Education
Bonthron studied at Princeton University. Bonthron finished seven yards back in 4:08.7, also under Jules Ladoumègue"s old world mark.
Bonthron studied at Princeton University. Bonthron finished seven yards back in 4:08.7, also under Jules Ladoumègue"s old world mark.
Bonthron led most of the way and attempted to pull away in the final backstretch, only to be overhauled by Lovelock, who ran the last lap in 58.9 seconds to set a new world record of 4:07.6. On June 16 Bonthron was again on the losing end of a mile world record, as Cunningham beat him in the Princeton Invitational Mile in 4:06.7. However, Bonthron came back to beat Cunningham at the National Collegiate Athletic Association championships on June 23 in a new meeting record time of 4:08.9.
A week later at the national championships in Milwaukee, Bonthron defeated Cunningham again.
Cunningham"s time was 3:48.9, also inside Luigi Beccali"s previous record of 3:49.0. Although Bonthron originally intended to retire from running after graduating, he ended up not doing southern
He, Cunningham and Gene Venzke remained America"s leading milers in 1935. However, Bonthron was not in his best shape in 1936 and only placed fourth at the Olympic Trials (behind Cunningham, Archie San Romani and Venzke), failing to make the Olympic team and subsequently retiring.
In April, 1936, Bonthron, along with many other sports champions and stand outs, was honored at a banquet in Detroit, Michigan. This Banquet was the first celebration of Champions Day.