Bob Wheeler
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Tomlinson Wheeler, III |
| Born | January 11, 1952 Timonium, Maryland |
| Died | November 2010 (aged 58) Mountain View, California |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States of America |
| Sport | Track & field |
| Event(s) | mile, 1500 m |
| College team | Duke University |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Regional finals | ACC champion, mile (1971, 1973) |
| National finals | NCAA champion, 1,000 yards (1971) |
| Olympic finals | Semifinals, 1972 |
Robert Tomlinson "Bob" Wheeler, III (January 11, 1952 – November 25, 2010) was an American athlete in track & field who specialized in the mile. Born in Timonium, Maryland, he went to Dulaney High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, and attended Duke University. He represented the United States at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where he ran the 1500 metres. He is still the Duke record holder at the mile (indoor), the 1500 metres (outdoor), and the 1000 metres (indoor), records he ran between 1971 and 1973.
Wheeler attended Duke between 1971 and 1973. He won the 1,000-yard run at the 1971 NCAA Indoor Championships (his 2:07.4 was an NCAA championship record until 1976) and was ACC Champion in the mile in 1971 and 1973, with winning times of 4:05.9 and 4:03.2. He won ACC titles in cross country and indoor and outdoor track. In 1971, he won the 1000 metres event at the Millrose Games, the oldest athletics invitational in the United States, and at least until 2004 was the only Duke athlete to win at the Millrose Games.
Wheeler is still the fastest miler in Duke history, having run 3:39.00 on the 1500 metres outdoor in 1972. His indoor record of 4:00.70, which he set in 1973, is a full second faster than the second-best Duke time, 4:02.06, run by Ryan McDermott in 2011.
He also holds the Duke record at 1000 metres indoor at 2:22.20 (1971) and the record in the 4x mile relay at 16:22.34 (1973), and has the second-best time at the 800 metres outdoor at 1:47.70 (1972). In 2002 he was voted, as one of 50, into the ACC's 50th anniversary team for indoor track and field. In November 25, 2010, he died in Mountain View, California, at the age of 58.
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