Olympic medallist George Young - arguably the most complete American distance runner ever - has died at 85

LRC note: Here is an excellent profile of his career that saw him make 4 Olympic teams in three different events (steeple 3 times, marathon 1 time, 5000 1 time), win an Olympic medal and battle legends like Billy Mills and Steve Prefontaine.

A great write-up. Enjoyed learning more about Young, thx for posting.

85+ years of age

en.wikipedia.org

George_Young_%28runner%29

Open link

Bumping as I see a 2nd thread just went up.

Thank you for the posting; nice profile.

The birth year in the headline is of course wrong, should be 1937.

Also, GY was still 34 yo, just short of 35, at the 1972 Trials, not 36 yo as the profile states.

GY's wiki mentions that he was born in Roswell, NM. Obviously, the man was an alien.

Aw man... sorry to hear that. He was definitely one of the very best for his era and helped advance the sport. Thanks for posting.

You're welcome. I thought he deserved something like an obit here.

I never thought that Young got the acclaim he should of. 4 Olympics! Olympic Bronze in the steeple -- at Mexico's altitude! Several ARs and a couple (indoor) WRs! Sub-4:00 at age 34! Competitive from mile to marathon (16th in 1968 Olympics -- again, at altitude)! Tough, tough runner. RIP & kudos on a great career.

Scott Douglas wrote a wonderful article on him several years ago.

Gave Pre all he could handle in 1972 at age 35 as his career was winding down. A ferocious competitor and a fine gentleman.

"should of?" Seriously?

Why isn't his death on the front page? One of the greatest careers of any U.S. distance runner. Born the same year as Buddy Edelen, Bob Schul and Ron Daws. 1937

I remember reading of him in Running Times in the 1990s. THe day after the 1972 Oly trials he ran 6 miles. The day after that 8 miles in the morning and 16x400 in the evening. Tough as nails.

Not enough people know about George Young. A legend. There are only a handful of American distance runners who have accomplished the things he did. His longevity as an athlete is incredible along with his accomplishments. RIP George Young. You inspired me and many others.

His biography, “Always Young” is a classic.