Bob Schul

Robert K. Schul

Bob Schul (center) at the 1964 Olympics
Personal information
Nationality	United States
Born	(1937-09-28) September 28, 1937 (age 79) West Milton, Ohio
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	146 lb (66 kg)
Sport
Sport	Long-distance running
Event(s)	5000 metres
College team	Miami University
Coached by	Mihály Iglói
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	5000 meters: 13:38.0 3 miles: 13:10.4 2 miles: 8:26.4 Steeplechase: 8:47.6 3000 meters: 7:59.9 2000 meters: 5:10.2 Mile: 3:58.9 1500 meters: 3:40.7
Medal record Representing the  United States Olympic Games 1964 Tokyo 5,000 meters Pan American Games 1963 Sao Paulo 5000 meters

Robert Keyser "Bob" Schul (born September 28, 1937) is a former American long-distance runner. As of 2016^[update], he is the only American to have won an Olympic gold medal in the 5000 m, at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Schul, born and raised on a farm in West Milton, Ohio, was born with asthma, which bothered him throughout his career. As told by his brother Larry he started running as a child against his brothers in Indian relays where one would start at the back of the pack and work to get to the front. This would come to be one of the tactics he would later use in his running. He started running for his school in seventh grade and continued through high school (4:34.4 mile). He continued his collegiate career in 1956, at Miami University in Ohio, where he broke the school record in the mile as a sophomore running 4:12.1. He joined the Air Force and for a year had limited training because of Air Force schooling. In May 1960, he was assigned to Oxnard AFB in California and Max Truex (himself a world class distance runner, who placed sixth in the Olympic 10,000 meters that year) became his commanding officer. In June, after one month of good training, Schul ran the USA championships; he placed fifth in his trial race, running 3:55 for 1500 meters. In 1961, Truex introduced Schul to Hungarian coach Mihály Iglói. Under Iglói's training, Schul finished third at the national championships in the 3000 m steeplechase. In 1962, he ran well indoors at two miles, with only one American, Jim Beatty, running faster. However, after several poor races that spring, Schul was diagnosed with mononucleosis and spent three months in an Air Force hospital. The next winter, Schul became the US Indoor Champion, running 13:39.3 for three miles. A few weeks later, he ran the third fastest indoor two miles ever (8:37.5), though losing to Beatty's world record time of 8:30.7. With a partially torn soleus muscle, Schul placed third in the Pan American Games at 5K, but the injury kept him from competing in the U.S. Championships.