Gerry Lindgren

American long-distance runner

Gerry Lindgren

Lindgren in 1965

Personal information
Nationality| American
Born|  (1946-03-09) March 9, 1946 (age 78)
Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Height| 167 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Weight| 54 kg (119 lb)
Sport
Sport| Track
Event(s)| 3000 m, 5000 m, 10,000 m
College team| Washington State
Rogers High School, Spokane
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)| Mile: 4:01.5
2-mile indoor: 8:34.0[1]
3 miles: 12:53.0[1][2]
6 miles: 27:11.6[1]1
5000 m – 13:33.8 (1968)
10000 m – 28:40.2 (1967)[1][3]

Gerald "Gerry" Paul Lindgren (born March 9, 1946) is an American track and field runner who set many long-standing high school and national records in the United States. In 1965, Lindgren and Billy Mills both broke the world record for the six-mile run when they finished in an extremely rare tie at the AAU National Championships, both running exactly 27:11.6.[4] Lindgren went on to win a record 11 NCAA collegiate championships with Washington State University.

## Running career

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### High school

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In 1964, in his senior year at Rogers High School, Lindgren ran 5000 meters in 13 minutes and 44 seconds flat, on a clay track in Compton, CA setting a U.S. high school record for the distance that would remain unbroken for 40 years, until Galen Rupp ran 13:37.91 on July 30, 2004. Among his other records he established that year was his time of 8:40.0 in an indoor 2-mile (3.2 km) race that shattered the previous U.S. national high school mark by an incredible 43 seconds; it was the fastest high school 2-mile (3.2 km) time ever run indoors until February 16, 2013, when Edward Cheserek ran 8:39.15 at the Millrose Games.

Lindgren was coached by Tracy Walters in high school, where Walters was responsible for inspiring Gerry to the heights he reached. In the summer following high school graduation and his historic 13:44 5k, Lindgren ran 200 miles a week for 6 weeks in preparation for the US-USSR meet. After that victory, he also set a new teenage record of 13:17.0 for 3 miles while competing in Jamaica, a meet where he ran his mile best of 4:01.5 as well, both on a dirt track.

On July 25, 1964, Lindgren outran two seasoned Soviet runners, Leonid Ivanov and Anatoly Dutov to win the 10,000 m event in the US-USSR Track Meet in Los Angeles. The event heralded great success for American distance runners in 1964. The ensuing 12 months brought forth 2 gold medals by Americans, in both the 5,000 and 10,000 m events in Tokyo, as well as World Records in the 2-mile, 6-mile and indoor mile. Lindgren was Track and Field News "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1964,[5] and won the 10,000 meter race at the 1964 Olympic Trials.[6]

### The Summer Olympics and After

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Lindgren (left) in 1971

In the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, he finished ninth in the 10,000 meters (m) behind gold medalist Billy Mills after having sprained an ankle during training. Four years later, Lindgren tried to make the 1968 Olympic team but finished 5th in the 10,000 m and 4th in the 5,000 m in the Olympic Trials at Echo Summit, just missing the team at both distances. In his training just after college, he was said to have averaged 240 miles per week for one year, including allegedly running a 380-mile week.[7]

Lindgren also competed against Mills in the 1965 AAU Nationals meet, where they raced the 6-mile (9.7 km). Mills won with a diving lean, while both were timed in 27:11.6, a new world record shared by Mills and Lindgren. The mark was also superior to the then world record for 10,000 m of 28:15 held by Ron Clarke. T&F News converted their mark to 28:10. But perhaps Lindgren's greatest race came during a May 1966 NCAA Regional meet at age 20, in the 3-mile run on a dirt track during a cold, windy day in Seattle. He raced to 12:53.0, just missing the world record of 12:52.4 held by Ron Clarke. Both times were superior to the then world record in the 5,000 m of 13:24. T&F News converted his time to 13:21.

### Collegiate and retirement

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Lindgren attended Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, where he majored in political science and minored in Russian language. While at Washington State, Lindgren won 11 NCAA Championships. (His only loss at an NCAA championship was to Jim Ryun in the 1968 indoor 2-mile (3.2 km) race.) He was one of only two people to ever defeat Steve Prefontaine in an NCAA Championship. (Lindgren won the 1969 NCAA Cross Country Championship in which 1968 NCAA champion Mike Ryan finished second and Prefontaine third.) He competed sporadically after graduating from college but without any notable success. Since 1980, Lindgren has lived in Honolulu, Hawaii.[8] He continues to run regularly, active in the Hawaii running community. He coached the University of Hawaii's women's track and field team 2005–2007.

## High school personal records

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* 1500 meters – 3:44.6 (1964)
* 1-mile (1.6 km) – 4:01.5 (1964) (2nd fastest in history in 1964; #8 all time among American high schoolers as of 2011)
* 3000 meters – 8:06.3i (1964) High School Record (4th best of all time as of 2011)
* 2-mile (3.2 km) – 8:40.0i (1964) High School Record (now 2nd all-time indoors)
* 3 miles (4.8 km) – 13:17.0 (1964) (High School Record)
* 5000 meters – 13:44.0 (1964) High School Record (2nd All-time American High School time as of 2021)
* 10000 meters – 29:17.6 (1964) High School Record (5th best all time as of 2021)

## College personal records

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* 3 miles (4.8 km) – 12:53.0 (1966) Collegiate and American Record
* 6 miles (9.7 km) – 27:11.6 (1965) Collegiate and World Record
* 3000 meters – 7:58 (1965) Collegiate and American Record
* 5000 meters – 13:33.8 (1968) Collegiate and American Record
* 10000 meters – 28:40.2 (1967) Collegiate and American Record

## NCAA Championships

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* Cross Country – 1966 (29:01.4), 1967 (30:45.6), 1969 (28:59.2)
* 3 miles (4.8 km) outdoor track – 1966 (13:33.7), 1967 (13:47.8)
* 5000 m – 1968 (13:47.2)
* 6-mile (9.7 km) outdoor track – 1966 (28:07.0), 1967 (28:44.0)
* 10000 m – 1968 (29:41.0)
* 2 miles (3.2 km) indoor track – 1966 (8:41.3), 1967 (8:34.7)

## Notes

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* ^1 Lindgren's 6-mile personal record and his 10,000 meter personal record vary to a much larger degree than the lengthwise difference between the two distances (the 10,000 meters is 0.2 miles longer than 6 miles) would indicate. His 6-mile best time of 27:11 would hypothetically convert to just above 28 minutes for 10,000 meters if he continued at a similar pace for an extra 321 meters. However, he never ran faster than 28:40 in the 10,000m,[1][2] as the 10,000m was not raced as often in the United States as the 6-mile was during the time Lindgren competed. Similar circumstances surround his 3-mile and 5000m pr differences.

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e Sports-Reference.com. "Gerry Lindgren Bio, Stats". Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
2. ^ a b All-Athletics. "Profile of Gerry Lindgren". Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
3. ^ Gerry Lindgren. trackfield.brinkster.net
4. ^ Statistics – USA Outdoor Track & Field Champions Archived 2011-06-10 at the Wayback Machine. USATF. Retrieved on 2011-04-18.
5. ^ HIGH SCHOOL BOYS ATHLETES OF THE YEAR Archived 2016-08-18 at the Wayback Machine. Track and Field News
6. ^ "Track and Field Statistics".
7. ^ "Step Into Minimalism – Dr. Jack Daniels (Part 1)". YouTube. Retrieved May 29, 2011.[dead YouTube link]
8. ^ Bishop, Greg (November 27, 2005), "The longest run: The story of Gerry Lindgren", The Seattle Times

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gerry Lindgren.

* Notes on Lindgren
* Top Ten List of American High School Boys Track Performances
* Cougar Best Performances
* Gerry Lindgren at the USATF Hall of Fame (archived)

Awards

Preceded by

Randy Matson

|  Track & Field News High School Boys Athlete of the Year
1964  | Succeeded by

Jim Ryun

* v
* t
* e

National Distance Running Hall of Fame inductees

* 1998: Joan Benoit
* Ted Corbitt
* Bill Rodgers
* Frank Shorter
* Kathrine Switzer
* 1999: Johnny Kelley
* Nina Kuscsik
* Francie Larrieu Smith
* Billy Mills
* 2000: Clarence DeMar
* Steve Prefontaine
* Alberto Salazar
* Grete Waitz
* 2001: Bill Dellinger
* Lynn Jennings
* Fred Lebow
* Craig Virgin
* 2002: Bill Bowerman
* Doris Brown Heritage
* John J. Kelley
* Browning Ross
* 2003: Mary Decker
* Jim Ryun
* George Young
* 2004: None
* 2005: Don Kardong
* Greg Meyer
* Bob Schul
* 2006: Patti Catalano
* Gerry Lindgren
* Marty Liquori
* 2007: None
* 2008: Amby Burfoot
* Johnny Hayes
* Priscilla Welch
* 2009: None
* 2010: Dick Beardsley
* Miki Gorman
* 2011:
* 2012: Horace Ashenfelter
* Glenn Cunningham
* Jacqueline Hansen
* 2013:
* 2014: Tom Fleming
* Kim Merritt

* v
* t
* e

US National Championship winners in Men's 5000 m, 2 miles or 3 miles

1878–2016|

* 1878: William Duffey
* 1879: P.J. McDonald
* 1880–94: Not held
* 1895: Charles Bean
* 1896: Ernest Hjertberg
* 1897–1902: Not held
* 1903–04: Alex Grant
* 1905: Sanford Lyon
* 1906–32: Not held
* 1933: John Follows
* 1934: Frank Crowley
* 1935: Joe McCluskey
* 1936: Don Lash
* 1937: Joe McCluskey
* 1938–42: Greg Rice
* 1943: Gunder Hägg (SWE) * Greg Rice
* 1944: Jim Rafferty
* 1945: John Kandl
* 1946: Francis Martin
* 1947–48: Curt Stone
* 1949–51: Fred Wilt
* 1952: Curt Stone
* 1953: Charles Capozzoli
* 1954–55: Horace Ashenfelter
* 1956: Dick Hart
* 1957: John Macy
* 1958: Alex Henderson
* 1959–60: Bill Dellinger
* 1961: László Tábori (HUN) * Max Truex
* 1962: Murray Halberg (NZL) * Max Truex
* 1963: Pat Clohessy (AUS) * Jim Keefe
* 1964–65: Bob Schul
* 1966: George Young
* 1967: Gerry Lindgren
* 1968: Bob Day
* 1969: Tracy Smith
* 1970: Frank Shorter
* 1971: Steve Prefontaine
* 1972: Mike Keough (IRL) * Dick Buerkle
* 1973: Steve Prefontaine
* 1974: Dick Buerkle
* 1975: Marty Liquori
* 1976: Dick Buerkle
* 1977: Marty Liquori
* 1978: Marty Liquori
* 1979–82: Matt Centrowitz
* 1983: Doug Padilla
* 1984: Sydney Maree
* 1985–86: Doug Padilla
* 1987: Sydney Maree
* 1988: Doug Padilla
* 1989: Tim Hacker
* 1990: Doug Padilla
* 1991–92: John Trautmann
* 1993–94: Matt Giusto
* 1995–97: Bob Kennedy
* 1998: Marc Davis
* 1999–2000: Adam Goucher
* 2001: Bob Kennedy
* 2002: Alan Culpepper
* 2003–05: Tim Broe
* 2006–08: Bernard Lagat
* 2009: Matt Tegenkamp
* 2010–11: Bernard Lagat
* 2012: Galen Rupp
* 2013–14: Bernard Lagat
* 2015: Ryan Hill
* 2016: Bernard Lagat
* 2017-8: Paul Chelimo
* 2019: Lopez Lomong
* 20212020 OT: Paul Chelimo
* 2022: Grant Fisher
* 2023 Abdihamid Nur

Notes|

* 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

* v
* t
* e

1964 USA Olympic track and field team

Men's track
and road athletes|

* Gerry Ashworth
* Mike Brodie
* Dyrol Burleson
* Henry Carr
* Ollan Cassell
* Rex Cawley
* Willie Davenport
* Bill Dellinger
* Paul Drayton
* Buddy Edelen
* Tom Farrell
* Jeff Fishback
* Morgan Groth
* Billy Hardin
* Bob Hayes
* T. J. Jackson
* Hayes Jones
* Ron Laird
* Mike Larrabee
* Ron Larrieu
* Gerry Lindgren
* Jay Luck
* Bruce MacDonald
* Pete McArdle
* Chris McCarthy
* Billy Mills
* Oscar Moore
* Jack Mortland
* Tom O'Hara
* Mel Pender
* Jim Ryun
* Bob Schul
* Jerry Siebert
* Dick Stebbins
* Ulis Williams
* George Young
* Ron Zinn
* Vic Zwolak

Men's field athletes|

* Ralph Boston
* Ed Burke
* Ed Caruthers
* Hal Connolly
* Frank Covelli
* Ira Davis
* Dick Emberger
* Kent Floerke
* Al Hall
* Fred Hansen
* Paul Herman
* Russ Hodge
* Gayle Hopkins
* Dallas Long
* Randy Matson
* Parry O'Brien
* Al Oerter
* Billy Pemelton
* John Pennel
* John Rambo
* Ed Red
* Bill Sharpe
* Phil Shinnick
* Jay Silvester
* John Thomas
* Les Tipton
* Dave Weill

Women's track athletes|

* Rosie Bonds
* Vivian Brown
* Sandy Knott
* Edith McGuire
* Lacey O'Neal
* Cherrie Sherrard
* Janell Smith
* Debbie Thompson
* Wyomia Tyus
* Marilyn White
* Willye White

Women's field athletes|

* RaNae Bair
* Estelle Baskerville
* Earlene Brown
* Terri Brown
* Olga Connolly
* Jo Ann Grissom
* Eleanor Montgomery
* Martha Watson
* Willye White
* Pat Winslow

Coaches|

* Bob Giegengack (men's head coach)
* Edward P. Hurt (men's assistant coach)
* Payton Jordan (men's assistant coach)
* Charles Walter (men's assistant coach)
* Ed Temple (women's head coach)
* Jack Griffin (women's assistant coach)

* v
* t
* e

USTFCCCA Collegiate Track & Field/Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame

Class of 2022|

* Jenny Barringer
* Ralph Boston
* Ron Delany
* Harrison Dillard
* Suzy Favor
* Charlie Greene
* Carlette Guidry
* DeHart Hubbard
* Vicki Huber
* Jackie Johnson
* Jackie Joyner
* Sally Kipyego
* Carl Lewis
* Gerry Lindgren
* Randy Matson
* Ralph Metcalfe
* Rodney Milburn
* Bobby Morrow
* Suleiman Nyambui
* Billy Olson
* Merlene Ottey
* Jesse Owens
* Mel Patton
* Steve Prefontaine
* Meg Ritchie
* Henry Rono
* Wilma Rudolph
* Jim Ryun
* Erick Walder
* John Woodruff

Class of 2023|

* Dyrol Burleson
* Michael Carter
* Joetta Clark
* Michael Conley
* Sheila Hudson
* Holli Hyche
* Edwin Moses
* Renaldo Nehemiah
* Sonia O'Sullivan
* Julie Shea
* Seilala Sua
* John Thomas
* Wyomia Tyus
* Dave Wottle

Class of 2024|

* Rosalyn Bryant
* Regina Cavanaugh
* Hollis Conway
* Bill Dellinger
* Benita Fitzgerald
* Glenn Hardin
* Balázs Kiss
* Marty Liquori
* Larry Myricks
* Louise Ritter
* Karl Salb
* Amy Skieresz
* Trecia-Kaye Smith
* Angela Williams

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany

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