Nine Seconds From the Olympics: The Untold Story of Thurston County's Greatest Runner
Dave Gordon is near the finish line of his great Olympic Trials Marathon run. Photo Credit: Unknown
By Coach Larry Weber
Nine seconds. That is the entire distance between Dave Gordon and a spot on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. Not nine minutes, not nine seconds a mile behind the leaders — nine seconds across an entire 26.2-mile marathon, run against a field that included some of the greatest distance runners this country has ever produced. In the history of Thurston County athletics, no one has ever come closer to the top of the world stage.
I was Dave's teammate at the University of Montana, where he ran as an All-American. He is, without argument, the greatest male runner and track and field athlete Thurston County has ever produced, and he has taken our sport further on the national and world stage than anyone from our community, before or since.
The numbers alone tell part of the story. Dave's marathon best of 2:11 and his 10,000-meter best of 28:14 remain, to this day, the fastest times ever run by anyone from Thurston County (1). He also ran 13:41 for 5,000 meters on the track, a remarkable time for a runner who always considered himself an endurance specialist first and a pure speedster a distant second. Dave is quick to point out that he didn't have great raw speed. Running that fast for 5,000 meters without it is an accomplishment in itself.
A graduate of Capital High School in Olympia, Dave still lives in the Olympia area today. He went on to become a national-class cyclist after his competitive running career ended, and he remains active in the biking community. But it's what happened between Missoula and Rome that secures his place in our county's history.
The race of his life
On May 26, 1984, in Buffalo, New York, Dave lined up for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials against a field that read like a Hall of Fame roster. Boston winner Greg Meyer was there. So was Bill Rodgers, a four-time Boston Marathon champion (2). So was Tony Sandoval, who had won the 1980 Trials in course-record time (3). Dave ran the race of his life, crossing the line in 2:11:59 — good for fourth place, ahead of both Rodgers and Sandoval, and just nine seconds behind the third and final Olympic team spot (4).
1. Pfitzinger, Pete (NY) — 2:11:43
2. Salazar, Alberto (OR) — 2:11:44
3. Tuttle, John (GA) — 2:11:50
4. Gordon, Dave (OR) — 2:11:59
5. Matthews, Dean (OR) — 2:12:25
6. Sandoval, Tony (NM) — 2:12:41
7. Meyer, Greg (MA) — 2:13:29
8. Rodgers, Bill (MA) — 2:13:30
9. Vega, Sal (NM) — 2:14:18
10. Raunig, Tom (MT) — 2:16:02
11. MacDonald, Duncan (HI) — 2:16:56
12. Hinz, David — 2:17:18
13. Avrit, Doug — 2:17:45
14. Weidenbach, Bill (WA) — 2:17:45
15. Wills, Herb (FL) — 2:17:54
Our University of Montana teammate, Tom Raunig, finished tenth in the same race in 2:16:02—a fitting echo of the training partnership that had shaped them both. Raunig himself ran 28:24 for 10,000 meters and 2:12 for the marathon, and the two had pushed each other for years under Coach Marshall Clark at Montana, where Clark had previously coached Olympic marathoners Tony Sandoval and Don Kardong during his years as head cross country coach at Stanford. The Montana program of that era was extraordinary: alongside Dave and Raunig, teammate Mike Brady ran 2:15 in the marathon, and five of the team's top runners eventually ran twenty-nines or faster for 10,000 meters on the roads or track. I was blessed to run with Dave, Tom, Mike, and many others at Montana during this era.
Bob Sevene, the respected coach of many world class athletes who guided Dave through much of his post-collegiate career deserves real credit for his work with Dave during the trials and what came next.
Missing the team by so little kept the fire lit in Dave and helped propel him to another great accomplishment. Instead of letting that heartbreaking moment define him, he used it as motivation to push harder. His trials near miss helped him achieve additional heights in his athletic career.
Representing the country at the World Championships
Three years later, Dave got the call that few American distance runners ever receive: a spot on the United States team for the marathon at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics, held at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Dave Gordon, living in Eugene, Oregon at the time, represented the United States in the marathon on September 6, 1987 (5). A runner from Thurston County pulled on a USA jersey and toed the line at a World Championships — a distinction very few runners from anywhere ever earn.
Taken together, it's a resume that stands on its own: a marathon and 10,000-meter runner who was an NCAA Division I All-American, who ran within nine seconds of the Olympic team in one of the most stacked American marathon fields in history at the time, and who represented his country at the World Championships. Add to that a moment in the national spotlight — the year ABC's Wide World of Sports featured Dave among the country's elite marathoners, a rare honor for anyone from our community — and you have the strongest case any male runner from Thurston County has ever made for national and world-class distinction in our sport.
More important than any of it, Dave Gordon is simply a great man — the kind of teammate and friend whose legacy outlasts his times. His example will inspire the runners of Thurston County for generations to come.
Blessings,
Coach Weber
Philippians 4:13
Copyright Larry Weber 2020, revised 2026
My Books: Jesus on the Track and Mile Three on Amazon:
Mile Three: How the Hardest Part is What Builds the Best Kids
Endnotes
1. Time and record claims for Thurston County running history are drawn from the author's firsthand knowledge as Dave Gordon's teammate and as Thurston County Running Historian.
2. Bill Rodgers, athlete biography, USA Track & Field (usatf.org); Wesleyan University Athletics Hall of Fame, "Bill Rodgers '70" — confirms four Boston Marathon titles (1975, 1978, 1979, 1980).
3. "Tony Sandoval," Wikipedia —Sandoval won the 1980 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Buffalo, New York, on May 24, 1980, in 2:10:19, then a Trials record.
4. Official results of the 1984 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, Buffalo, New York, May 26, 1984; corroborated by a Getty Images archival photo caption identifying Greg Meyer, John Tuttle, Dave Gordon, Alberto Salazar, Dean Matthews, Bill Rodgers, and Tony Sandoval as competitors in the race.
5. 1987 World Championships in Athletics, Men's Marathon, Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy, held September 6, 1987; U.S. team roster for the event via United Press International wire coverage, September 6, 1987.
University of Montana and Athletics West star Dave Gordon, number 10, running in the lead pack at the 1984 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials alongside Tony Sandoval, Bill Rodgers, and Greg Meyer. Dave finished ahead of Rodgers, Meyer, and many other accomplished runners, and just missed the Olympic team by 9 seconds. Our Montana teammate, Tom Raunig, finished tenth in the same race. Photo Credit: Getty Images, David Madison
Dave (number 10) in the lead pack at the Olympic Trials with running legends Tony Sandoval and Bill Rodgers among others.
Photo Credit: Getty Images, David Madison
One more great shot of the lead pack in the 1984 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
Photo Credit: Unknown (possibly David Madison but the photo is not labeled)
Bob Sevene and Dave Gordon in Eugene, discussing a workout. Photo Credit: Nobby Hashizume, Five Circles