Background
He was born in Atlanta, Kansas, but grew up in Elkhart, Kansas, to Henry Clinton Cunningham (September 20, 1877 – July 27, 1956) and Rosa Agnes Cunningham (née Moore. December 5, 1882 – March 1, 1961).
He was born in Atlanta, Kansas, but grew up in Elkhart, Kansas, to Henry Clinton Cunningham (September 20, 1877 – July 27, 1956) and Rosa Agnes Cunningham (née Moore. December 5, 1882 – March 1, 1961).
Cunningham was nicknamed the "Kansas Flyer", the "Elkhart Express" and the "Iron Horse of Kansas". Floyd died in the fire. The doctors predicted he might never walk normally again.
He had lost all the flesh on his knees and shins and all the toes on his left foot.
Also, his transverse arch was practically destroyed. However, his great determination, coupled with hours upon hours of a new type of therapy, enabled him to gradually regain the ability to walk and to proceed to run.
lieutenant was in the early summer of 1919 when he first tried to walk again, roughly two years after the accident. He had a positive attitude as well as a strong religious faith.
He competed in both the 1932 Summer Olympics as well as the 1936 Summer Olympics.
While on the ship traveling from the United States. to Germany, he was voted "Most Popular Athlete" by his fellow Olympians. In the 1932 Olympics he took 4th place in the 1500 m, and in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, he took silver in the 1500 meters. In 1934, he set the world record for the mile run at 4:06.8, which stood for three years.
In 1936, he set the world record in the 800 m run.
In 1938, he set a world record in the indoor mile run of 4:04.4. He retired from competition in 1940.
(Roger Bannister was the first to break the four-minute mile, in 1954)
Cunningham"s goal-unachieved was a four-minute mile. Many people tried that before and failed.
Several theorists proclaimed it was impossible physiologically for humans.
Runners tried running steady and fast-paced the whole time. Others tried to go steady for the first half then give it all they had. Glenn worried about the strength of his legs burned in his youth, so he started slow - running in the pack.
He would be fresher in the second half - and would almost be sprinting the last 100 yards to the finish.
Cunningham has a park named after him in his hometown of Elkhart, Kansas.