Birthday: 10/15/1890 Mile PR: 4:14.4 - 1913 (former world record)
Metric Mile (1500m) PR: 3:57.2 - 1912
High School: Phillips Exeter 1909
Hometown: Washington, DC
College: Cornell University 1913
John Paul Jones set the world record for the Mile in 1911 with a time of 4:15.4 (unofficial WR) and again in 1913 with a time of 4:14.4 on May 31: this mark was the first Mile record to be ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), now World Athletics.
As a member of Team USA, Jones competed in the 1500m at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm placing fourth, clocking a 3:57.2, and the Cornell grad was the IC4A Mile champion from 1911-13; his 1913 winning time became the ratified Mile WR.
FUN FACT: At the Stockholm Olympics, he also participated in the baseball event which was held as demonstration sport.
FUN FACT II: His senior year at Cornell, Jones was voted by his peers: the most popular college man, the most respected, the best all-round man and the man who had done the most for his college. #BMOC
The Cornell idol and Mile star was trained under a man who believes in the fighting spirit which wins races, but who teaches his pupils to win modestly, and to lose, if lose they must, like gentlemen.
By Samuel A. Munford, Medical Examiner, Cornell University for Outing
The proper place of...
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ELEVATE
Bring Back the Mile as the premier event in the sport, and increase interest in and media coverage of the Mile for both those who love the distance as well as the general public.
CELEBRATE
Bring Back the Mile to celebrate the storied distance and to recognize the people who made and make the Mile great and to promote Mile events and the next generation of U.S. Milers.
NATIONAL MOVEMENT
Bring Back the Mile to create a national movement for the Mile as America’s Distance, to inspire Americans to run the Mile as part of their fitness program and to replace the 1600 meters at High School State Track & Field Meets across the country.
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