USA (AAU, Men)

The discus world record was obliterated at the U.S. Championships. Paul Jessup, a towering nearly two-meter hulk from the University of Washington, won the event and unleashed a new world record of 51.73 (169-81⁄2). The record stood for four years until Sweden’s Harald Andersson slung the platter 52.42 (171-11 3⁄4) in 1934.

Former world record holder Eric Krenz skipped the discus competition due to injury. Consequently, Jessup clearly ascended as the undisputed discus king of 1930, having already bested Krenz at the NCAA Championships in June.

Anderson at Last

Steve Anderson finally got to etch his name into the ledger of official 120-yard timbers world records. Like Jessup, representing the University of Washington, Anderson snatched the American title with a time of 14.4, tying the world record. Anderson had previously blazed the high hurdles in 14.4 three times, but it was only on this fourth occasion that the result was officially blessed. Lee Sentman, who had dazzled earlier in the season, faded to fourth.

In the 440-yard hurdles, the global standard dipped slightly in 1930. Dick Pomeroy stormed to victory in 53.1, a time sufficient to claim the top spot in the season's world rankings.

Tolan–Simpson 1–1

In the 100-yard dash, Ohio State’s George Simpson hauled himself into the lead by the halfway mark. However, Eddie Tolan, the future Olympic champion known as the “Midnight Express,” found his gear in the final stretch and nipped the “Buckeye Bullet” by a few inches. The freshly minted 100-yard world record holder Frank Wykoff, who had bagged both collegiate titles (IC4A, NCAA), did not compete.

Simpson avenged his loss to Tolan by trouncing him in the 220. His winning time of 21.3 was the fastest 220 ever scotched by an American runner on a curved track up to that point. Ralph Metcalfe, a 20-year-old newcomer, powered to fourth just a day after winning the junior title in the same event. Metcalfe would later harvest four medals in the sprints at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics before eventually ending up as a Senator on Capitol Hill decades later.

Reginald “Pete” Bowen, who had also competed in Europe, led the 440-yard race all the way to the chalk lines until the power drained from his legs, the lights went out, and the exhausted lad collapsed in a heap on the cinders. Southern California’s Victor Williams took the win.

Genung’s Commanding Victory

Edwin Genung brightened his silver from the previous year by storming to victory in the 880 with the season’s fourth-fastest time of 1:53.4. This began a streak of success that brought him the U.S. Championship in 1931 and a win at the Olympic Trials in 1932. However, at the Los Angeles Games, he narrowly missed out on the medals. Genung belonged to the University of Washington team from the Pacific Northwest, known as the Huskies. In the early 1930s, besting that institution’s track squad required serious grit from any opponent.

Ray Conger, who had softened up a slumping Paavo Nurmi in the Wanamaker Mile indoors in 1929, secured the one mile victory after a protracted duel down the stretch. This championship was the third mile title for Conger, a teacher-in-training in New York; he had previously pocketed the honors in 1927 and 1928.

Tom Warne, who dominated the pole vault in the 1930 season, and Fred Sturdy, who had competed in Europe in 1929, both cleared 4.11 (13-6). Warne was forced to withdraw from the jump-off due to a sprained ankle, so Sturdy collected the American title.

Brix Blasts the Shot Nearly 16 Meters

Herman Brix cemented his status as the best shot putter of 1930. His winning heave, which landed just one centimeter shy of 16 meters (52-5½), ranked third on the all-time list. The season’s number two man, Harlow Rothert, shoved his way to second, former discus record holder Eric Krenz took third, and future Los Angeles Olympic winner Leo Sexton—who had also competed in Europe in 1929—finished fourth.

James DeMers, who had tried three times to make the U.S. Olympic team and failed three times, finally experienced a moment of joy; he took his first championship in the javelin, pushing the Star-Spangled record to nearly Finnish readings with 67.84 (222-7). 

Korholin-Koski the Marathon Master

There was no race for the Finnish Marathon Championship in 1930, so the Finnish mile-eaters had to go abroad to win another country's title. Yrjö Korholin-Koski, known by his artist name Karl Koski—a renowned figure in American road racing and the seventh-place finisher in the Amsterdam Olympic marathon—seized the opportunity and won the U.S. Championship in overwhelming fashion on Staten Island, New York, in March.

The race was decided at the 13-mile mark on the infamous "Dead Man’s Hill," where Harvey Frick, a milkman from the Bronx who had led early on, had had his fill of the pace. Korholin-Koski began to steamroll, ultimately tearing open a gap of a couple of kilometers to the runner-up. “He ran with long, fluid strides and kicked his heels high like a miler,” gushed the New York Herald in its race report.

After the race, Koski looked absolutely gobsmacked. “The run went far beyond my expectations,” commented the short-haired  marathon champion. “The day before and even the following morning, I was a bit sick; my head was throbbing and I had the chills. The very thought of starting was repulsive. But the moment we got going, everything changed.”