1995 Hall of Fame Inductee
One of only four high school runners to break four minutes for the mile, Marty Liquori attended Villanova University where he was coached by Hall of Famer Jumbo Elliott. During his freshman year, he qualified for the Olympic team at 1500 meters and advanced to the finals, where he finished 12th. While running for the Wildcats, he won three straight NCAA one mile titles from 1969 to 1971, captured National AAU one mile titles in 1969 and 1970 and collected nine straight Penn Relays titles. He was ranked number one in the world at 1500 meters in 1969 and 1971. In perhaps his most memorable race, Liquori defeated world-record holder Jim Ryun in the "Dream Mile" in the spring of 1971. Afterward Liquori described his front-running tactic by saying, "I wanted us both sagging in the stretch, looking more like boxers, both dead, like we were running on sand." That same year, Liquori won the 1500m at the Pan-American Games. After college, Liquori set four American records, including two in the 5000 within 11 days in the summer of 1977. The first was in Zurich in 13:16.0; the second was at the World Cup in Dusseldorf, Germany, where he ran 13:15.06. That year he was ranked number one in the world at 5000m. In all, Liquori won 14 national titles ranging from one mile to 5000 meters. A co-founder of the Athletic Attic chain of running stores, Liquori went on to become an author and television commentator, working with ABC-TV at the 1972, 1976 and 1984 Olympic Games.
American Record: 2 mi. - 8:17 (July 17, 1975 - ) American Record: 5,000 m - 13:00.00 American Record: 5,000 m - 13:15.06
1968 Olympics: 1,500 m (12th) 1969 AAU: 1 mi. (1st) 1970 AAU: 1 mi. (1st) 1971 Pan-Am Games: 1,500 m (1st) 1969 NCAA: 1 mi. (1st) 1970 NCAA: 1 mi. (1st) 1971 NCAA: 1 mi. (1st)
TV broadcaster Author Entrepreneur