Laszlo Tabori hasn’t slowed a step

Jeff Tully

BURBANK -- As a world-class middle-distance runner in the 1950s,

Laszlo Tabori was kept busy competing around the globe in international

races.

Almost 40 years removed from his glory days as one of the world’s

premier milers, Tabori remains on the go, picking upawards and appearing

at various track and field events.

“In July I’m going to be 71 years old,” Tabori said. “I may not be as

fast as I was once, but I still get around pretty good.”

On March 24, Tabori was honored in Frankfurt, Germany at the

International Fair Play Awards sponsored by the United Nations

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s International Charter

of Physical Education and sport.

Quite a mouthful for a very prestigious award.

Tabori was recognized not only for his past success in track and

field, but for his more than three decades of developing and training

athletes.

The award pays tribute to individuals who have protected the ethical

and moral values of physical education and sport.

Since 1964, one of the goals of the Fair Play Awards has been to

promote decent behavior in sports on, and off, the field.

“My daughter, Gabrielle, is the one who recommended me for the award,”

Tabori said. “So she wrote the organization and told them about me.

“It is a very nice award and they treated us very well in Frankfurt.”

Next month, Tabori will be on the road again, as he will join other

running legends at the second annual Don Bowden Mile event at San Joaquin

Delta College in Stockton.

The organizers of the meet have also invited former premier milers

Dyral Burleson, Jim Beatty, Jim Grelle, Jim Ryun, Sidney Maree and Steve

Scott to the event.

Bowden is the first American to run a sub-4-minute mile when he

clocked 3:58.7 on June 1, 1957 in Stockton.

*

Success as an athlete and coach is something Tabori has enjoyed

throughout his life.

Competing for his native Hungary, his biggest accomplishment as an

athlete came on May 28, 1955 when he became the third man to break the

4-minute mile. In a meet in London, Tabori ran the mile in 3:59.0.

That was a memorable year for Hungary, as runners from the country

held eight world records in distances from 1,000 meters to the

6,000-meter relay. Tabori contributed a leg on the 6,000-meter relay team

that ran 3:40.8 on Sept. 6 to tie the world record.

He also took part in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Tabori finished

fourth in the 1,500 -- just out of medal contention -- in 3:42.4, as the

top eight runners in the race finished within two seconds of gold

medalist Ron Delany of Ireland.

Tabori also finished sixth in the Olympic 5,000 in 14:09.8.

He also held the world record of 3:40.8 in the 1,500 up until 1960 and

is also a member of the Hungarian Hall of Fame.

“That was when we had some very good runners from Hungary,” Tabori.

“But it’s not like that there any more.”

Following his competitive days, Tabori has enjoyed a long career as a

coach.

In 1978, he won the New York Road Runners’ Club Award for his

outstanding contribution to women’s distance running.

Two of Tabori’s proteges are Jacqueline Hansen, winner of the Boston

and Western Hemisphere marathons and Miki Gorman, who won marathons in

New York, Boston and the Western Hemisphere race. Another runner,

Leal-Ann Reinhart, became the 1978 National Marathon champion under

Tabori’s tutelage. He coached at L.A. Valley College and founded the

San Fernando Valley Track Club, which trains at Burroughs High.

In 1979 Tabori was given the prestigious Paavo Nurmi Award for coach

of the year by Runners World magazine.

His L.A. Valley team won three state championships and held the

national junior college record for the 10,000 distance medley and the

4-mile relay.

Learning from the great Hungarian Coach Mihaly Igoi, Tabori has been a

big proponent of interval training.

With his San Fernando Valley Track Club, Tabori has trained athletes

from the elite level to senior citizens in their 80s who just want to

stay in shape.

However, one of Tabori’s pet peeves is seeing how many of today’s

children are out of shape, and he is disturbed that more youngsters are

abandoning physical exercise.

“Just walk by any of the schools and see what kind of shape these kids

are in today,” he said. “I think probably 71 or 72 percent of the kids

are overweight. It is just terrible.

“And you know, they don’t have to be that way. If they would just get

off of their tushies and do some exercise they wouldn’t have that

problem.”

Tabori doesn’t have that problem. Even despite having his right hip

replaced eight years ago, he is out on the track -- sometimes before 6

a.m. -- conducting as many as eight workout sessions a week with his

track club.

And when he’s not coaching or making appearances, Tabori can be found

at his small athletic shoe store -- Laszlo Tabori Sports -- on Olive

Avenue.

Although he isn’t going to run any more sub-4-minute miles, Tabori is

keeping up a good pace in a life that is not even close to running its

course.

* JEFF TULLY is the sports editor of the Burbank Leader. He can be

reached at 843-8700, or by e-mail at jeff.tully@latimes.com.