USA (AAU)

The 1922 United States Championships in track and field were held at Weequahic Park in Newark, New Jersey, just some 10 kilometers from Manhattan. Conditions were not ideal, as the soft track took away some of the top performances. Despite the weather, about 25,000 people gathered at Weequahic Park on the first day of the competition. On the second day, 40,000 people watched the competitions on the track.

The timing of the meets was also unusual from a modern perspective: September 9-11. Nowadays, the US Championships are almost always held in the second half of June.

The 1922 competitions were also the last that were only open to men. National championships of women in track and field were decided for the first time the following year on the same field.

The competitions lost some of their luster as the world's fastest man, Charley Paddock, was absent. Robert McAllister of New York Police Department maintained order by winning the 100 yards in 10.1 seconds (which corresponds to a poor time of 11.0 seconds for 100 meters).

Ray to Sixth Straight

Ville Ritola's tough rival Joie Ray ran the mile in a world-leading time of 4:17.0, which corresponds to a time of about 3:59.5 for 1500 meters. Ray took the lead after the first lap and never gave it up, despite a furious late charge from silver medalist Jim Connolly of Boston on the last lap. The mile win was taxi pilot Ray's sixth consecutive American championship. The man added to his medal collection by taking home the bronze in the half mile.

Olympic champion Earl Thomson won the championship trophy in the high hurdles with a mediocre time of 15.3 and began to gradually retire from the track. The 20's top hurdler was not seen at the Paris Games.

Knourek and Spearow Jump High, but Fall Short of Hoff's Marks

Other decent results were flashed in the jumping events. Devey Alberts and future Olympic champion Harold Osborn cleared the bar at 1.959 (6-5¼) and set a new meet record. Osborn, who held the world lead, lost perhaps somewhat surprisingly. Alberts' result was enough for second place in the world rankings.

The American pole vaulters may have been a little worried, even though the competition was in itself good. Edward Knourek (3.96 - 13-0) and Ralph Spearow (3.96) fell short by several centimeters of Norway's Charles Hoff's few days earlier jumping the world record of 4.12 (13-6). The American duo occupied the second and third places in the world rankings for the season.

Hubbard to World Leading Mark - 7.44m

The baton began to change hands in the long jump as well. Future Olympic champion and future world record holder DeHart Hubbard kicked the world leading mark of 7.44  (24-5) and defeated the world record holder Ed "Ned" Gourdin (7.31, 23-11¾, third in the world rankings). The first African-American Olympic champion (in individual events) also won the triple jump, the event ostracized in America.

Hubbard revolutionized the long jump technique. He was one of the first proponents of the scissor-kick style, as the sharp-eyed Finnish sports journalist Martti Jukola noted: "He took a relatively short run-up, being sensitive about his take-off, to ensure a precise jump. It was powerful and elevated him well, but while airborne he also performed a violent scissor-kick with his legs while simultaneously thrusting with his arms." 

Devaney Takes His Fourth Steeplechase Title

The two-mile steeplechase championship was held at Travers Island, New York, in the latter half of September. Michael Devaney claimed his fourth victory in the event, which was still relatively new in the United States. Devaney began to make his move in the second mile. The gap to the main pack grew steadily: 10 yards, 20 yards, 30.

Alongside the steeplechase, the New York Athletic Club organized a few additional events, with season-best results especially in the throwing events.

Big Throws

1923 USA Champion Orville Wanzer and Stockholm Olympic gold medalist Pat McDonald, who directed traffic in Times Square as a New York City cop, each recorded the second-best shot put throw in the world at 14.73 (48-4½). Wanzer won the event with his second-best throw, and McDonald came second. Both were outdone in the world rankings by Glenn Hartranft, who dominated the shot put throughout the season.

McDonald, who worked as a police officer for the New York Police Department, represented the U.S. despite being born in Ireland and having moved to America for work.

Another Stockholm Olympic gold medalist, Matt McGrath, threw the hammer 51.86 (170-1), which ranked as the fourth-best throw of the season. This performance provided the 43-year-old Irish-born athlete with a strong foundation for preparing for the 1924 Paris Olympics.

Two Golds and One Silver for Ritola

There was also Finnish success. New York worker Ville Ritola finished second in the five miles. He lost five meters to winner Earl Johnson. The duo trotted together in tandem until Johnson launched a crushing kick at the start of the final curve, to which Ritola was unable to respond.

The carpenter avenged his defeat in late October by winning the US championship in the 10-mile race in Brooklyn, New York. It was the first U.S. title for the "Wolf of Peräseinäjoki." At the 10,000-meter mark, he took a split time of 31.35, which placed him promisingly in second place on the 10K annual list. Johnson finished second. 

In November, he also won the top trophy in the cross country championships, which were held in Van Cortlandt Park in New York. Ritola surged ahead in the hills of the golf links in the southern part of the park, and the others were unable to follow after that.