April 29 Birthdays

1947

James Ronald "Jim" Ryun, United States, middle-distance runner. Historians looking for the roots of the American "running boom" of the 1970s and 1980s would do well to look at the inspirational effect of the athletic career of Jim Ryun. Ryun was the first American schoolboy to break 4:00 in the one-mile run, clocking 3:59.0 his junior year (1964) and 3:55.3 as a senior. He also ran 3:58.3 at the 1965 Kansas High School State Track & Field Championships, still the fastest time ever run in purely high school competition. Ryun later set world records in the mile of 3:51.3 (1966) and 3:51.1 (1967), in the half-mile of 1:44.9 (1966), in the 1,500m of 3:33.1 (1967), in the indoor half-mile of 1:48.3 (1967), and in the indoor mile of 3:56.4 (1971). Ryun was a three-time Olympian (1964, 1968, and 1972), winning the silver medal in the 1968 (Mexico City) Olympic 1,500m (3:37.8). After the 1972 (Munich) olympics, Ryun left amateur athletics and spent two years running on the openly professional International Track Association circuit. Later in life, Ryun moved into politics, serving as United States Representative of Kansas' second congressional district.

April 27 Birthdays

1940
Dyrol Burleson, United States, middle-distance runner. Burleson won the 1959 (Chicago) Pan-American Games 1,500m, running 3:49.1. The following year he became an Olympian for the first time, finishing sixth in the 1960 (Rome) Olympic Games 1,500m in an American record time of 3:40.9. Burleson also set American records in the one-mile run of 3:58.6 (1960) and 3:57.6 (1961). He returned to the Olympics in 1964 (Tokyo), finishing fifth in the 1,500m (3:40.0).

April 26 Birthdays

1930

Roger Moens, Belgium, middle-distance runner. In 1955 Roger Moens set a world record of 1:45.7 in the 800m which was eventually broken in 1962 by Peter Snell. Moens won a silver medal at the 1960 (Rome) Olympic Games, finishing behind Snell in the 800m.

April 17 Birthdays

1948
Pekka Antero Vasala, Finland, middle-distance runner. Pekka Vasala won the gold medal for 1,500m at the 1972 (Munich) Olympic Games, running 3:36.33, the world's fastest time for the year.

April 15 Birthdays

1971
Josiah Thugwane, South Africa, long-distance runner. The pinnacle of Thugwane's athletic career was his victory in the 1996 (Atlanta) Olympic Games marathon (2:12:36). In addition to marathon victories in South Africa, Thugwane also won the 1995 Honolulu marathon (2:16:08) and the 1997 Fukuoka marathon (2:07:28).

April 12 Birthdays

1930
John Landy, Australian middle-distance runner. Landy was the second man to break 4:00 in the mile and held the world record in the mile (3:58.0). He was a member of the Australian Olympic team in 1952 (Helsinki) and 1956 (Melbourne), winning a bronze medal in the 1500 in 1956. He finished second to Roger Bannister in the Empire Games mile in Vancouver on 7 August 1954, the first mile race in which two athletes broke 4:00 (Bannister 3:58.8, Landy 3:59.6).

April 10 Birthdays

1886
John Joseph "Johnny" Hayes, American long-distance runner. Winner of the inaugural Yonkers Marathon, Hayes won the 1908 Olympic Games marathon in London, the first marathon run over the now-official distance of 26 miles and 385 yards (42.196 km). Following the Olympics, Hayes went professional, competing on a circuit of marathon races inspired by the 1908 Olympic race.

April 4 Birthdays

1933

Brian Stanford Hewson, Great Britain, middle-distance runner. Brian Hewson won the silver medal for the 880-yard run at the 1954 (Vancouver) Commonwealth Games. The following year he began training under Franz Stampfl (who had coached Roger Bannister) and became the fifth athlete in history to break 4:00 in the one-mile run, running 3:59.8 in a race where he finished third behind Laszlo Tabori and Chris Chataway. Hewson went on to win a gold medal at the 1958 (Stockholm) European Athletics Championships in the 1,500m (3:41.9) and a silver medal at the 1958 (Cardiff) Commonwealth Games in the 880-yard run (1:49.5). He represented Great Britain in the 800m at the 1956 (Melbourne) and 1960 (Rome) Olympic Games. Hewson details his running career in his entertaining memoir, Flying Feet.

April 2 Birthdays

1959
Gelindo Bordin, Italy, long-distance runner. Gelindo Bordin did not shine exceptionally brightly on the track, but his star rose when he moved up to the marathon. In his sixth race at the distance, he won the 1986 (Stuttgart) European Championships marathon, running 2:10:53.4. A year later he was the bronze medalist at the 1987 (Rome) World Championships marathon (2:12:40). He went on to win the 1988 (Seoul) Olympic Games marathon (2:10:32), the 1990 Boston Marathon (2:08:19), and the 1990 (Split) European Championships marathon (2:14:02).