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5 unusual facts about Jack Bacheler


Jack Bacheler

Three months prior to the 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials, Jack, along with Florida Track Club teammates Frank Shorter and Jeff Galloway, moved to Vail, Colorado to train at altitude.

He broke the school record in the 3-mile run, which had been held by Bob Schul, who won the 5,000 meters at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

That same year, Bacheler trained for a spot on the U.S. track team going to the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where the high altitude and "thinner air" would present a challenge to distance runners.

As it turned out, five of the first six finishers (all but Ron Clarke of Australia) were from high-altitude countries.

Ron Jourdan

At the 1972 Olympic Trials, held in Eugene, Oregon between June 29 and July 9, Jourdan was one of four members of the FTC to qualify for the Munich Olympics, along with distance runners Frank Shorter, Jack Bacheler and Jeff Galloway.



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