Talk:Jim Ryun

Initial comments
I'm de-italicizing a little here -- doesn't seem very encyclopedia-like to have "for thirty-six years" highlighted that way. Motorneuron 19:56, 2 February 2006 (UTC)motorneuron

Also, is this "speaking in tongues" bit true? It seems a little outlandish. Motorneuron 19:58, 2 February 2006 (UTC)motorneuron

Why was the DeLay controversy removed? It is verifiable. Please revert!

One Big Missing Part
Here, with one of the best athletes in America, the article contains no discussion of what Ryun did to sidestep military service. Was his participation in the Olympics deemed valuable enough to defer him? Or was one privilege of being a good athlete that such individuals didn't have to perform military service? This question is germane because the draft affected every healthy heterosexual male in America at that time, but the article is written as if that reality didn't exist. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.152.216.213 (talk) 17:51, 9 August 2017 (UTC)

Brown-Henderson
Is she the daughter of the plantiff or the plaintiff? I have not lived in Kansas in 15 years, but I seem to remember that she is the plaintiff, she was the little girl. Her mother worked with the attorneys on the case, but she was the little girl denied access. I believe that I have that correct. The girl would be the only person who would have standing in a court of law to sue. That's why I fairly sure that she was the plaintiff, not the daughter of the plaintiff.--Getaway 16:18, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

To 69.149.155.120
While you are welcome to add/augment whatever changes to this article you think necessary or deserving, STOP blanking entire sections (especially the “controversy” sections) of this article!!! It is vandalism. (Wikipedia defines blanking as “removing all or significant parts of articles... [without] a non-frivolous explanation for the removal of apparently legitimate content is provided, linked to, or referenced in an edit summary.”)

Furthermore, the fact that your edits are highly POV, you are using an anonymous IP, and have made edits only to this article and no others, raises suspicion of self-promotion. The sections you deleted were fully supported with references and should NOT be deleted without a valid reason. Do not blank them again without a valid explanation, or you’ll be subject to a warning. Thank you. CagedRage 23:59, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

Jim Ryun, was a great athlete, and is a great person. He is a true American hero, and a great example for all. It is a shame to include this Controversies section. WriterJMD 04:43, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Despite his controversies i think most will still see him as a hero with respect to track and field. From what is written, with regard to the darker side of politics, it is hard to justify taking them out since they did occur. David D. (Talk) 05:29, 9 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Exactly. Just because it makes WriterJMD sad doesn't make it omissible.  206.53.75.234 (talk) 16:52, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

More on 1966
Of course, Jim Ryun was a legendary runner, but during his breakthrough year, he also was named as ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year for his record-breaking performances in the mile that year. Joey Chesnavich 16:50 17,February 2007

Rewrite the Athletics Section
The Athletics section of this article could stand a major overhaul. His athletic achievements are far greater than discussed here. I would like to do so. As an example, below is a potential update of information concerning just his high school career. I'll hold off writing more until given permission to update the article.

He let the world in on his track & field greatness early by becoming the first high school runner to break four minutes for the mile, running 3:59.0 as a junior in 1964. While in high school Ryun:


 * Established the high school and US open mile record 3:55.3 as a senior in 1965, a record that stood as the high school record for 36 years until broken by Alan Webb’s 3:53.43 in 2001. In this record race he beat the reigning Olympic champion and former world record holder Peter Snell of New Zealand.
 * His 3:58.3 to with the mile at the 1965 Kansas High School State Meet is still the record for the fastest time ever in a race which includes only high school competitors.
 * Today he still holds five of the six fastest mile times in US high school history, with Alan Webb’s record race holding the other spot.
 * After his junior year he qualified for the 1964 Olympics in the 1500, where he failed to make it through the semifinal round.

Fizbin 01:26, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

fizbin

i've added some more info about his 3'33.1 wr

from track & field news archives i found a report of the extremely poor way he ran that race & the likelihood that he shoud have been 2 or 3s faster if he'd run that race properly

to be able to run a likely 3'30 - 3'31 back in '67 on an old track does add weight to the claim he was the greatest 1500m talent ever seen.

Someone has added that : "Having completely recovered from mononucleosis in the spring ( of '68 )..." : some people never recover from mono & have persistent fatigue as a result : used to be known as ME, but know called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. This was not a formal medical diagnosis back in the '60's, but obviously still existed. The observation that Ryun never broke a PB after '67, indicates that he may have suffered a degree of Chronic Fatigue afterwards, so the claim "Having completely recovered from mononucleosis in the spring" may be spurious & should be qualified.


 * I see it written here that Ryun's 3:52.8 in Toronto in 1972 at Varsity Stadium (very close to where I now sit) was the "third" fastest mile to that time. I think that is incorrect, but I can't verify it yet - I will do so over the next few days. Canada Jack 03:38, 19 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Yup, that was third fastest all-time until Ben Jipcho ran 3:52.17 in 1973. I stand corrected! —Preceding unsigned comment added by canada Jack (talk • contribs)

Not sure where you got your info but an always up-to-date database can be found here: The two other faster miles at that time were from the sixties, bith by Ryun. David D. (Talk) 14:52, 19 July 2007 (UTC)
 * 3:51.1    Jim Ryun Bakersfield 23.06.1967
 * 3:51.3    Jim Ryun Berkeley 17.07.1966

His 1500 m world record was remarkable because it was run with uneven splits, which is the most difficult way to run a fast time. He ran the initial 300 m in a pedestrian 46.5 & then accelerated to cover the last 1200 m in an astounding 2:46.6. It is speculated that if Ryun had run that race at an even pace from start to finish, he would have recorded a time somewhere in the vicinity of 3:30 or 3:31 — a time not achieved until the 1980s, when races were run on significantly faster synthetic tracks. Many observers feel his recorded 3:33.1 that day was a significant underachievement in light of the ability he demonstrated in that race. Underachievement or not, the time still stood as a world record for seven years.

The above section on Ryun's 1500 meter was changed for the following reasons.

1) While it would be true that running uneven splits would be a physiologically inefficient method of running a 1500 meter or Mile world record, it is highly inaccurate (and simply wrong) to portray Ryun's negative split race as uneven splits. In fact, most World records at the mile or 1500 since Ryun's era have been run with the second half of the race run faster than the first (negative splits) and the world class coaches coach that method.   It does an enormous disservice to young runners to mischaracterize Ryun's 1500 WR as an "Unevenly" paced race.  It's exactly how you are supposed to run a mile or 1500, and certainly not the most difficult.  Track and Field News called it “the mightiest finishing drive ever seen.”

2) The comment was not cited sufficiently. Stating in the discussion, "Track and Field News archive" is not an adequate or substantial citation. Date, article title, and page number please.  What archive were you looking at, because the Track and Field News article from August 1967 (Volume 2, No. 7, pages 1 and 2) report a very different story than your comment portrays. (The race was not run in an "extremely poor way."

3) Claiming that the record was a significant underachievement is just completely erroneous. Again, I doubt that the original contributor has read "Ryun KO's Keino, 3:33.1” Track and Field News, August 1967, No. 7, pages 1-2, because there is nothing in that article that even remotely suggests that the race was an underachievement. The facts are, it was a 2.5 second improvement on Elliot’s WR, it lasted for seven years, and Cordner Nelson reported in the above-mentioned T and F News article, “This was most certainly his greatest race.”

4) The comment is highly opinionated, and not worthy of inclusion in an encyclopedia. "It is speculated?? Yes, speculation, but by whom? Who speculated that Ryun would have run 3:30 or 3:31 on that day?  Find a source and quote it, or leave it out.

75.25.18.254 03:37, 13 September 2007 (UTC)Kazimingi

False statement
The statement that said he made no concession statement after his loss was completely false! I know this because my dad works for Jim so he was there and because it was on t.v.!


 * Statement is no longer in article. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 14:08, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

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record broken
Apparently a 60yo Jim Ryun world record was just broken so the article may need a small update, but it's hard for me to tell where exactly. The new record is for 1 mile time by a high schooler without a pacer. Idk what exactly that means. 2601:648:8202:350:0:0:0:738F (talk) 01:27, 19 May 2022 (UTC)

recent additions
the recently added prose in the personal life section is unsourced and purple.

it is reverted to encyclopedic copy. Augmented Seventh (talk) 23:02, 28 April 2024 (UTC)