What do you do when you’re the best in the world and can’t compete for your school’s Varsity team? If you’re Jim Ryun, you set a world record – in your second-best event! That 880-yard standard was accompanied by a WR in the mile the next month. Such was Ryun’s first year in college, when freshmen weren’t eligible to compete in Varsity competition.
Ryun’s accomplishments were noticed beyond the collegiate realm – he was named World Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News in 1966, the first of two-straight such awards. In 1967, he swept the mile at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships and later set WRs in the 1500 and mile. His 800-meter best of 1:44.3 – fortunately clocked during that WR 880 time as a freshman – lasted 50 years as a collegiate record.