Ryun Raced To Only NCAA Outdoor Title In 1967
In honor of Election Day, today’s moment features Jim Ryun, the last NCAA track & field champion elected to the U.S. Congress, serving for Kansas 1996-2007.
Jim Ryun of Kansas was about as big a favorite as could be to win his first NCAA outdoor title at the 1967 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Provo, Utah. He had set world records in both the mile and 880 yards in an undefeated 1966 outdoor season.
Ryun’s first collegiate season – which came before the NCAA allowed freshmen to compete on the varsity level – was so spectacular that Track & Field News named him 1966 World Athlete of the Year.
The excitement when Ryun ran at the 1967 NCAA Outdoor Championships boiled down to when he would unleash his killer kick, especially since no one expected a fast pace with the meet being held at high altitude. Ryun waited until the last lap to raise the heat, burning a 52.5 last quarter, with 23.9 coming on the final 220 to win easily in 4:03.5.
Ryun’s winning margin that day of 2.5 seconds seemed large, but not compared to his world records from 1966 – including a 6.7-second victory when, at 19, he became (and remains) the youngest man to set a world record in the mile (3:51.3).
Ryun had some early pacesetting help in that 1966 mile WR effort, but he chose to do all the work himself a week after the 1967 NCAA Championships. The situation of the AAU national championships in Bakersfield seemed unlikely for a record attempt, but Ryun went after it – storming home with a 53.7 last quarter to win by five seconds in a 3:51.1 that would last as the global standard until 1975.
Two weeks later, Ryun added the 1500 meters to his WR collection, running a last lap of 53.3 to win by 4.1 seconds in 3:33.1. That record stood until 1974.
Ryun, who became the first repeat World Athlete of the Year by T&FN with his 1967 season, finished his collegiate career with five combined indoor/outdoor NCAA titles, then the most by a middle-distance runner. The longest-lasting of his all-time collegiate bests was his first WR of 1:44.9 for 880 yards in 1966 – the converted 1:44.3 for 800 meters was finally surpassed 50 years to the day in 2016.
NOTES: The only other NCAA champion elected to the U.S. Congress was Marquette’s Ralph Metcalfe (Illinois, 1971-78). While not an NCAA champion, Stanford’s Bob Mathias also served in Congress (California, 1967-75), but the two-time Olympic decathlon gold medalist competed before the decathlon was included in the NCAA Championships (Mathias was second in the 1951 discus and 1952 110-meter hurdles).
The NCAA and collegiate track & field will mark a momentous milestone in the spring of 2021 -- the 100th anniversary of the NCAA Championships and with that, the NCAA Track & Field Championships. In June 1921, the University of Chicago hosted the first track & field championships in NCAA history.
This point can’t be emphasized enough: Not only was the event the first for NCAA track & field, but the first championships for any sport under the sponsorship of the NCAA.
To celebrate, over each of the next 365 days, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) will celebrate moments, student-athletes, and coaches that have made a century’s worth of championships special. From humble beginnings to important historical milestones to the modern-day, collegiate track & field has evolved with the American society.
The 2021 edition of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships begin with preliminary round action on May 27-29 in Jacksonville, Fla., and College Station, Texas. The championships final site and culmination of the celebration is slated for June 9-12, 2021 at the newly rebuilt Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Merchant, Muller Led Cal’s Field Day In 1922
Jack Merchant and Harold Muller combined for six top-5 finishes in five field events at the 1922 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
NC State’s Springs Doubles Up Distance Titles
In 1983, Betty Springs became the first woman in the history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships to sweep the 5K/10K titles.
“Marvelous Mal” Whitfield Stars Over Two Laps
“Marvelous” Mal Whitfield won back-to-back NCAA 800-meter/880-yard titles in 1948 and 1949.
Ewen Was A True Triple Threat At NCAAs
Maggie Ewen is the only woman in the history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships with titles in three different throwing events.
Wanamaker Wins Inaugural Decathlon Title
Rick Wanamaker of Drake won the first-ever decathlon title at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 1970!
SMU’s Connor Bounds To Triple Jump Greatness
It’s been 38 years and still no one has broken the meet record Keith Connor of SMU set in the triple jump at the 1982 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Provo, Utah.
Hail Lorenzo! Daniel Sprints To 200-Meter Records
Lorenzo Daniel of Mississippi State made four consecutive appearances in the final of the Men’s 200 Meters and set a collegiate and meet record in his last race.
Talented Twins Dominate Pole Vault Podium
Twin sisters Lexi Jacobus and Tori Hoggard finished on the same podium five times in eight seasons at the NCAA Championships and each won an outdoor title.
Blozis Was A “Giant” In The Shot
“Giant” Al Blozis won three consecutive shot put titles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships between 1940 and 1942.
Cameron Came Close To Standing Alone
Two one-hundredths of a second separated Bert Cameron of UTEP from standing alone in NCAA history.