2015 Event Nike and distributor Apple settle a consumer lawsuit over false advertising for the Nike FuelBand; Nike claimed that the band could accurately track a user's health, but the device was not capable of performing the advertised functions 2014 Event NASA Mars probe MAVEN is on track to enter the planet's orbit after a 10-month journey; the probe will collect data for a year on the upper Martian atmosphere to potentially answer questions about climate change on the planet 2014 Event Race car driver Tony Stewart hits fellow driver Kevin Ward, Jr. with a vehicle on a sprint car track; Ward was walking on the track and did not survive the incident 2014 Event The U.S. announces that it is on track to enroll 7 million people in government-mandated health insurance programs by the deadline at midnight 2012 Event David Rudisha of Kenya becomes the first athlete at the 2012 Summer Olympics to set a new world track record and secures the 800m gold medal 2012 Event During the U.S. selection trials, U.S. track and field athlete Ashton Eaton sets the new world record for the decathlon 2011 Event A recent crash on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway prompts a halt in service and an inspection of all sections of the track 1995 Event Marc Velzeboer skates world record 3 km short track (5:00.26) 1995 Event 1st New York City Mayor Trophy's High school track meet in 19 years 1992 Death Wim Ramaker, Dutch director/writer (On Death Track), dies 1992 Death Maurice J Hill, writer (Track of Thunder), dies of pneumonia at 89 1989 Event Amateur Athletic Federation strips Ben Johnson of all track records 1989 Death Bert Oosterbosch, racing cyclist, won World amateur team time trial championship, won World Professional individual pursuit title, successful track and road racer, dies at age 32, of acute cardiac arrest 1988 Death Mike Venezia, jockey, dies in 5th-race fall at Belmont Race Track, New York 1986 Event Kathy Ormsby, a 21-year-old member of North Carolina State track team jumps off a bridge permanently paralyzing herself 1984 Event Carl Lewis duplicates Jesse Owens' 1936 feat, wins 4 Olym track golds 1983 Event 1st World Track and Field Championships 1982 Death Brenda Benet, actress (Track of Thunder), commits suicide by gun at 36 1977 Birthday Tony Goskowicz, born in Wauwautosa, Wisconsin, short track skater 1994 Olympics 1977 Event Elevated train jumps track, crashes onto a Chicago Street (11 die, 200 hurt) 1976 Event 1st quadrophonic movie track: "Ladies and Gentlemen the Rolling Stones" 1973 Event Professional track debut of Kip Keino defeating Jim Ryun in the mile 1971 Birthday Amy Peterson, Maplewood, Minnesota, short track skater 1994 Olympics 1969 Event Barbara Jo Rubin becomes 1st female jockey to win at a major U.S. track 1968 Birthday Randy Bartz, Roseville, Minnesota, short track skater 1994 Olympics 1968 Birthday John Coyle, West Bloomfield, Michigan, short track skater 1994 Olympics 1967 Birthday Eric Flaim, Pembroke Massachusetts, short track skater 1994 Olympics 1966 Birthday Zola Budd, born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, track and field long distance runner, trained and raced barefoot, politically controversial figure, two-time Women's 5000 meters world record holder, two-time World Cross Country Championships winner 1964 Birthday Andy Gabel, born in Chicago, Illinois, short track skater 1994 Olympics 1964 Birthday Yvonne Murray, born in Musselburgh, Scottish track, running athlete, won Olympic bronze medal, 3000m, Seoul, 1988 1962 Birthday Jan[ice] Merrill, track star, U.S. record long distance holder 1979 1962 Birthday Cathy Turner, born in Rochester, New York, short track skater 1994 Olympics gold 1961 Birthday Mark McKoy, Canadian track star, world record 50m indoor 1958 Birthday Mary Decker Tabb Slaney, New Jersey, olympic track star, mile record 4:16.71 1957 Birthday Bert Oosterbosch, born in Eindhoven, Netherlands, racing cyclist, won World amateur team time trial championship, won World Professional individual pursuit title, successful track and road racer 1956 Event Johnny Heckmann rides 7 winners at Chicago Hawthorne Horse track 1955 Event Track and Field names Jesse Owens all-time track athelete 1953 Birthday Jules Shear, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, musician, singer, performed with The Funky Kings, Raisins in the Sun, created, hosted, first 13 episodes of MTV series, Unplugged, song, All Through the Night, recorded by Cyndi Lauper, ranked number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, co-wrote title track for Everything's Different Now album, with Matthew Sweet 1952 Birthday Francie Larrieu Smith, U.S., 1.5/3/10K track runner, AAU 1 mile-1979 1950 Event 1st use of TV laugh track - Hank McCune 1950 Event Last horse race at Havre de Grace Track in Md, is run 1947 Birthday Syanley "Buckwheat" Dural, Jr., U.S. accordionist, On Track 1945 Birthday John Carlos, track star, Olympic bronze 1968, ; gave black power salute 1943 Event Sweden's Gunther Hagg beats favorite Greg Rice by 35 yards in 5,000m at national AAU track and field championship in NY 1942 Birthday Malvin Whitfield, Bay City, Texas, track star, 1948, 1952 Olympics 1942 Birthday Doris Brown-Heritage, U.S., 800m track star, Gold Medal 1968 Olympics 1942 Event 1st legal New Jersey horse race in 50 years; Garden State Park track opens 1940 Event 1st intercollegiate track meet telecast, MSG, New York City 1936 Event Jockey Ralph Neves unexpectedly revived after being declared dead after a fall. His wife fainted when he returned to track 1936 Event 1st photo finish camera installed at Hialeah Race track in Hialeah Fla 1934 Birthday Jim Beatty, track runner, 1st sub 4 minute indoor mile 1931 Event Reno race track, becomes 1st in U.S. to use daily double wagering 1931 Event Program for woman athletes approved for 1932 Olympics track and field 1928 Event Ray Barbuti saves U.S. team from defeat in Amsterdam Olympics track events by winning 400 m (47.8 sec) 1928 Death Alvin C Kraenzlein, track star (Olympic-4 gold-1900), dies at 51 1927 Event "Jazz Singer," 1st movie with a sound track, premieres (New York City) 1924 Event Charles Paddock captures 100 and 200 yd AAU national senior outdoor track and field championships 1923 Birthday Aleksandra Chudina, U.S.S.R., track jumper, Olympic-2 silver-1952 1921 Event Federation Sportive Feminine International forms (1st woman track and field association) 1920 Event 1st artificial rabbit used at a dog race track in Emeryville, California 1913 Birthday Jesse Owens, track star, Olympics - 4 gold medals 1909 Event Indianapolis 500 race track opens 1903 Event Long Island's Jamaica Race Track opens 1896 Event A. H. Whiting wins 1st automobile race held on a track in Cranston, Rhode Island 1896 Event Bay District Race Track closes 1893 Event San Francisco Bay City Club opens 1st U.S. bicycle race track, made of wood 1879 Event Thomas Ray becomes youngest to break a world track and field record pole-vaulting 11' 2" at age 17 years and 198 days 1876 Event 1st U.S. intercollegiate track meet held, Saratoga, New York; Princeton wins 1873 Event Bay District Race Track opens 1868 Event 1st American amateur track and field meet (New York City) 1864 Event 1st track meet between Oxford and Cambridge 1863 Event Congress authorizes track width of 4'8" for Union Pacific Railroad 1860 Event Workmen start laying track for Market Street Railroad, San Francisco 1858 Birthday Laurence "Lon" Myers, U.S., track star, top U.S. miler 1839 Event 1st Canadian track and field meet held (Caer Howell Grounds) 1831 Birthday John Morrissey, boxer/developer of Saratoga Springs horse race track 1825 Event Railroad transportation is born with 1st track (Stockton-Darlington) 1809 Event 1st practical U.S. railroad track (wooden, for horse-drawn cars), Philadelphia 1311 Death Gwijde van Names, Flemish marshal (Golden Track), dies at 35
