US distance runner Kenny Moore (© Imago)
World Athletics is deeply saddened to hear that Kenny Moore, two-time Olympic competitor for the US and athletics writer for Sports Illustrated, died on Wednesday (4) at the age of 78.
Born in Portland in 1943, Moore spent most of his formative years in the state of Oregon. He attended high school in Eugene and then studied at the University of Oregon, where he was guided by legendary coach Bill Bowerman.
After graduating from university, Moore went on to establish himself as one of the USA’s leading distance runners, starting with his victory at the 1967 US Cross Country Championships. He earned a spot on the USA’s 1968 Olympic team after finishing second at the Olympic trial race, held at altitude in Alamosa in an attempt to simulate the conditions at the Mexico City Olympics.
At the Olympic Games later that year, Moore was among the early leaders before eventually placing 14th in 2:29:49, making him the top US finisher.
Moore set his first of two US marathon records at the 1969 Fukuoka Marathon, clocking 2:13:28 to place seventh. He returned to the Japanese city one year later and reduced his US record to 2:11:36.
After finishing in an intentional tie with Frank Shorter at the 1972 US Olympic Trials, Moore went on to place fourth in the marathon at the Munich Games, just 31 seconds shy of bronze medallist Mamo Wolde, the defending champion.
A graduate in creative writing, Moore became a journalist and screenwriter after retiring from competitive athletics, working as an athletics writer for Sports Illustrated for 25 years.
He co-wrote the screenplay for Without Limits, the biopic about US distance runner Steve Prefontaine. He also wrote Bowerman and the Men of Oregon, a book about his former coach.
World Athletics