Anthony Sandoval

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Anthony Sandoval (born May 19, 1954) was a world class marathon runner, most noted for winning the 1980 U.S. Olympic Marathon trials, the year the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Olympics.

In his first attempt to make the Olympic team "Sandoval took a crack at the '76 Olympic Marathon Trial. He'd run a 2:19 debut in Phoenix the previous December. In the trial, held in Eugene, Oregon, Sandoval ran well but it was his first near-miss: fourth-place [with the top three making the team] in 2:14:58."

In the late 1970s Sandoval worked toward becoming a medical doctor and competed in marathon's on unusually light training. Following the '76 trials he trained by running 35 miles per week and ran "a 2:14:37 for second at the Nike-Oregon Track Club Marathon in Eugene in 1978. After that, he ran 2:15:23 for 15th at Boston in 1979."

Later in 1979 "In one of running's most heralded ties, Sandoval came across the finish holding hands with Jeff Wells in 2:10:20. 'We were running together,' says Sandoval, 'At the finish, I just put my arm out and Jeff put his arm out. No words were spoken.'"

Following the 1980 Trials "Sandoval made halfhearted attempts in subsequent marathon trials. He ran 2:12:42 for sixth in '84 and 2:22:37 for 27 th in '88. In the '92 trials in Columbus, Ohio, Sandoval popped an Achilles tendon at 8 miles and was a dnf. 'That was the last time I ran hard,' he says."

Sandoval is currently a medical doctor in New Mexico.