Garry Bjorklund

Garry Brian Bjorklund (born April 22, 1951) is an American middle and long-distance runner. He represented the U.S. in the 1976 Summer Olympics in the 10,000 m. As a high schooler, he set a Minnesota state record for the mile run which lasted 39 years. At the University of Minnesota, he won the 1971 national championship in the six-mile run, and won numerous conference championships in various disciplines. Following his 1976 Summer Olympics appearance, Bjorklund became a marathon runner, and set a national age group record in 1980.

Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Bjorklund spent his early years in Twig, where he lived on a farm. In his high school years, he took up running; Bjorklund ran a mile in 4:19 his freshman year at Proctor High School. At the 1969 Minnesota State Meets, he broke the state high school mile record with a time of 4:05.1. The Minnesota State High School League continues to consider Bjorklund's time a state record. Also in 1969, he won the Amateur Athletic Union 15,000 m title.

That year, Bjorklund began attending the University of Minnesota, where he began competing in longer races. At Minnesota, he participated in track and field (indoor and outdoor) and cross country running. During his time at college, he was named an All-American five times: twice each in outdoor track and field and cross country, and once in indoor track and field. In 1970, he won the mile run at the Big Ten Conference championships. The next year, at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship, he claimed a victory in the six-mile run, setting a meet record with a time of 27:43.1. While at Minnesota, Bjorklund won Big Ten championships in other disciplines; he won numerous other conference titles, including three in two and three-mile runs. From 1969 to 1971, Bjorklund had a streak of three consecutive Big Ten cross country championships. He also won the Big Ten five-mile championship twice and the six-mile title in 1971, the same year as his national championship win in that distance. Bjorklund broke Big Ten records in seven categories, including the indoor and outdoor three-mile and outdoor mile. In 1971, he ran in the Pan American Games.

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