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The 1923 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were organized by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and served as the national championships in outdoor track and field for the United States. The year marked the first ever women's U.S. track and field championships.
| 1923 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | |
|---|---|
| Dates | September 1 (men) September 29 (women) |
| Host city | Chicago, Illinois (men) Newark, New Jersey (women) |
| Venue | Stagg Field (men) Weequahic Park (women) |
 | |
← 1922 1924 → | |
The men's edition was held at Stagg Field in Chicago, Illinois, and it took place September 1. The women's meet was held separately at Weequahic Park in Newark, New Jersey, on September 29.
At the men's championships, meet records were broken in the high jump, pole vault, discus, and javelin.[1]
The women's competition was the first national track and field championships for women in the United States.[2][3][4][5][6][7] The tournament was held on 29 September 1923 at Weequahic Park[8][9] in Newark, New Jersey.[10]
Background
After the initial Women's World Games in 1922 in Paris and the three Women's Olympiads (1921 Women's Olympiad, 1922 Women's Olympiad and 1923 Women's World Games) in Monaco, interest in women's sports grew internationally. In 1922, the Women's Amateur Athletic Association (WAAA) was founded in the United Kingdom. The WAAA organised the first official British women's championships in track and field (WAAA Championships) on 18 August 1923 at the Oxo Sports Ground in Downham outside London.
In the United States, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) was founded in 1888, and held its first national championship for women in the sport of swimming in 1916.[5] In 1922, try-outs for the 1922 Women's World Games were held on 13 May at Oaksmere School in Mamaroneck, New York.[11] Some historians consider this event to be the first "national" women's track meet.[11]
In 1923, the AAU sponsored the first official American women's championships in track and field.[6][7][2][8][3][4]
Events
The meet was held on 29 September 1923 at Weequahic Park in Newark, New Jersey.[2][3][9][6][5][7][12] Female athletes for the 1923 games also trained at Weequahic Park.[12]
The athletes competed in 11 events: running 50 yards, 100 yards, relay race 4x110 yards, hurdling 60 yards, high jump, long jump, discus throw, shot put, javelin, baseball throw (softball throw) and basketball throw.[9][4][8][5][2] The tournament was a huge promotion for women's sports.
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Men
Women
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 yds | Marion McCartie City Bank Club | 6,06sec | Frances Ruppert Meadowbrook Club | Mabel Steel Camp Alamo | ||
| 100 yds | Frances Ruppert Meadowbrook Club | 12,0 sec | Marion McCartie City Bank Club | Madeline Adams Meadowbrook Club | ||
| Relay 4x110 yds | Meadowbrook Club Philadelphia | 52,4 sec | City Bank Club New York | Board of Recreation Paterson, NJ | ||
| Hurdling 60 yds | Hazel Kirk Prudential Insurance | 9,6 sec | Esther Behring Prudential Insurance | Rose Garlock Newark Normal School | ||
| High jump | Catherine Wright Bridgeport A.C. | 4 ft 7½ in | Helen Dinnehey Shanahan CC | 4 ft 6 ¼ in | Ida Robinson Philadelphia Turngemeinde | 4 ft 5 ¼ in |
| Long jump | Helen Dinnehey Shanahan CC | 15 ft 4 in | Alice Adams Prudential Insurance | 15 ft ½ in | Florence Bitner Meadowbrook Club | 14 ft |
| Discus throw | Babe Wolbert UNAT | 71 ft 9½ in | Roberta Ranck Philadelphia Turngemeinde | 70 ft 10 in | Carrie Gerold Bridgeport A.C. | 65 ft 10½ in |
| Shot put 8 lb |
Bertha Christophel GATC | 30 ft 10½ in | Roberta Ranck Philadelphia Turngemeinde | 29 ft 10 5/8 in | Gladys Booth Prudential Insurance | 28 ft 3 in |
| Javelin throw | Roberta Ranck Philadelphia Turngemeinde | 59 ft 7¾ in | Jeanette Casper Bridgeport A.C. | 59 ft 1½ in | Gladys Booth Prudential Insurance | 58 ft 8 in |
| Softball throw | Elinor Churchill Robinson F.S. | 234 ft 5¾ in | Mildred Crotty Bridgeport A.C | 222 ft 9½ in | Grace Castor Philadelphia Turngemeinde | 204 ft 4 in |
| Basketball throw | Esther Behring Prudential Insurance | 87 ft 6 in | Elinor Churchill Robinson F.S. | 86 ft 8 in | Grace Castor Philadelphia Turngemeinde | 80 ft 7 in |
Elinor Churchill's baseball throw of 234 feet, 5 ¾ inches also was a new world record,[3] improving her record set the previous year by more than 10 feet.[7][6]
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