Laszlo Tabori, the world record-setting middle distance runner, who defected from his native Hungary to Southern California following the Hungarian revolution died Wednesday.
Tabori had been battling an infection following surgery a month ago, according to friends. He was 86.
Tabori was the third man in history to break four minutes in the mile, running 3 minutes, 59 seconds on May 28, 1955. Four months later he set the world record at 1,500 meters (the metric mile) with a 3:40.8.
Although his training was interrupted by the Hungarian Revolution, Tabori still managed to finish fourth in the 1,500 and sixth in the 5,000 at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.
Tabori and his groundbreaking coach Mihaly Igloi did not return to Hungary after the Olympics, instead defecting to the Los Angeles area. Tabori would have again been a medal contender at the 1960 Olympics in Rome but could no longer compete for Hungary.
Tabori later went into coaching Jacqueline Hansen, who twice set the world record in the marathon, and Miki Gorman, the only woman to win both the Boston and New York City marathons twice. He later coached at USC.
