DEAF JEWS IN SPORTS
by
Barry Strassler
Gallaudet Athletic Hall of Famer
Track & Cross Country
Stephan Kugel
Stephan Kugel, a New York native, but a resident of Valdese, NC took his track and field and cross country running very seriously during his Gallaudet days in the fifties. It was a matter of pride to him not to fail or to let Gallaudet down each time he put on his running shoes prior to each meet, be it in track and field or cross country.
By the time he graduated from Gallaudet in 1957 he won two Mason-Dixon Conference cross country championship (1954 and 1955). He finished runner ups in 1956 despite not feeling well and running sick all the way to the finish line.
Making up in track and field for his runner up finish in cross country Kugel won the 1957 Mason-Dixon Conference championship in the two-mile run. In these days Mason-Dixon was probably one of the toughest small college conferences in the nation, comprising of Catholic, Mt. St. Mary's, Bridgewater, Randolph Macon, Loyola, Towson, American among others. Bridgewater sent two of their better athletes to the Olympics - which is an indication of the high level of competition that Kugel had to face. And some of these school eventually moved up to the NCAA-1 level.
Kugel stands as the only Gallaudet trackster to have won distance championship in both track and cross country, and this is the reason why he was easily voted into the Gallaudet athletic hall of fame.
His biggest feat, however, took place in the 1957 World Games for the Deaf in Milan, Italy. Even though Kugel did not win a gold medal in the 10,000 meter run, picking up just a bronze, he was considered a winner by those that observed the race.
Training conditions prior to the Milan Games were chaotic because of the shoddy overseas travel arrangements. Kugel was primed and ready for the biggest race of his life by the time the American continent embarked on the plane for Europe. After arriving on the European continent the Americans were subjected to second class transportation accommodations, thus losing valuable training time. For long distance runners, each missed day of training became more and more critical - it was impossible for them to catch up in few training sessions the valuable time they missed while traveling in a cramped style.
Kugel was in no condition to face N. Zdot, the great Russian long distance runner. If he had more training time under ideal conditions he would have defeated Zdot. Coach Tom Berg knew it - making things simple, he told Kugel to ignore strategy and psychology - but just to stay behind Zdot and to remain at his heels. Kugel followed Zdot step for step right up to the final stretch. The moment of reckoning took place - the already out of shape and exhausted Kugel ran out of gas just as when Zdot turned on his final stretch kick and won the race going away. Kugel came in second much to the applause of observers and teammates closely watching and cheering him on.
That was Kugel's proudest moment, his last hurrah as he closed the book to his glorious cross country and track career.