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| Born | April 18, 1948 Clay Center, Kansas [1] | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Kenneth Lloyd Swenson (born April 18, 1948 in Clay Center, Kansas) is a retired middle-distance runner from the United States. Swenson was the world leader at 800 meters in 1970 and competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
As a senior at Kansas State University, Swenson won the 880 yards in 1:46.3 at the 1970 NCAA outdoor championships. [2] He also won at that year's national (AAU) championships, narrowly defeating Mark Winzenried as both were timed in 1:47.4. [3] [4] Swenson set his personal best for 800 meters, 1:44.8, on July 16, 1970 in Stuttgart in a dual meet between the United States and West Germany; the time was the fastest in the world that year and a new American record for the metric distance. [5] [6] [note 1] Track & Field News ranked Swenson the world's second-best half-miler that year, behind Yevgeniy Arzhanov of the Soviet Union. [8]
In 1971 Swenson only placed third in the AAU outdoor meet (behind Juris Luzins and Jamaica's Byron Dyce); however, he won gold at the Pan American Games in Cali, running 1:48.08. [3] [6] At the 1972 Olympic Trials Swenson ran 1:45.1, his best time since 1970; he lost to Dave Wottle (who equaled the world record of 1:44.3) and Rick Wohlhuter, but took the third and final Olympic qualifying spot ahead of early leader Jim Ryun. [6] [9] At the Olympics in Munich Swenson qualified from his heat, but was disqualified in the semi-finals. [1]
Swenson continued his career for several more years; in March 1975 he joined the International Track Association (ITA), a professional circuit. [10] [note 2] Swenson set his personal best for the mile run, 3:59.1, in an ITA meet on May 3, 1975; he was the 75th American to run a four-minute mile. [11]
James Ronald Ryun is an American former Republican politician and Olympic track and field athlete, who at his peak was widely considered the world's top middle-distance runner. He won a silver medal in the 1500 m at the 1968 Summer Olympics, and was the first high school athlete to run a mile in under four minutes. He is the last American to hold the world record in the mile run. Ryun later served in the United States House of Representatives from 1996 to 2007, representing Kansas's 2nd congressional district.
Sir Peter George Snell was a New Zealand middle-distance runner. He won three Olympic gold medals, and is the only man since 1920 to have won the 800 and 1500 metres at the same Olympics, in 1964.
Steve Scott is an American former track athlete and one of the greatest mile runners in American history. The silver medalist in the 1500 meters at the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki in 1983, Scott owns the U.S. indoor record in the 2000 meters (4:58.6-1981). He held the American outdoor mile record for more than 26 years and also is the former American indoor record holder in the same event. Track & Field News ranked Scott #1 in the U.S. on 10 occasions, and 11 times during his career he was ranked in the top ten in the world by T&FN. Additionally, he participated for the US team at the 1984 Olympics. He finished 5th in the 1500 meter run at the 1988 Olympics held in Korea. Scott was also an Olympian on the 1980 Olympics team which was not allowed to go to Moscow. He ran the sub four-minute mile on 136 occasions in his career, more than any other runner in history.
Gerald "Gerry" Paul Lindgren is an American track and field runner who set many long-standing high school and national records in the United States. In 1965, Lindgren and Billy Mills both broke the world record for the six-mile run when they finished in an extremely rare tie at the AAU National Championships, both running exactly 27:11.6. Lindgren went on to win a record 11 NCAA collegiate championships with Washington State University.
Leonel "Leo" Manzano is a Mexican-American former middle-distance track and field athlete specializing in the 1500 m and mile. He was a silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Manzano is known for finishing his races with a strong finishing kick.
Donald J. Paige is an American retired middle-distance runner.
Ronald Lee Jourdan was an American college and Olympic track and field athlete. Jourdan was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion in the high jump from Florida and member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic team. Jourdan, along with Reynaldo Brown of California, were the last great American high jumpers to use the straight-leg straddle, the style which dominated the sport in the 1950s and 1960s. Jourdan's personal best was 7 feet 3 inches.
The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Olympics, World Athletics Championships, Pan American Games, NACAC Championships, or an IAAF Continental Cup, the championships serve as a way of selecting the best athletes for those competitions.
James Edward Grelle was an American middle-distance runner. He had his best achievements in the 1500 m event, finishing eighth at the 1960 Olympics, winning a gold and a silver medal at the Pan American Games in 1963 and 1959, respectively.
The International Track Association (ITA) was a professional track and field organization that existed in the United States from 1972 to 1976.
Paul Wilson is an American athlete specializing in the pole vault. He was the world record holder in the event. The first vaulter to clear his age in feet. In 1967 he was the number-one ranked pole vaulter in the world, but his career was cut short by injury.
Mark Winzenried is an American former middle-distance runner. The 1971 NCAA champion at 880 yards, Winzenried narrowly missed qualifying for the American Olympic team in 1968 and was favored to qualify in 1972 until an injured Achilles tendon spoiled his chances. He held the indoor world best at the unusual distance of 1000 yards from 1972 to 1981, and still holds the world junior best in another non-standard event, 600 meters.
Marcus Paul "Mark" Murro is an American former javelin thrower. Murro held the United States record in men's javelin throw from 1969 to 1982 and competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics.
Tracy Evans Smith is a former American distance runner. He was a member of the 1968 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team, competing in the 10,000 meters. He was ranked multiple times by Track & Field News as the No. 1 U.S. 5,000- and 10,000-meter runner in the mid- to late 1960s, and was a six-time AAU National Champion from 1966 to 1973, winning outdoors in the 3-mile, 6-mile and 10,000 meters, and three times in the indoor 3-mile. He was a three-time world record holder in the indoor 3-mile.
George Michael Frenn was an American hammer thrower, weight thrower and powerlifter. Frenn set world bests in the outdoor and indoor weight throws, won two medals in the Pan American Games and competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Walter Charles Dohm was an American track and field athlete. Dohm won national and intercollegiate championship titles at both 440 yards and 880 yards and set a world record at the latter distance in 1891.
Charles Beetham was an American middle-distance runner. He was United States champion in the 800-meter run in 1936, 1939, 1940 and 1941 and NCAA champion in 1936; he entered the 1936 United States Olympic Trials as one of the favorites, but fell in the final and failed to qualify for the Olympics.
Glen Wilson Dawson was an American runner. He represented the United States in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase at the 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics, qualifying for the final both times.
Donavan Brazier is an American middle-distance runner. He holds the American junior record and American record in men's 800 meters and won the gold medal at the 2019 World Championships.
Izaic Yorks is an American middle-distance and long-distance runner]]. Yorks won 1500 m at 2018 NACAC Championships. As a member of the Washington Huskies, Izaic Yorks is an eight-time NCAA Division I All-American cross country and track and field runner.
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