credit – Sterling College
Sterling College and the Sterling College Athletic Department is proud to announce that former U.S. Olympian and U.S. Congressman, Jim Ryun, is speaking during Chapel on Wednesday, April 22, 2015, at 10 a.m. in Culbertson Auditorium in Spencer Hall.
Jim Ryun, a three-time Olympian at 1500 meters, was a silver medalist at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. Ryun was the first high school athlete to break the sub-four minute mile mark with a time of, 3 minutes 59 seconds at the 1964 Compton Relays (Calif.), and his 1965 high school mile record of 3:55.3 lasted nearly 36 years. Ryun holds the record for the most sub-four minute miles for a high school athlete with five, including the first sub-four in a high school-only race, 3:58.3, at the 1965 Kansas High School State Meet.
In 1966, the University of Kansas graduate won the Sullivan Award, which honors the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States, and was also recognized as Sports Illustrated’s ‘‘Sportsman of the Year.” In 2003, ESPN.com selected Ryun as the best high school athlete ever. Ryun is the only American athlete to be world-ranked No. 1 in the 1500 and mile in back-to-back years, which occurred in 1966-67.
Ryun served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1996 to 2007, representing the 2nd District in Kansas.
Sterling College is a Christ-centered, four-year college located in Sterling, Kan., with a mission to develop creative and thoughtful leaders who understand a maturing Christian faith. For more information, visit www.sterling.edu.
