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He started to fall off his pace as he finished the race, but he nevertheless set a new amateur record of 4:174⁄5.
He started to fall off his pace as he finished the race, but he nevertheless set a new amateur record of 4:174⁄5.
He was an Irish-born runner who emigrated to the United States in 1888 and generally specialized in longer distances, winning the national 10-mile championship four years in a row starting in 1888. His first lap split time was 59 seconds, his second lap 2:00. After three laps, he was at 3:07.
(Walter George had run 4:12¾ in 1886 as a professional)
That record lasted to 1895 as Frederick Bacon ran 4:17 at the American Automobile Association Championships at Stamford Bridge, London on 6 July.
Conneff wanted to regain his record, so after a 4:21 tune-up on 10 August at Weehawken, New Jersey, he ran a 3/4 mile race at Travers Island, New York on 21 August in 3:024⁄5, a time which would not be bettered for 36 years. Returning to Travers Island a week later, Conneff was paced by 4:211⁄5 miler George Orton, who led him to the quarter in 622⁄5 and the half in 2:063⁄5.
At the 3/4 mark, Conneff was at 3:104⁄5. He crossed the finish line and stopped the clock at 4:153⁄5 to regain his amateur mile record.
He followed that record run on 21 September with a race against some of the top British runners.
He ran a first-lap 65, then was at 2:103⁄5 at the half, again paced by Orton. William Lutyens, who had run a 4:194⁄5 the year before and had paced Bacon to his record, was forced to drop out of the race, leaving Conneff to trot home in 4:181⁄5. Reporter William B. Curtis described Conneff after the race: "He never was in such fine mettle as during the past four weeks.
He could at any time have beaten his own world"s best amateur record of 4:153⁄5 and might have equalled or surpassed the world"s best professional record, 4:12¾.
He is one of those athletes who speedily makes their handlers go gray-haired, is restive under the restrictions of training, and prone to stray outside the bounds laid down for athletic aspirants. He is now 29 years old and can hardly hope to improve hereafter."
His amateur mile record would stand until 1911.
He was a member of the Manhattan Athletic Club.