Jim Ryun's Munich fall

[Per Andersen]

It definitely would have been very interesting with Jim Ryun in the Munich Olympic final. Hard to say if he would have won the gold medal, but he certainly had a chance at it.

That's pretty much my thinking too. Had he been in 1967 shape, no question but he was never the same after that year. I never get tired of watching the mile race at Franklin Field against Liquori
in 1971. I was a huge Marty Liquori fan in those days!

[JMysterio]

More Jim "Big Deal" Ryun love. He had about 3 dominant years and would only run on US soil except for the Olympics. No matter how much he denies it Mexico was a disappointment. Keino traumatized him and he was very beatable after that. He even quit. Then he made the mistake of running in the pro track fiasco.

Pre, Shorter, Rodgers and even though I hate to say it...Salazar did more for US distance running when they competed.

[bobguild76]

More Jim "Big Deal" Ryun love. He had about 3 dominant years and would only run on US soil except for the Olympics. No matter how much he denies it Mexico was a disappointment. Keino traumatized him and he was very beatable after that. He even quit. Then he made the mistake of running in the pro track fiasco.

Pre, Shorter, Rodgers and even though I hate to say it...Salazar did more for US distance running when they competed.

Depending on how you define doing "more for US distance running", Shorter, maybe, but I would disagree with you about the others. Two AOY, 3WR (1500 & Mile), and an Olympic silver . . . Pre, Rodgers, and Salazar can't match that, as good as they were. Yes, Ryun mostly ran in the US, but his toughest competition came here to race him. Plus, he elevated the visibility of T&FN quite a bit in those 3 years.

IIRC, he ended up in the same heat as Keino because his 3:52.8 was incorrectly entered as a 1500 time.

[player]

would only run on US soil except for the Olympics.

Not so:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0ICn7-Uaqk

Notice Keino stalking off after the finish. Didn't like to lose.

[Chicago]

I believe that Ryun also had to cut short a European tour in 1971 because of allergies.

[Trickstat]

It is not fair to compare appearances outside the US for athletes of Ryun's era and earlier even with those who were around in the late '70s when the number of meets in Europe had started to grow significantly.

Wasn't there a West Germany vs USA match in Germany in which Ryun produced a super-quick finish in the 1500m in about 1967?

[player]

Wasn't there a West Germany vs USA match in Germany in which Ryun produced a super-quick finish in the 1500m in about 1967?

Yes, London race was 8 August and Dusseldorf was nine days later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUsEuv3Debs

[schigh]

More Jim "Big Deal" Ryun love. He had about 3 dominant years and would only run on US soil except for the Olympics. No matter how much he denies it Mexico was a disappointment. Keino traumatized him and he was very beatable after that. He even quit. Then he made the mistake of running in the pro track fiasco.

Pre, Shorter, Rodgers and even though I hate to say it...Salazar did more for US distance running when they competed.

The way I remember at the time (I was 13, so memory may be foggy), we (friends I watched the Olympics with) were much more disappointed by Jim Ryun's fall than Pre getting 4th.

[bad hammy]

The way I remember at the time (I was 13, so memory may be foggy), we (friends I watched the Olympics with) were much more disappointed by Jim Ryun's fall than Pre getting 4th.

Age 14 here, about a month away from my first season of cross country (which I did not know at the time of the Olympics) and I recall the same: Shorter's win was the big story, Ryun's fall was tragically huge, Pre was a kid with guts and a future.

. . . the pro track fiasco.

Your fiasco mileage may vary but it had some big names, helped pave the way to pro track, was innovative for its time and fun for fans.

[Conor Dary]

Then he made the mistake of running in the pro track fiasco.

Right....in the era when no one could make a legal dime at track....hardly a thing to criticize....and Ryun was in his late 20s...

[Tuariki]

.....
Then he made the mistake of running in the pro track fiasco.

Fiasco?? From a biased point of view, I don't think so. It was a lot of fun, and for the most part, the ITA had good crowds.

[gh]

Then he made the mistake of running in the pro track fiasco.

Right....in the era when no one could make a legal dime at track....hardly a thing to criticize....and Ryun was in his late 20s...

sadly, Ryun was only 25 when he ran his first ITA race

[Steele]

For me, Shorter was behind Pre and way behind Ryun in terms of influence and motivation. He was the best marathoner of his era, hands down, but quite human at any distance under that, and didn't stand a chance if a race came down to anyone with a kick. Ryun, OTH, obliterated everyone in his prime. Fast race, slow race, he just walked away from them. Shorter won races, Ryun made the hair on your arms stand up.

[wamego relays champ]

There are a lot of U.S. baby boomers like me who were attracted to this sport by the stars of the mid-1960's, none of whom shined brighter than the comet that was Jim Ryun, despite his Olympic disappointments. I saw him in a social setting about 10 years ago, and I felt like I was 9 years old again.

[Conor Dary]

sadly, Ryun was only 25 when he ran his first ITA race

He was born in 1947 and ITA started in 1973? So about right.