The first high school student to break four minutes for the mile, he made the 1964 U. S. Olympic team as a seventeen-year-old but was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 1500-meter run.
As a freshman at the University of Kansas in 1965, he ran a world record 3:55.3 in the mile to beat former world record holder Peter Snell of Australia.
Ryun was the AAU outdoor mile champion from 1965 through 1967 and he won the 1967 NCAA title. He set three world records in 1966, when he won the Sullivan Award as the outstanding amateur athlete of the year. On June 10, he did 1:44.9 in the 880-yard run; on July 8, he ran the 1500 meters in 3:33.1; and on July 17, he set a record of 3:51.3 in the mile. He lowered the mile record to 3:51.1 on June 23, 1967; that stood for more than five years.
Because of mononucleosis, Ryun missed much of the 1968 season, but he qualified for the Olympic 1500-meter run and was considered a favorite for the gold medal. Going into the Olympics, he hadn't been beaten in the 1500 or the mile for more than three years. However, Kip Keino of Kenya set a blistering pace in the Olympic final and Ryun, tired and tight, had no chance to catch him. Keino's 20-meter margin of victory was the largest in Olympic history.
Ryun retired in 1969, but returned in 1972 for one last attempt at the Olympics. His career came to an abrupt end when he tripped on another runner's heel and was injured during a preliminary heat.
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