Ashenfelter, Horace III ("Nip")
Track and field
b. Jan. 23, 1923, Collegeville, PA
Ashenfelter was one of America's premier distance runners during the 1950s, winning 17 national championships at a variety of distances. But his most remarkable achievement was winning the gold medal in the 1952 Olympic 3,000-meter steeplechase.
An FBI agent, Ashenfelter trained for the Olympics at night, using park benches for hurdles. In his first heat at the U. S. trials, he ran an American record 9:06.4, and he lowered that by more than 15 seconds, to 8:51.0, in the finals.
Vladimir Kazantsev of the Soviet Union was favored to win the Olympic event and Ashenfelter wasn't given much of a chance for any kind of medal. However, he and Kazantsev took the lead on the third lap and broke away from the field. Rounding the last turn, the Russian edged ahead, but he stumbled slightly on the last water jump. Ashenfelter took it cleanly and pulled away to win by nearly 30 yards.
Ashenfelter was the first American since James Lightbody in 1904 to win the Olympic steeplechase. His time was another American record, 8:45.4. In less than a month, Ashenfelter had improved his personal best by more than 30 seconds. He won the 1952 Sullivan Award as the nation's outstanding amateur athlete.
An all-around athlete in high school, Ashenfelter served in World War II and then attended Penn State. He won the NCAA 2-mile run in 1949, the IC4A outdoor 2-mile in 1948 and 1949, and the IC4A indoor 2-mile in 1948. He was also AAU national champion in cross-country, 1951, 1955 and 1956; the steeplechase, 1951, 1953, and 1956; the 3-mile run, 1954 and 1955; the 6-mile, 1950; and the indoor 3-mile, 1952 through 1956.