Washington State University Athletics

Gerry Lindgren is considered by many the greatest distance runner in American collegiate history.  He won 11 straight NCAA titles while at WSU resulting in 11 All-America awards.  Lindgren set 57 American Records from two to six miles and shared a world record with Billy Mills for the 6-mile with a time of 27:11.6.  While a student at John Rogers High School in Spokane, Lindgren set 11 prep distance marks, and won a spot on the 1964 U.S. Olympic team for the Games at Tokyo. He placed ninth in men's 10,000 meters at 1964 Olympic Games and was the 1967 USA 3,000m champion and the 1964 USA 10,000m champion. During his time as a high school cross country and track star in the early 1960s, Lindgren set eight world high school records, among the most impressive was a 13:44, 5,000 meter run, a mark that stood for 40 years. He was the first American to beat the Russians in a distance race, accomplishing this feat at Los Angeles in 1964 in the U.S./Russia dual meet in the 10,000 meters. Lindgren is a member of the USA Track & Field, the Inland Northwest and State of Washington Sports Halls of Fame.