Kenny Moore (runner)

{{Short description|American long-distance runner and journalist (1943–2022)}}

{{For|similarly named people|Kenneth Moore (disambiguation){{!}}Kenneth Moore}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name =

| image =Gerry Lindgren and Kenny Moore 1971.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Moore (right) in 1971

| birth_name =

| fullname =

| nationality =

| residence =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1943|12|1}}

| birth_place = Portland, Oregon, U.S.[http://www.kennymoore.us/kenny_moore_resume.htm Welcome kennymoore.us – Hostmonster.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181027143419/http://www.kennymoore.us/kenny_moore_resume.htm |date=October 27, 2018 }}. Kennymoore.us. Retrieved on August 21, 2017.

| death_date = {{death date and age |2022|5|4|1943|12|1}}

| death_place = Kailua, Hawaii, U.S.

| height = 183 cm

| weight = 64 kg

| country =

| sport = Athletics

| event = Mile to marathon, steeplechase

| pb =Mile – 4:04.2 (1966)
3000 m – 8:49.4 (1966)
5000 m – 13:46.4 (1970)
10000 m – 28:47.6 (1970)
Mar – 2:11:36 (1970)

| club = Oregon Track Club
University of Oregon

| alma_mater =

| retired =

| olympics =

| highestranking =

| show-medals = yes

| medaltemplates =

}}

Kenneth Clark Moore (December 1, 1943 – May 4, 2022) was an American Olympic road running athlete, journalist and actor. He ran the marathon at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics, finishing fourth at the latter.

Early life

Moore was born in Portland, Oregon,{{cite news|title=Kenny Moore, former UO distance runner, 2-time Olympian, journalist and author, dies at 78|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/2022/05/kenny-moore-former-uo-distance-runner-2-time-olympian-journalist-and-author-dies-at-78.html|first=Ken|last=Goe|date=May 4, 2022|access-date=May 5, 2022|newspaper=The Oregonian|location=Portland, Oregon|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505081939/https://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/2022/05/kenny-moore-former-uo-distance-runner-2-time-olympian-journalist-and-author-dies-at-78.html|archive-date=May 5, 2022|url-status=live}} on December 1, 1943.{{cite book|title=Running Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kqc1SkRr9UwC&pg=PA218|publisher=Human Kinetics|year=2002|last1=Benyo|first1=Richard|last2=Henderson|first2=Joe|page=218|isbn=978-0-7360-3734-1}}{{cite web|title=Kenny Moore – Profile|url=https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/kenny-moore-14355422|access-date=May 5, 2022|publisher=World Athletics}} He attended North Eugene High School in Eugene, Oregon. He went on to study at the University of Oregon, where he raced for the Oregon Ducks under coach Bill Bowerman. He received All-American honors on three occasions and was pivotal to the Ducks winning the team national championship at the 1964 and 1965 NCAA University Division Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Running career

After graduating from Oregon, Moore won the 1967 USA Cross Country Championships, as well as the USA Marathon Championships four years later. He also won the San Francisco Bay to Breakers – the largest footrace in the world – six times in a row from 1968 to 1973, becoming the all-time leader in victories in the race.{{cite news|title=Former Olympian, Sports Illustrated Writer Kenny Moore Dies at 78|url=https://www.si.com/olympics/2022/05/05/kenny-moore-olympian-sports-illustrated-writer-dies-age-78|first=Madison|last=Williams|date=May 4, 2022|access-date=May 5, 2022|work=SI.com|publisher=Sports Illustrated}}[https://www.arrs.run/HP_BtB12.htm Bay to Breakers winners]. Arrs.net (May 23, 2017). Retrieved on August 21, 2017.

Moore first competed in the Olympic marathon at the 1968 Summer Games. He led early in the final, but finished fourteenth after suffering from severe blisters. It was still the best performance among American competitors. He joined the U.S. Army later that year, but was permitted to continue racing. He set the record for best time among American runners at the Fukuoka Marathon in 1969 and 1970, finishing runner-up in the latter race. Upon completing his military service, he returned to the University of Oregon and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing in 1972.{{cite news|title=Kenny Moore, Olympian and Masterful Writer on Running, Dies at 78|url=https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a39864735/kenny-moore-dies-at-78/|first=Roger|last=Robinson|date=May 4, 2022|access-date=May 5, 2022|magazine=Runner's World}} He again participated in the marathon at the Summer Olympics that year. Although he tripped and fell one mile into the race, he recovered and narrowly missed winning a medal, finishing fourth.

Later life

After retiring from competition, Moore became a journalist and screenwriter. He had a 25-year career covering athletics for Sports Illustrated. At the end of his career at Sports Illustrated, Moore took up the plight of former competitor Mamo Wolde, who was falsely imprisoned in Ethiopia. In his story, Moore championed Wolde's release from prison, a release that came months before Wolde's death.

Moore was also one of the athletes who pushed for the Amateur Sports Act of 1978. He also helped to write the screenplay for the 1998 biopic Without Limits, a film about former Oregon Ducks standout Steve Prefontaine.[https://www.espn.com/olympics/trackandfield/news/story?id=2898193 Hayward Field is as storied as Prefontaine himself]. Sports.espn.go.com (June 8, 2007). Retrieved on August 21, 2017. Moore also had an acting role (as a water polo player) in the 1982 Robert Towne film Personal Best, starring Mariel Hemingway, Scott Glenn, and Patrice Donnelly.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/05/movies/personal-best-olympic-love.html|title = 'Personal Best,' Olympic Love|newspaper = The New York Times|date = February 5, 1982|last1 = Canby|first1 = Vincent}} Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic wrote Moore "looks like the youngest mummy in screen history".{{cite web| title=Stanley Kauffmann on films| url=https://newrepublic.com| publication-date=1982-03-03| website=The New Republic| language=en}}

Moore published a book in 2007 about his former coach titled Bowerman and the Men of Oregon.[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/27/AR2007012700936.html Bowerman Served as Running Pioneer]. Washingtonpost.com (January 27, 2007). Retrieved on August 21, 2017. He was also the author of Best Efforts: World Class Runners and Races (Doubleday 1982). He was inducted into the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.{{cite web|title=Kenny Moore (1997)|url=https://goducks.com/honors/hall-of-fame/kenny-moore/151|access-date=May 5, 2022|publisher=University of Oregon Athletics}} He was later honored in the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.{{cite web|title=Kenny Moore – Track & Field|url=http://oregonsportshall.org/timeline/kenny-moore-track-field/|access-date=May 5, 2022|publisher=Oregon Sports Hall of Fame & Museum}}

In a Sports Illustrated feature on Eamonn Coghlan, Moore alluded to his own Olympic disappointment with a quote from the Irish world record holder: "You know, fourth is the absolute worst place to finish in the Olympics."

Personal life

Moore married his first wife, Roberta (Bobbie) Conlan, in 1968. She was photographed embracing him at the finish line of the 1972 Olympic marathon. They divorced in 1979. He subsequently married Connie Johnston Moore, and remained married to her until his death. They resided in Hawaii during his later years.

Moore died on May 4, 2022, in Kailua, Hawaii. He was 78 years old.

References

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/mo/kenny-moore-1.html |title=Kenny Moore |access-date=August 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418123511/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/mo/kenny-moore-1.html |archive-date=2020-04-18}}

{{cite web |url=http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=4595&Gender=M |title=Ken Moore |website=trackfield.brinkster.net}}

}}