baitforit wrote:
You could make an argument (albeit a poor one) that going to Tokyo in HS didn't help Ryun. He may have been better off getting a solid base for his senior as he finished in last place in his semi. After struggling in Mexico and falling in Munich, his Olympic career ended without a medal despite his dominance in 66 and 67.
In Mexico he ran with a goal of 3:39, which he thought would win, and actually hit 3:37.8, but hadn't anticipated Keino's crazy - at that altitude - 3:34.91. Far from struggling, he regarded running that much faster than his target time as "like winning a gold medal.." Had the race not been at altitude, he almost certainly would have won.
Prior to Munich, in 1972, he ran third best mile of his life (third best in history to that point) and won the 1500m in the Olympic trials. Had he not been tripped, he would have been a serious threat to win.
His last world-record came in a 1500m in 1967, three years after Tokyo.
His fate in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics was all down to circumstances, and nothing to do with having run in Tokyo in 1964.