Sheldon Karlin

Sheldon Karlin (1950 – 16 January 2000) was an American male marathon runner who won the New York City Marathon in 1972.[2]

Sheldon Karlin
Personal information
Full nameSheldon Robert Karlin
NationalityAmerican
Born1950 (1950)
United States
Died16 January 2000(2000-01-16) (aged 49–50)
Sport
Country United States
SportSport of athletics
Event(s)Marathon
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Marathon: 2:26:27 (1974)[1]

Biography

His career in the sport was brief and mostly confined to the early 1970s. Karlin placed fourth at the Washington's Birthday Marathon in February 1972,[1] then had the biggest achievement of his running career later that year at the New York City Marathon.[3] He expressed surprise at his win in a time of 2:27:52, having failed to realise he was the race leader for a portion of the race.[4] At age 22, he remained the competition's youngest male winner for many years, eventually being topped by a 20-year-old Eritrean, Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, in 2016.[5] He returned to win the Washington's Birthday Marathon in 1974 in 2:26:27, and also won the Hunter's Woods Elementary School 20-miler that year.[1]

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Karlin grew up in Kenilworth, New Jersey, where he ran cross country in high school. Karlin attended the University of Maryland and competed for the Maryland Terrapins cross country running team. He was promised a sports scholarship if he excelled on the team, but when the scholarship was not forthcoming, he left the college team. Following his retirement from the sport, he lived in Livingston, New Jersey, with his wife, Donna. The couple had three children in the 1980s.[6] He died of a heart condition at age 49 following poor health.[7] The Washington Running Club, of which Karlin was a founder member, named its club competition trophy the Sheldon Karlin Cup in his honour.[8]

References
  1. Sheldon Karlin. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2018-01-08.
  2. "New York City Marathon All Races 1971 - Present". nyrr.org. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  3. Eskenazioct, Gerald (1972-10-02). In New York's Marathon, They Also Run Who Only Sit and Wait. New York Times. Retrieved on 2018-01-08.
  4. Coffey, Wayne (1997-11-02). MUSES OF MARATHON EVERY ODYSSEY HAS AN EPIC ODDITY. New York Daily News. Retrieved on 2018-01-08.
  5. 20-year-old Eritrean becomes youngest male winner of NYC Marathon. ABC7 Chicago (2016-11-16). Retrieved on 2018-01-08.
  6. 751. SHELDON KARLIN --- IN MEMORIAM. Central Park Track Club. Retrieved on 2018-01-08.
  7. Sheldon Karlin, 1950-2000. Joe Henderson (2000-01-17). Retrieved on 2018-01-08.
  8. Club News, March 19, 2000. Washington Running Club (2000-03-19). Retrieved on 2018-01-08.
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