John Romig
| John Romig | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 6, 1896 Beaver Springs, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Died | March 16, 1984 (aged 87) Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Known for | NCAA champion, two-mile run (1921) Spalding's All-American Athletic Team, Cross-Country (1921) USA indoor champion, two-mile run (1922) |
John Luther "Blondy" Romig (October 6, 1898 – March 16, 1984) was an American track and field athlete. He won collegiate championships in the two-mile race in 1921 and 1922 and finished fourth in the 1924 Summer Olympics in the 5,000 meter race.
Romig was born in Beaver Springs, Pennsylvania in 1898.
Romig enrolled at Penn State University where he became a star athlete in distance and cross-country running. He won the two-mile run at the first NCAA track and field championships in 1921 with a time of 9:31. He was Penn State's first NCAA track champion. Romig was also selected as the top cross-country runner for the All-American Athletic Team published in the annual Spalding's Official Athletic Almanac for 1921. In 1922, Romig won the USA Indoor Track & Field Championship in the two-mile race with a time of 9:21.2.
In June 1924, Romig easily won the 5,000 meter race in the U.S. Olympic trials at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, Massachusetts with a time of 15:15.7. Romig's victory was reported as follows:
"The running of John Romig of Penn State in the 5,000 meters event which he won by ten yards, was a beautiful exhibition and raised hopes that Uncle Sam may figure better than anticipated in this race at Paris. Romig jumped into the lead at the fourth lap and held it to the finish."
Romig finished fourth in 5,000 meter race at the Olympic games in Paris with a time of 15:12.4. The "Flying Finns," Paavo Nurmi and Ville Ritola, took the gold and silver medals, and a Swede, Edvin Wide, finished ahead of Romig for the bronze medal, though Romig had beaten Wide in the semi-finals. The Associated Press reported on Romig's performance in Paris as follows: "America had some consolation when John Romig, former intercollegiate cross-country champion, beat out Sipila [Eino Seppälä] of Finland for Fourth place."
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