SHORTER, FRANK

born Oct. 31, 1947, Munich, Germany runner who became the first American in 64 years to win the Olympic marathon, earning the gold medal at the 1972 Games in Munich, the city of his birth. The son of an American army doctor who was based in Germany after World War II, Shorter had early success with marathon running. After winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association 6-mile run for Yale in 1969, he won his first marathon in 1970 in So Paulo, Brazil. He followed that with a double victory in the 1971 Pan-American Games, winning both the 10,000-metre run and the marathon. Running in only his fifth competitive marathon at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Shorter sought to become the first American to win the marathon gold medal since John Hayes in 1908. Before running the marathon, Shorter finished in fifth place in the 10,000 metres. At the 10-mile mark of the marathon, Shorter took the lead, which he never relinquished. Pulling away from the field of runners, Shorter finished the race in 2 h 12 min 19.8 sec, more than 2 minutes better than the second-place finisher. His Olympic success in 1972 was recognized with the Sullivan Award, given annually to the best American amateur athlete. Shorter's quest for a second marathon gold medal was foiled in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal by Waldemar Cierpinski, an unknown East German. Cierpinski finished nearly 50 seconds ahead of Shorter, who won the silver medal in 2 h 10 min 45.8 sec.