| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Henry Dinwoodey Marsh, Esq.[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Henry Dinwoodey Marsh (1954-03-15)March 15, 1954 (age 71) Boston,Massachusetts, United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Punahou High School | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 72 kg (159 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | Suzi Wallin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | 1st-World (1981, 1982, 1985) Top 10-World (1977-1988) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | 3000 m steeplechase | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University team | Brigham Young University Cougars[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Athletics West[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Alan Hazzard "Al" Rowan andClarence Robison[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personalbest(s) | 1500m – 3:43.52 (1985)[2] Mile – 3:59.31 (1985) 2 miles – 8:33.90i (1984) 5000m – 13:45.2 (1984) 3000m steeplechase – 8:09.17 (1985) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Henry Dinwoodey Marsh (born March 15, 1954) is a retiredrunner from the United States, who made four U.S. Olympic teams[4] and represented his native country in the men's 3,000 meter Steeplechase in threeSummer Olympics, from 1976 through 1988.
Marsh's athletic career started inRichardson,Texas at Northwood Junior High School, where he started as a quarterback for an unsuccessful football team. He had more success with the track and field team that next spring.[5]
Marsh moved toHawai'i, in both years at Punahou High School, he was the state champ in the mile with a personal best of 4:18:6 and was the co-captain his senior year. He was inducted into the Punahou Hall of Fame in 1990.[6]
Marsh went toBrigham Young University inProvo,Utah. After his freshman year, he took 2 years off, inBrazil, when he came back he qualified for theNCAAs with 8:55. Then he broke the BYU record when he ran 8:27 at the NCAAs and subsequently qualified for the 1976 Olympic trials.[3] At the NCAAs he was 2nd in 1976 and 3rd in 1977 and 1978.[2] He was an All-American five times.[7][6][8] In 1978, he also won the national title.[9]
Marsh had the second longest lasting (most enduring) running record in BYU history.[8][10] (The most enduring running record belongs toRalph Mann, who set a record in the400-meter dash in 1970 and has yet to be broken.)[11] Marsh's BYU record of 8:21.60, set in 1977, in the 3,000-meter steeplechase lasted 46 years,[12][5] before Kenneth Rooks broke the steeplechase record with a time of 8:17.62[10] on May 8, 2023.[13]
In 1976, while a sophomore at BYU, Marsh qualified for the1976 Summer Olympics inMontréal,Québec,Canada, at the Olympics he gottenth place with 8:23.99.[13]
Marsh qualified for the 1980 US Olympic team but was unable to compete due to the1980 Summer Olympics boycott. He did however receive one of 461Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes.[14]Track & Field News ranked him the number one steeplechaser in the world for 1981, 1982, and 1985. Moreover, he was world ranked (i.e., top 10) in this event for 12 consecutive years, 1977-1988. Marsh broke the American Record for the steeplechase on four occasions: 8:21.55 (July 5, 1977), 8:15.68 (June 28, 1980), 8:12.37 (August 17, 1983), and 8:09.17 (August 28, 1985); the last mark lasted almost 21 years until Daniel Lincoln ran 8:08.82 in Rome on July 14, 2006.[15][16]
During the 1984 Olympic Games, Marsh entered the event with a #2 world ranking. On race day for the3,000 meter steeplechase finals, Marsh finished fourth (losing out on the bronze medal to teammateBrian Diemer by only 0.19 seconds), then collapsed to the track and was carried out of theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum on a gurney.
Marsh won with 8:34:74 in his last 3,000 meter steeplechase race in the United States for thePrefontaine Classic atHayward Field inEugene,Oregon, coming from behind, passing Kregg Einspahr at the final hurdle for the win, before heading toSeoul,South Korea for the Olympics.[17] He placed 6th with 8:14:39 in the3,000-Meter steeplechase at the1988 Summer Olympics, then he retired from racing.[2] This was his fourth Olympic Games and he was ranked in the top 10 in the world for 12 years, much of the time at number one, but never earned an Olympic medal.[18]
At Pan American Games, Marsh won a gold medal in1979 and a silver medal in1987.[19]
Marsh won a silver medal in the3,000-meter steeplechase at the1986 Goodwill Games inMoscow,Soviet Union.
In 1979, Marsh came in4th place at the1979 IAAF World Cup in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
In 1981, he originally won, but wasdisqualified for failing to clear the penultimate water jump at the1981 IAAF World Cup inRome,Italy.
In 1985, he won asilver medal at the1985 IAAF World Cup inCanberra,Australian Capital Territory,Australia.
In 1983, placed8th in the first-everWorld Championships inHelsinki,Finland.
In 1987, placed6th in the secondWorld Championships inRome,Italy.
Marsh was the American champion in the steeplechase nine times (1978, 1979, 1981–1987) and in 1983 received the Glenn Cunningham Award as the best distance runner in America.[20][21] He has been considered as one of the best steeplechase runners in American history.[9] In the 1970s and 1980s, he was the greatest steeplechase runner in the United States of America.[2] In 1998, he became an Honoree (was inducted) into theUtah Sports Hall of Fame.[22] In 2001, he was inducted into theU.S. Track and Field Hall of Fame.[23]
Marsh was only two months old whenRoger Bannister became the first person to run a mile, in less than four minutes, doing it in 3:59.4. A feat that scientists tried to prove that it could not be done; that is why it was so important to Marsh to run a sub-4-minute mile. Marsh had stopped running mile races and focused on the 3,000-meter steeplechase at BYU; this is why it was so late in his running/racing career that he finally set out to do this elite feat.[24] In 1985, at the age of 31, near the end of his racing career, he joined the sub-4 minute group of milers with a 3:59.31 run at Bern, Switzerland on August 16, becoming the oldest person to run his first sub-four minute mile.[6]
In March 1986, Marsh was featured in "16 Days of Glory", a documentary about the1984 Summer Olympics, inLos Angeles,California.[25] To view the show on YouTube, select this link.[26]
Marsh was known for starting races in back with the pack and come-from-behind fantastic finishes.[3] When Kenneth Rooks (a fellow BYU Cougar and 3,000-meter steeplechaser), fell on the 8th of July, 2023, inEugene,Oregon, he told himself to go into "Henry Marsh mode". Rooks also said that he was surprised how well he was able to execute his "Marsh Strategy" as he ran personal best 8.16.78 and won the race.[27]
After graduating with a law degree, Marsh worked for a prominentSalt Lake City law firm, for 3.5 years before deciding that he didn't want to practice law anymore.[1]
Marsh was a guest speaker at the "Gorge-Us Getaway", along with national director of BSA public affairs, Julian Dyke, and Orrin Hatch, United States Senator, to 5,000 Boy Scouts, to promoteUtah National Parks.[28] He has also given free nutrition and fitness seminars together with the director of the Human Performance Research Center atBrigham Young University, Dr. A. Garth Fisher.[29]
Marsh is married to Suzi Wallin, and they have at least two children: Jimmy and Danielle Dorothy.[30] Marsh was a co-founder ofMonaVie, amulti-level marketing (MLM) company that folded in 2015.[citation needed] He served as executive vice-president and later as the company's Vice Chairman of the Board.[citation needed] According toForbes, MonaVie's business plan resembled apyramid scheme.[citation needed] He is a member ofThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,[31][32] and he was their second member to qualify for 4 Olympic Games.[4] He spent two years on mission in Brazil.[33] He was one of threereturn missionaries to participate in the1988 Summer Olympics along withDoug Padilla andEd Eyestone,[4] and commented at a churchfireside meeting inSeoul,South Korea, that if he had not gone on a mission that he would have never participated in any Olympic Games.[34] In 2008, theSacramento Bee noted that Marsh was a major financial supporter (two donations totalling $90,000) ofProposition 8, a California ballot initiative to eliminatesame-sex marriage rights.[35] He moved toTwin Falls,Idaho, for his retirement.[3]
All results regarding3000 metres steeplechase.
Representing United States | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Tournament | Venue | Result | Time | |
| 1976 | Olympic Games | Montreal,Quebec, Canada | 10th | 8:23.99 | |
| 1979 | Pan American Games | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 1st | 8:43.6 | |
| World Cup | Montreal, Canada | 4th | 8:30.09 | ||
| 1981 | World Cup | Rome, Italy | DISQ | (8:19.61) | |
| 1983 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 8th | 8:20.45 | |
| 1984 | Olympic Games | Los Angeles, California, United States | 4th | 8:14.25 | |
| 1985 | World Cup | Canberra, Australia | 2nd | 8:39.55 | |
| 1986 | Goodwill Games | Moscow, Russia | 2nd | 8:23.92 | |
| 1987 | Pan American Games | Indianapolis, United States | 2nd | 8:23.77 | |
| World Championships | Rome, Italy | 6th | 8:17.78 | ||
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 6th | 8:14.39 | |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by | Men's 3.000m Steeple Best Year Performance 1982 — 1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Men's 3.000m Steeple Best Year Performance 1985 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
