Photo: Harry Trask
The question came up over dinner the
other night, will Andrew Messick be remembered as the modern day Jock
Semple of Ironman?
To answer that we have to look at who
was Jock Semple - truth and myth.
You may already know – or think you
know – but one thing's for sure, you know the photograph.
In 1967 Semple tried to take the first
woman to ever run the Boston Marathon, Katherine Switzer, off the
course when he spotted her racing amongst the men. Right? His fame
was solidified when Katherine's hammer throwing boyfriend, who was
jogging along with her at the time, tackled the old man to the
ground. The entire event was caught on camera. The whole world bore
witness to his actions. Semple went to his grave in 1988 and will
forever be remembered as the bigoted bully who tried to keep women in
the kitchen and far away from the hollowed streets of Boston. Most
of you already know that – but is there more to the story? How
much of that is true and how much isn't?
Semple was born in Glasgow Scotland in
1903 and emigrated to the United States in 1921, after running in his
first marathon.
Records aren't perfect but it looks
like he was the 29th finisher at Boston in 1929 with a
time of 2:58:54
The depression was in full swing and
Semple was sleeping on a cot in his brother's home in Boston. He
couldn't afford rent but managed to get a few hours work each week as
a changing room attendant for the YMCA. It got him by. He dedicated
himself to the pursuit of excellence in marathon running, and one
marathon in particular – the Boston Marathon. He loved that race.
In 1932 a class clown named Jimmy
“Cigars” Connors led the race a mile from the finish – while
puffing on a cigar. He'd gotten to the front by jumping onto a car's
running board. Everyone had a good laugh over the prank except
Semple. After the race Semple was heard saying he'd be “Punching
that fellow right in the jaw.” Luckily for Connors the two did not
cross paths. Boston was sacred to Semple and he held zero favor for
anyone who flaunted the rules – even in the spirit of fun.
In 1937 Semple lost his number before
the gun went off. He was greatly upset and felt he was disrespecting
the race if he ran without a number. Officials convinced him it
would be okay to run. He did but finished miserable.
The last result I could find for him at
Boston came in 1950. He ran a 3:03:22 and came 22nd. In
all I found six top 10 finishes.
He may have stopped running in the race
but he would continue to dedicate his life to the event. By 1953
he'd become co-director of the race with Will Cloney.
In 1959, while riding in the press bus
Semple spotted a man joining the race from a side street. He was
wearing a white suit, huge floppy shoes and a clown mask. Semple was
enraged. He leaped off the bus, tackled the man, tore off his mask
and proceeded to throttle the shocked fellow. Only police
intervention saved the man from serious harm. It seems the Scotsman
had a temper where his race was concerned.
Now it's the 60's and the Boston
Marathon had a single sponsor – the Boston Athletics Association
and the BAA was flat broke. It was only through the bull dog
determination of Semple and Cloney that it survived.
The first women to ever compete the
Boston marathon was in 1966 – Katherine Switzer!!! Wrong. It was
a shy young lady named Bobbi Gibb. She had no coach and was part of
no team or club. She simply loved to run. When she tried to sign up
for the race she didn't know it was against the rules for women to
enter. She was outraged and jumped into the race none the less. Of
that first race she reported being welcomed by the male runners
around her and did not report a single negative comment. What did
Semple have to say about her effort that day? “As long as she
didn't interfere with the numbered runners or make mockery of the
event he had no intention of tossing her off the course.”
Bobbi ran a 3:21:40 and would have been
126th. Semple was impressed.
Katherine Switzer attended Syracuse
University where she earned a bachelors degree and eventually a
masters degree in journalism. She also ran with the Syracuse
Harriers Running club and was one of the only women in the club.
Along the way she became determined to run the marathon and had to
twist the coach's arm to train her to do it.
In 1967 Katherine Switzer entered the
race. As the years go by there have been many tellings of this tail
and the most popular one states that she “accidentally” ended up
with the official entry and was just as shocked as anyone that such a
fuss was made. She filled out the entry form as K.V. Switzer. She
mailed in her medical examination and had her coach pick up her
number before the race. Katherine wanted to change the world – a
world that needed changing and she chose the Boston Marathon to make
her statement. Good for her I say but it was no accident.
So there we are – K.V. Switzer is
running along and she's spotted by race directors Cloney and Semple.
Cloney implored her to hand over the number as she was breaking the
rules. She wouldn't. And the rest is history. Semple made a lunge
for the number (it was reported that he
lunged for her but he always denied it) He got a tiny piece of it but then the hammer
thrower got all of him. Now an old man in his 60's, he went down in
a humiliating pile and the world saw it. Katherine finished the race
in an estimated time of 4:20. The good guy (or girl in this case)
won and the bad guy got his.
Semple got back on the bus and drove to
the front of the race. On the way they passed, without incident,
Bobbi Gibb taking her 2nd stab at Boston. She finished
almost an hour in front of Switzer – after sitting on the sidelines
for more than 10 minutes with a leg cramp that eventually let up.
It's easily arguable that without
Semple the Boston Marathon would exist only in the history books.
It's also arguable that he was a bullying Neanderthal but few people
know that the guy was so impressed with Gibb's run the previous year
that he arranged for a private change room and shower for her and
that when the board finally convened to discuss opening the race to
women, his was the loudest voice to say yes. It may have taken him a
while to realize that women could be great runners but once he did he
became one of their loudest supporters. The man loved runners.
The evidence that Jock Semple was an
opponent of women running is contradicted by his life's work but it's
not how he'll be remembered.
And now it's hard to listen to those
who stand in opposition to equality for the professional women in
Kona without thinking of Jock Semple and that humiliating photograph.
For centuries sport has been created by men, for men and controlled by men. For a less than a finger count of decades women have been invited to play and now they're told they need to "step it up". The "World" Ironman Championships in Kona allows 50 men to compete while limiting the women to 35. They're told they don't have the numbers - they're not good enough yet. It's all statistical noise designed to keep things the way they are and have always been. By supporting the initiative for equality in Kona, you are not just supporting 15 women - you are supporting women.
In 1967 two uninvited women ran in
Boston. Last year 45% of the field were women. Equality will come
to Kona. It's inevitable and while there may not be a photograph of him pulling a woman off a bike, Andrew Messick's repeated "No" will become that photograph.
I know and like him. I
think his work with Ironman has been outstanding. He's a fan and a
participator and he's raised the profile of the race but sadly I fear
his stubbornness on this issue will also be his legacy.
Sign and share the petition!
http://www.50womentokona.org/
