# 1955 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

The 1955 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were organized by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and served as the national championships in outdoor track and field for the United States.
The men's edition was held at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado, and it took place 24–25 June. The women's meet was held separately at Blaine Stadium in Ponca City, Oklahoma, on 17-18 June. The women's pentathlon was contested on 15 October in Morristown, New Jersey.
Despite inclement weather, 14,500 fans attended the final day of men's competition. Arnie Sowell's time in the 880 yards was just one tenth off the world record. Because the athletics at the 1955 Pan American Games were so early in the season, marks from the 1955 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships were used to select the women's team for this event. The pentathlon competition decided the first official American record holder as it was the first U.S. competition to use the then-internationally recognized shot put, high jump, 80 m hurdles, 200 m, and long jump events.

## Results
### Men

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 yards | Bobby Morrow | 9.5 | Rodney Richard | 9.5 | Dean Smith | 9.5 |
| 220 yards | Rodney Richard | 21.0 | Dick Blair | 21.1 | Andrew Stanfield | 21.2 |
| 440 yards | Charles Jenkins Sr. | 46.7 | James Lea | 46.9 | Richard Maiocco | 47.1 |
| 880 yards | Arnold Sowell | 1:47.6 | Thomas Courtney | 1:48.0 | Bill Tidwell | 1:48.1 |
| 1 mile | Wesley Santee | 4:11.5 | Fred Dwyer | 4:14.1 | Bob Seaman | 4:14.8 |
| 3 miles | Horace Ashenfelter | 14:45.2 | Gordon McKenzie | 14:59.6 | Bob Hunt | 15:13.7 |
| 6 miles | Richard Hart | 31:58.4 | Gordon McKenzie | 32:28.0 | George King | 33:00.3 |
| Marathon | Nick Costes | 2:31:12.4 | Rudolfo Mendez | 2:44:21.0 | Theodore Corbitt | 2:49:37.0 |
| 120 yards hurdles | Milt Campbell | 13.9 | William Youkers | 14.2 | Charles Pratt | 14.4 |
| 220 yards hurdles | Charles Pratt | 23.5 | | | | |
| 440 yards hurdles | Joshua Culbreath | 52.0 | Willie Atterberry | 52.4 | James Luttrell | 52.8 |
| 2 miles steeplechase | Ken Reiser | 10:20.7 | Horace Ashenfelter | 10:28.9 | Ed Shea | 10:35.0 |
| 2 miles walk | Henry Laskau | 15:09.4 | | | | |
| High jump | Charles Dumas | 2.08 m | none awarded | none awarded | Vernon Wilson | 2.03 m |
| High jump | Ernest Shelton | 2.08 m | none awarded | none awarded | Vernon Wilson | 2.03 m |
| Pole vault | Bob Richards | 4.57 m | Walt Levack | 4.42 m | none awarded | none awarded |
| Pole vault | Bob Richards | 4.57 m | Bobby Smith | 4.42 m | none awarded | none awarded |
| Long jump | Gregory Bell | 7.94 m | John Bennett | 7.65 m | Malachi Andrews | 7.62 m |
| Triple jump | Victor Hernandez (CUB) | 15.34 m | Bill Sharpe | 14.79 m | Kent Floerke | 14.76 m |
| Shot put | Parry O'Brien | 17.82 m | Tom Jones | 17.23 m | William Nieder | 17.02 m |
| Discus throw | Parry O'Brien | 53.52 m | Fortune Gordien | 53.19 m | Desmond Koch | 52.39 m |
| Hammer throw | Hal Connolly | 60.86 m | Robert Backus | 56.41 m | Samuel Felton | 52.17 m |
| Javelin throw | Bud Held | 79.32 m | Cyrus Young | 76.80 m | William Miller | 74.33 m |
| Weight throw for distance | Bob Backus | 43 ft 5 in (13.23 m) | | | | |
| Pentathlon | Des Koch | 3216 pts | | | | |
| All-around decathlon | Lyman Frasier | 6733 pts | | | | |
| Decathlon | Bob Richards | 6873 pts | Robert Lawson | 6501 pts | Joel Shankle | 6455 pts |

### Women

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 50 yards | Isabell Daniels | 6.0 | Rebecca Ayars | | Lucinda Williams | |
| 100 yards | Mae Faggs | 10.8 | Martha Hudson | | Alfrances Lyman | |
| 220 yards | Mae Faggs | 25.1 | Alfrances Lyman | | Gayle Dierks | |
| 80 m hurdles | Bertha Diaz (CUB) | 11.5 | Barbara Mueller | | Nancy Phillips | |
| High jump | Mildred McDaniel | 1.69 m | Billie Jo Jackson | 1.54 m | Verneda Thomas | 1.49 m |
| Long jump | Nancy Phillips | 5.33 m | Shirley Hereford | 5.04 m | Anna Lois Smith | 5.00 m |
| Shot put | Wanda Wejzgrowicz | 11.39 m | Lois Ann Testa | 11.17 m | Marjorie Larney | 10.85 m |
| Discus throw | Alejandra Herrera (CUB) | 35.86 m | Marjorie Larney | 35.08 m | Patricia Monsanto | 34.47 m |
| Javelin throw | Karen Anderson | 45.75 m | Amelia Wershoven | 41.25 m | Marjorie Larney | 38.83 m |
| Baseball throw | Amelia Wershoven | 249 ft 11⁄4 in (75.92 m) | | | | |
| Women's pentathlon | Barbara Mueller | 3539 pts | Stella Walsh (POL) | 3431 pts | Nancy Phillips | 3388 pts |