Abel kiviat biography

Before his death at age 99 inhe was the oldest American Olympic medalist. According to his trading card; "He attracted attention as a runner when attending high school and became so fast that he linked his fortunes to the Irish American Athletic Club in New York and went into training in The following month at Travers Island, he won the Junior Championship for one mile for the Metropolitan District, making the fast time of He broke the world's record in the 2, yard relay race, his time for his yards beingand for the entire distance.

He also won the Canadian mile championship in and again in With Kiviat leading until the final lap of theEnglish gold medal winner Arnold Jackson outkicked him in the final stretch at a last turn in the track. Kiviat called the loss "the greatest disappointment of my life. In Stockholm, he also raced on the gold-medal US team in the m relay and competed for the US team in the exhibition baseball tournament.

During the trip to Sweden inhe was cabin mates with Jim Thorpe, a much renowned Native American athlete. He later participated in the Olympic Torch Relay before the Olympics. He died of prostate cancer on August 24,in Lakehurst, New Jersey. He coached track briefly but maintained a lifelong interest in the sport, officiating at major meets for more than 60 years and serving as chief press steward at the Penn Relays and many Madison Square Garden meets.

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Abel kiviat biography

Medal record. Early life [ edit ]. Running career [ edit ]. Olympic silver medal [ edit ]. Legacy [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. Notes [ edit ].