Don Lash
From WikiRun
| Don Lash | |
| Height | 5'10" (178 cm) |
|---|---|
| Weight | 154 lbs (70 kg) |
| Nationality | United States |
| PR | 1,500 – 3:57.8 (1936); Mile – 4:07.2 (1937); 2 miles – 8:58.0i (1937); 5K – 14:30.9i (1939); 10K – 31:06.9 (1936) |
| Born | August 15, 1912 at Bluffton, IN |
| Died | September 19, 1994 at Rockville, IN |
| College | Indiana University |
| Club | Indiana State Police AA |
Donald Ray "Don" Lash (1912-1994) was an American long-distance runner who won 12 national titles from 1934 to 1940, including seven consecutive men's national cross-country championships, and who set a world's record for the two-mile run in 1936. He competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Born in Bluffton, Indiana, Lash grew up in Auburn, Indiana, where he graduated from high school in 1933 after setting a new Indiana state record of 4:30.5 for the indoor mile. As a student at Indiana University, Lash set an American record of 31:06.9 for 10,000 meters. In June 1936, he broke Paavo Nurmi's world record for the two mile, running 8:58.4, besting Nurmi's record by 1.2 seconds. Competing in the 1936 Summer Olympics, he placed 13th in the 5,000-meter run and eighth in the 10,000-meter.
In 1938, Lash set a meet record of 14:39, for 5,000 meters at the Amateur Athletic Union indoor national championships. That same year he won the James E. Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete. He also won the AAU 10K championship in 1936 and 1940.
World War II prevented Lash from compete again in the Olympics. Having married Margaret Mendenhall in 1938, Lash began a law-enforcement career with the Indiana State Police, then became an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1941. He retired from the FBI in 1962 to become a regional director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and appeared frequently as a motivational speaker.
In 1973, he opened a real estate business in Rockville, Indiana. He also was elected to five terms (1973 - 1982) as a Republican member of the Indiana State House of Representatives.
Lash died of spinal cancer at a hospital in Terre Haute, Indiana, and is buried in Rush Creek Cemetery near Tangier in Parke County. Don and Margaret Lash had two sons and a daughter.
Honors
Don Lash Park in Auburn is named for him. Lash was inducted into the Indiana University Hall of Fame in 1982, the RRCA Hall of Fame in 1987 and the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1995.