Jim Ryun

Jim Ryun is one of the most famous American track and field competitors of all-time. Ryun first made waves in high school when he became the first high schooler to run a sub-four minute mile. He still owns five of the six fastest mile times in U.S. high school history. ESPN.com has named him the top high school athlete of all-time. In 1966, Ryun set the world record in the half-mile and mile. He was named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, the ABC Wide World of Sports' Athlete of the Year and Track & Field News' Athlete of the Year. Ryun also won the James V. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the country. A year later, he set the world record in the 1500-meters. Ryun competed at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics. He won a silver medal in the 1500-meters at the 1968 Games. Ryun turned pro after the 1972 Olympics. He went on to found the Jim Ryun Running Camp. Ryun got involved in politics and represented Kansas in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1996-2007. He is the co-author of three books with his sons. Ryun has been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated seven times. He is a member of the National Track and Field Hall of Fame and the National Distance Running Hall of Fame.