Don Bowden

Don Bowden (born August 8, 1936) is an American athlete who was the first American to break the four-minute mile. He represented the USA at the 1956 Olympic Games.

Bowden attended Abraham Lincoln High School (San Jose, California) in San Jose, California where he was a star 880 runner, then entered the University of California, Berkeley where he again specialized in the 880.

Despite having previously run only a few full mile races, on June 1, 1957 in Stockton, California Bowden clocked a 3:58.7 in the mile, setting a new American record. He also ran on a world-record-setting 4 x 880 team for University of California.

Bowden represented the U.S. in the 1956 Olympic Games, running the 1500m. He failed to reach the final, coming 11th in his qualifying heat.

After college he helped develop the Tartan track, the first artificial running surface. He was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2008.

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