in the world), and two wins over 10,000 meters world record holder Ron Clarke of Australia. Schul posted an extremely impressive outdoor season in 1964, not losing a single race and beating among others Bruce Kidd, Gerry Lindgren, Billy Mills, Bill Baillie, and Bill Dellinger. Schul first broke the American record in the 5000m at Compton, running 13:38.0. Schul did not run in the NCAA Championships that year, as he thought it unfair for a twenty-six-year-old to be running against younger opponents. He won both the US Championship and the separately held Olympic Trials that year. On August 29, 1964, Schul set a new world record for two miles of 8:26.4, eclipsing the previous mark of 8:29.6 by Michel Jazy of France. For the first time Track and Field News and Sports Illustrated picked an American to win a distance race, as Schul went to the Games having both the best time in the world in the 5000m and the new two-mile world record. The Olympic final was held in heavy rain. In the last lap, Jazy appeared poised to take the gold, as he had opened up a ten-meter lead on the back stretch; however, Schul ran an impressive 37.8 for the last 300 meters on a muddy track. He caught Jazy 50 meters before the finish line, and pulled away for a clear victory to take the gold medal. Injuries and retirement After returning home, Schul's knee was hurting and he could not run for four months. Using a YMCA pool and stationary bicycle throughout the winter, he resumed running in March 1965. With only three months of training, Schul won the US Championship again in 1965, this time over three miles again, setting a new American record of 13:10.4. He stated afterward, "it was the toughest race I ran and won." Schul never managed to regain his 1964 level again, though he did run personal bests over the metric distances of 1500 meters (3:40.7) and 3000 meters (7:59.9) in Europe. In August 1965, Schul's knee began hurting again and he decided to retire. He resumed training in 1967 for fitness purposes and this led him to the 1968 Olympic trials at South Lake Tahoe. With numerous injuries and limited training, he still managed to place fifth in the final. In that final, he had an asthma attack after a few laps and struggled throughout, fainting as he