About Jim Ryun
James Ronald Ryun is an American former Republican politician and Olympic track and field athlete, who at his peak was widely considered the world's top middle-distance runner. He won a silver medal in the 1500 m at the 1968 Summer Olympics, and was the first high school athlete to run a mile in under four minutes. He is the last American to hold the world record in the mile run. Ryun later served in the United States House of Representatives from 1996 to 2007, representing Kansas's 2nd congressional district. Ryun ran five sub four-minute miles while in high school including the first sub four-minute mile run in a high school event, a 3:58.3, at the 1965 Kansas HS state meet. In 1966, at age 19, Ryun set two world records, first in the half-mile (1:44.9), then the mile (3:51.3).
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.