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Ken Swenson inducted into Kansas Sports Hall of Fame
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| By: Ryan D. Wilson, Staff Reporter |
November 04, 2009 |
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Swenson runs in a relay for K-State
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Having the opportunity to run competitively was always "extra special" whether it was at Clay Center Community High School or at the Olympics, Olympian Ken Swenson said.
The Olympic gold medalist and Clay Center capped off a career of running with an induction into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in October, which adds to two other Halls of Fame he's already in.
"It's an honor to be part of the Hall of Fame for Kansas, to be a representative of Kansas," Swenson said. "I put it right up there with the K-State Sports Hall of Fame."
Swenson already a member of the Drake Relays Hall of Fame and the Kansas State University Sports Hall of Fame, which he was inducted in 1995.
He is best known for running in the 880-yard run of the 1972 Olympics and as a former American record holder in the 880-yard run with a time 1:44.8.
Despite holding the Clay Center Community High School record in the 880 with a time of 1:55.8, which to this day hasn't been broken, Swenson was overlooked coming out of high school. Only two schools tried to recruit Swenson -- Kansas State and Fort Hays State.
Swenson said that's because his time wasn't all that great coming out of high school, even though as a senior in high school he was undefeated in 1966 in the 880-yard run both indoors and outdoors.
"What changed (after high school) was the training," he said. "I didn't do a lot of training in high school, at least not like the training I did at K-State and in the Army. I was young, I was naive, I was real rookie coming out of high school. That's why my time wasn't the greatest, why I wasn't looked at except by a couple of schools."
Swenson said in a biography by the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame that he chose to go to Kansas State because, like most middle-distance runners of the time, he wanted to line up against Jim Ryun to see how he measured up.
And running for K-State, it was hard to avoid Ryun, who was running for the University of Kansas, Swenson said. Ryun usually ran the half-mile and mile runs, but they "matched on occasion, usually at the conferences," he said.
"He was a great athlete, it was an honor to run against him," he said.
In the end Swenson would beat Ryun for the spot in the 1972 Olympics. During the 1972 Olympic trials he edged Ryun at the tape to qualify for the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. That trial is the infamous one that ended Ryun's career -- when he tripped.
"It was a great experience," Swenson said in the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame biography, "Running took me places I could have only dreamed of."
Running for K-State, Swenson held his own, even though his career was overshadowed by Ryun's. As a three-time Big Eight champion in the 880, Swenson anchored four K-State relay teams to world records, two NCAA championships and one American record. He was a four-time All-American and was the 1970 NCAA Outdoor champion at the half-mile. While at K-State in 1970, he had the fourth-fastest 880 time in history with a time of 1:44.8.
In 1970 Swenson ranked first at 800 meets among U.S. runners by Track and Field News and in 1971 and 1972 he was ranked third.
K-State and the US Army helped prepare Swenson to compete against Ryun. Just before he competed in the 1972 Olympics, the Army drafted him and put him on the Army Track and Field Team right after basic training.
"At the time the military was drafting, so I was selected even though my name was pretty high on the selection list for Clay County," Swenson said. "The Army put all us athletes on a team and had us do some training and a lot of traveling. That was good having that to prepare for the Olympics, instead of trying to do that while in the (regular) military, which was not conducive to training for the Olympics."
Now, Swenson, 61, still runs a half hour to 45 minutes a day at his home in Londonderry, N.H. for "just for fitness."
His youngest son, Todd Swenson, ran competitively in high school and college and still competes on occasion. His parents, Lloyd and Connie Swenson, still reside in Clay Center.
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©Clay Center Dispatch 2009
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