butler
- 1992OT: Todd Williams
USA Track & Field
- 1993: Todd Williams
- 1994: Tom Ansberry
- 1995–96: Todd Williams
- 1997: Michael Mykytok
- 1998: Dan Browne
- 1999: Alan Culpepper
- 2000OT: Meb Keflezighi
- 2001: Abdi Abdirahman
- 2002: Meb Keflezighi
- 2003: Alan Culpepper
- 2004: Meb Keflezighi
- 2005: Abdi Abdirahman
- 2006: Jorge Torres
- 2007–08: Abdi Abdirahman
- 2009–16: Galen Rupp
- 2017: Hassan Mead
- 2018–19: Lopez Lomong
- 20212020 OT: Woody Kincaid
- 2022: Galen Rupp
- 2023: Woody Kincaid
- Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships
- OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
- 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Distance: Until 1924 the event was 5 miles; from 1925–27 and from 1929–31 it was over 6 miles.
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