![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Hammond_Slides_Kiev_1975%2C_USSR-USA_track_tournament_%281%29.jpg/220px-Hammond_Slides_Kiev_1975%2C_USSR-USA_track_tournament_%281%29.jpg)
USA–USSR Dual Track Meet Series was a track and field meeting between United States and Soviet Union. It was held 19 times during the Cold War era from 1958 to 1985. The meeting was arranged alternatively in both countries, exception being the last event in 1985 which was held in Tokyo, Japan. Seven indoor meetings were also competed in the 1970s. Although the meetings were foremost athletic competitions, they served as propaganda and foreign diplomacy tools as well.[1]
The most classic meeting is considered the 1962 competition in Stanford, California, with an attendance of more than 150,000 on a two-day event, the largest ever on a non-Olympic track and field competition. Even the Soviet workouts attracted crowds of 5,000.[2] Two world records were set in Stanford, Valeriy Brumel on high jump and Hal Connolly on hammer throw. Though the Stanford meeting was held just two months before the Cuban Missile Crisis, the athletes exhibited mutual friendship, with both Russian and American athletes congratulating Brumel on his feat and both nations' athletes completing a lap of honour at the end of competition.[3]
Editions
Year | Date | Location | Venue | Winner | Total | Men | Women |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1958 | 27–28 July | Moscow | Lenin Stadium | ![]() |
172 – 170 | ![]() |
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1959 | 18–19 July | Philadelphia | Franklin Field | ![]() |
175 – 167 | ![]() |
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1961 | 15–16 July | Moscow | Lenin Stadium | ![]() |
179 – 160 | ![]() |
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1962 | 21–22 July | Stanford | Stanford Stadium | ![]() |
173 – 169 | ![]() |
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1963 | 20–21 July | Moscow | Lenin Stadium | ![]() |
189 – 147 | ![]() |
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1964 | 25–26 July | Los Angeles | Los Angeles Coliseum | ![]() |
187 – 156 | ![]() |
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1965 | 31 July–1 August | Kiev | Central Stadium | ![]() |
181.5 – 155.5 | ![]() |
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1969 | 18–19 July | Los Angeles | Los Angeles Coliseum | ![]() |
195 – 178 | ![]() |
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1970 | 23–24 July | Leningrad | Lenin Stadium | ![]() |
200 – 173 | ![]() |
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1971 | 2–3 July | Berkeley | Edwards Stadium | ![]() ![]() |
186 – 186 | ![]() |
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1973 | 23–24 July | Minsk | Republic Stadium | ![]() |
216 – 163 | ![]() |
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1974 | 5–6 July | Durham | Wallace Wade Stadium | ![]() |
192 – 184 | ![]() |
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1975 | 4–5 July | Kiev | Central Stadium | ![]() |
225 – 138 | ![]() |
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1976 | 6–7 August | College Park | Byrd Stadium | ![]() |
211 – 157 | ![]() |
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1977 | 1–2 July | Sochi | Central Stadium | ![]() |
207 – 171 | ![]() |
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1978 | 7–8 July | Berkeley | Edwards Stadium | ![]() |
190 – 177 | ![]() |
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1981 | 11–12 July | Leningrad | Lenin Stadium | ![]() |
204 – 178 | ![]() |
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1982 | 2–3 July | Indianapolis | Indiana University | ![]() |
207 – 167 | ![]() |
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1985 | 21–22 September | Tokyo | National Olympic Stadium | ![]() |
221 – 164 | ![]() |
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Indoor meetings
Year | Date | Location | Venue | Winner | Total | Men | Women |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1972 | 17 March | Richmond | Richmond Coliseum | ![]() |
131 – 112 | ![]() |
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1973 | 16 March | Richmond | Richmond Coliseum | ![]() |
146 – 141 | ![]() |
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1974 | 2 March | Moscow | Brothers Znamensky Olympic Centre | ![]() |
163 – 126 | ![]() |
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1975 | 3 March | Richmond | Richmond Coliseum | ![]() |
171 – 106 | ![]() |
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1976 | 6 March | Leningrad | Zimniy Stadion | ![]() |
171 – 117 | ![]() |
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1977 | 3–4 March | Toronto | Maple Leaf Gardens | ![]() |
159 – 120 | ![]() |
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1979 | 3 March | Fort Worth | Tarrant County Convention Center | ![]() |
121 – 118 | ![]() |
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World records
Year | Athlete | Nation | Sex | Event | Record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1958 | Oleg Ryakhovskiy | ![]() |
Men | Triple jump | 16.59 m |
1958 | Rafer Johnson | ![]() |
Men | Decathlon | 8302 pts |
1961 | Valeriy Brumel | ![]() |
Men | High jump | 2.24 m |
1961 | Ralph Boston | ![]() |
Men | Long jump | 8.28 m |
1961 | Willye White Ernestine Pollards Vivian Brown Wilma Rudolph |
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Women | 4 × 100 m relay | 44.3 |
1961 | Tatyana Shchelkanova | ![]() |
Women | Long jump | 6.48 m |
1961 | Tamara Press | ![]() |
Women | Discus throw | 57.43 m |
1962 | Valeriy Brumel | ![]() |
Men | High jump | 2.26 m |
1962 | Hal Connolly | ![]() |
Men | Hammer throw | 70.67 m |
1963 | Valeriy Brumel | ![]() |
Men | High jump | 2.28 m |
1964 | Fred Hansen | ![]() |
Men | Pole vault | 5.28 m |
1964 | Dallas Long | ![]() |
Men | Shot put | 20.67 m |
1965 | Wyomia Tyus | ![]() |
Women | 100 m | 11.1 |
1974 | Lyudmila Bragina | ![]() |
Women | 3000 m | 8:52.74 |
1976 | Lyudmila Bragina | ![]() |
Women | 3000 m | 8:27.12 |
Multiple winners
Athlete | Nation | Wins | Years | Event | Sex |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Volodymyr Holubnychy | ![]() |
6 | 1959, 1962, 1964, 1969–1970, 1976 | 20 km race walk | Men |
Viktor Saneyev | ![]() |
6 | 1969, 1971, 1973-1976 | Triple jump | Men |
Taisia Chenchik | ![]() |
6 | 1958–1959, 1962–1963, 1965 | High jump | Women |
Tamara Press | ![]() |
6 | 1959, 1961-1965 | Shot put and discus throw | Women |
Nadezhda Chizhova | ![]() |
6 | 1969–1971, 1973–1974, 1976 | Shot put | Women |
Faina Melnik | ![]() |
6 | 1971, 1973–1974, 1976-1978 | Discus throw | Women |
Lyudmila Bragina | ![]() |
5 | 1969–1970, 1973, 1974, 1976 | 1500 m and 3000 m | Women |
Valeriy Brumel | ![]() |
5 | 1961-1965 | High jump | Men |
Jānis Lūsis | ![]() |
5 | 1962–1965, 1969 | Javelin throw | Men |
Ralph Boston | ![]() |
4 | 1961–1963, 1965 | Long jump | Men |
Tatyana Shchelkanova | ![]() |
4 | 1961–1963, 1965 | Long jump | Women |
Irina Press | ![]() |
4 | 1961–1963, 1965 | 80 m hurdles | Women |
Elvīra Ozoliņa | ![]() |
4 | 1961–1963, 1973 | Javelin throw | Women |
References
- ^ Turrini, p. 1–2
- ^ "Track and field's greatest dual meet is turning 50". Palo Alto Online. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ "USA vs. USSR, 1962: The Greatest Track Meet of All Time". Bleacher's Report. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- Turrini, Joseph M.: "“It Was Communism Versus the Free World”: The USA-USSR Dual Track Meet Series and the Development of Track and Field in the United states, 1958–1985" Journal of Sports History. Volume 28, Number 3, 2001.