Gordon McKenzie (athlete), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Gordon McKenzie (athlete)

American long-distance runner

Date of Birth: 26-Jun-1927

Place of Birth: Queens, New York, United States

Date of Death: 19-Jul-2013

Profession: long-distance runner, marathon runner

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Gordon Edmund McKenzie (June 26, 1927 – July 19, 2013) was an American athlete who competed in the 10,000 meters at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and the marathon at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy.
McKenzie, running 2:28:18, finished second to Paavo Kotila in the 1960 Boston Marathon, an Olympic trials race.
In 1961, he finished fourth at Boston, in 2:25:46. McKenzie was also an AAU cross country champion (1954) who finished fourth in the 5000 meters at the 1955 Pan American Games and was a silver medalist in the marathon at the 1963 Pan American Games, where he ran 2:31:18.
He won U.S.
track championship medals at 5K where he finished 2nd in 1953, '54 and '55, 3rd in 1956.
At 10K he finished 2nd in 1955 and 1958, 3rd in 1956.
He ran for New York University (NYU) and the New York Pioneer Club.
Besides his 1960 Boston time (on an uncertified course), he had personal track bests of 4:12.9 in the indoor mile, set in 1954, at 2 miles 8:58.8 indoors and 3 miles 14:02.9 in 1955, and 10000 meters, 30:34.4, in 1956. McKenzie was married to the former Christina Slemon, a British middle distance runner who in 1958 became the first US AAU Champion in the 440 yards, and who, in 1953, had been part of a British world-record setting team in the 3x880 yard relay.
Gordon McKenzie's career was as a civil engineer with the city of New York, after studying engineering at NYU.