Bill Dellinger

Bill Dellinger (actually William Solon Dellinger ; born March 23, 1934 in Grants Pass , Oregon , USA ) is a former American track and field athlete who was successful as a long-distance runner in the late 1950s and early 1960s . He specialized in the 5000 meters and took part in three Olympic Games.

Life

After high school in Springfield, Oregon , he joined the training group of Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon in 1953 . Bowerman mostly ran tempo runs at race pace, so his runners were quickly in good shape. From 1954 to 1956 he was one of the best runners at the university and qualified in the US Olympic Trials (athletics) for the Olympic Games in Melbourne . He was drafted immediately after completing his bachelor's degree in education in 1956 . However, the United States Air Force allowed him to continue preparing for the Olympics. After four years in the Air Force, Dillinger was a physical education teacher / coach at Springfield, Oregon high school for six years. Then he came back to the University of Oregon to assist Bill Bowerman. From 1969 in cross-country skiing and from 1973 in athletics, he became the most successful long-distance trainer in the USA. His protégés included u. a. Steve Prefontaine , Mary Decker , Alberto Salazar , Matt Centrowitz , Don Clary and others v. a. m. Because of an illness , he prematurely ended his coaching career.

In the 80s he and Adidas developed the so-called "Dellinger Web", a shock-absorbing cushioning technology that was used on various sports shoes of the time.

National successes

The 1.75 m tall and 62 kg heavy athlete started for and after his studies for the Oregon Track Club in Eugene . Bill Dellinger won two state championships:

year	1957	1958	1959	1960
space	Third	Third	master	master
Time (min)	14: 04.5	13: 40.9	14: 47.6	14: 26.4

There are also three university championships:

year	1954	1956	1959
route	2 miles	5000 m	3 miles
Time (min)	4: 13.8	14: 58.5	13: 37.0

International success

Bill Dellinger took part in three Olympic Games: 1956 in Melbourne , 1960 in Rome and 1964 in Tokyo . In Melbourne he was able to easily qualify as third of his prelim in 14: 26.92 min, but then gave up in the final. Four years later in Rome, 14: 08.72 minutes, which he achieved in the run-up, was not enough for the final. It was only in Tokyo that his hour struck. First, he finished second of its forward travel for good 13: 52.2 min In the final, had he indeed his compatriot Bob Schul (gold in 13: 48.8 min) and the German Harald Norpoth (silver in 13: 49.6 min) let go, but was able to relegate the Frenchman Michel Jazy to fourth place and also ran a personal best with 13: 49.8 minutes.

Bill Dellinger won another international medal in 1959 at the Pan American Games in Chicago , where he was victorious in 14: 28.4 minutes.

Personal bests

• 1500 m : 3: 41.5 min, 1958 (national record)
• 1 mile : 4:02.7 min, 1961
• 2 miles: 8: 43.8 min, 1961
  • Hall: 8: 49.9 min, 1959, (indoor world record)
• 3 miles (hall): 13: 37.0 min, 1959 (indoor world record)
• 5000 m: 13: 49.8 min, 1964

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Arnd Krüger : Many roads lead to Olympia. The changes in training systems for medium and long distance runners (1850–1997). In: N. Gissel (Hrsg.): Sporting performance in change . Czwalina, Hamburg 1998, pp. 41-56.
2. ↑ http://www.usatf.org/statistics/champions/OlympicTrials/HistoryOfTheOlymp  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. icTrials.pdf. up March 25, 2017  
3. ↑ http://sportshistory.uoregon.edu/topics/the-track-and-field-legacy/famous-coaches/bill-dellinger/ auf. March 25, 2017
4. ↑ 5 Facts to Know About the adidas Deerupt . In: Sneakers Magazine . March 14, 2018 ( sneakers-magazine.com [accessed July 8, 2018]).

Web links

• Bill Dellinger in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )