Bruce Bickford (athlete)

Bruce Bickford
Personal information
Nationality American
Born (1957-03-12) March 12, 1957
Waterville, Maine
Sport
Sport Track
Event(s) 3000 meters, 2-mile, 5000 meters, 10,000 meters
College team Northeastern
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 3000 meters: 7:48.4[1]
5000 meters: 13:13.49[1]
10,000 meters: 27:37.17[1]

Bruce Emery Bickford (born March 12, 1957 in East Benton, Maine) is a retired long-distance runner from the United States. He claimed the gold medal at the 1987 Pan American Games in the Men's 10,000 metres, and represented his native country in the 1988 Summer Olympics.[2] He set his personal best (27:37.17) in the 10,000 metres in 1985 in Stockholm, Sweden. Bickford won a gold medal in the 1989 United States Olympic Festival Half Marathon.

Running career

High school

Bickford graduated from Lawrence High School of Fairfield, Maine[3] where he began his climb to stardom under the direction of his late coach, David F. Martin.[4] Bickford played basketball in his freshman year of high school, and ran cross country for the first time as a sophomore.[5] As a high-schooler, Bickford set the state record for Maine in the 2-mile, with a time of 9:09.5, which he set in 1975 at the Dartmouth Invitational.[6]

Collegiate

He then went on to Northeastern University and was elected to the Northeastern University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991. He was also inducted into the Maine Running Hall of Fame and the Maine Sports Hall of Fame. In 1977, Bickford set and still holds one of Northeastern University's longest standing track records in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, with a time of 8:33.6.

References

External links



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