Husky Hall of Famer & '64 US Olympian Phil Shinnick finally recognized as world record holder...

After years of fighting and lobbying both USA Track & Field and World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), University of Washington Hall of Fame member Phil Shinnick can officially be recognized as a world record holder in the long jump.

In a ceremony in Eugene on June 27th before the start of the men's long jump finals at the US Olympic Track & Field Trials, World Athletics ambassador and current world record holder Mike Powell presented Shinnick (Paul Merca photo), a 1964 Olympian in the event, with his world record plaque.

Phil Shinnick (UW Athletics) 

On May 25, 1963 at the California Relays in Modesto, Shinnick jumped 27-4 (8.33m) to break the previous world record of 27-3.25 (8.31m) held by Igor Ter-Ovanesyan of the USSR.

The only problem was that there was no wind gauge in place during the jump, negating the apparent world record.

In 2003, 40 years after his accomplishment, former Seattle Post-Intelligencer writer Dan Raley wrote an article about Shinnick's attempt to lobby both USA Track & Field and World Athletics to recognize his accomplishment.

The year before, 1956 Olympic gold-medalist hammer thrower Harold Connolly and 1960 gold-medalist long jumper Ralph Boston, both world record-holders several times over in their day, personally pleaded Shinnick's case, as did Shinnick, to Craig Masback, USATF chief executive officer. Connolly and Boston both were in Modesto in '63.

In Raley's article, Connolly said, "He had the one great performance in his life, where everything was right, he was right and the conditions were right, and he should get credit for it."

"Somebody didn't go through the right steps. But nobody knows what goes on in that back room when they look at all the paperwork."

USATF recognized Shinnick's mark after deliberation at the 2003 annual meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina, but until recently, World Athletics did not.

In a 2013 story written by David Eskenazi for SportsPressNW.com, Eskenazi wrote about the process that Shinnick and former Husky long jumper Grant Birkinshaw went through to convince the USATF records committee to recognize Shinnick's leap.

After the records committee rejected Shinnick, the USATF executive committee overturned the records committee decision, thanks in part to former Washington State head coach John Chaplin's testimony.

Shinnick's mark is still the school record at the University of Washington.

NOTE: World Athletics, USA Track & Field, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer & SportsPressNW.com contributed to this report.

paulmerca.blogspot.com may receive a commission for any purchases made from links clicked. Please support this site and our sponsors by clicking on the links.