Have you ever heard of ...

Ivo Van Damme?

Thanks to my friend Matt for sending me the following email, which I share with you today, along with my thoughts afterwards (Matt’s words are in italics):

When Kelvin Kiptum died last month, it was a tragedy on several levels - the loss to his family and friends is obvious, but the world also lost the chance to see just how great a talent he possessed and how fast a human can run.

The connection to Pre’s death is understandable but there is one even closer - the death of Ivo Van Damme.

He was 22 years old when he won Olympic silver medals in both the 1,500 and 800.  He lost to John Walker by .1 in the 1,500m and Alberto Juantorena’s 1:43.5 at 800m. Five months later, he was killed in a car crash.

I think Van Damme is more like Kiptum because he was at an early point in his trajectory. He was just getting started when his life was snuffed out.  Pre, in the other hand, was likely at his peak or just past it when he died.  He’d been the top American runner for nearly six years.  We may have seen Pre’s best already. 

Not so with Van Damme.  He, like Kiptum, was nowhere near his prime.

Thanks, Matt, for your thoughts, and I agree that Van Damme is a closer comparison to Kiptum. Pre evokes so many emotions among so many generations of runners, so that’s why those comparisons were inevitable. Unless you are an avid fan and historian of track and field, the name “Ivo Van Damme” is so uncommon as to seem almost made up. Of course, it’s not, and his truncated legacy is secure in the annals of track and field.

Matt’s email got me thinking about a series of posts, highlighting great and legendary runners who very few of us had ever heard of (but perhaps should know more about). Your suggestions are welcome. It does not have to be about runners who were cut down by death in their prime – I think we’ve beaten up that topic pretty well here. Rather, they are great runners that even hard-core running fans may have rarely heard about. I have two names already in mind, and those posts will follow in the coming days. Any other suggestions are welcome.

Thanks again to Matt for educating me and for spurring on this idea for future posts! Stay tuned …