William Solon Dellinger (born March 23, 1934) is a retired American middle-distance runner, and track and field and cross country coach. He competed in the 5,000 m at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 1964, setting his personal record.
. sports-reference.com He lettered in track at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in 1954, 1955, and 1956.

Coaching career

Upon retirement from competition, Dellinger took a position as the assistant coach to

Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic Games, Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 2 ...

for the

Oregon Ducks track and field The Oregon Ducks track and field program is the intercollegiate track and field team for the University of Oregon located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the Division I (NCAA), NCAA Division I level and is a member of the Big ...

team. After Bowerman's retirement in 1972, Dellinger succeeded him as head coach. In his 25 years of coaching, Dellinger's men won five NCAA titles, achieved 108 All American honors, and had a 134–29 meet record. He was the Pac-10 coach of the year multiple times. Dellinger was instrumental in the development and coaching of Oregon and American great distance star

Steve Prefontaine Steve Roland Prefontaine (January 25, 1951 – May 30, 1975) was an American long-distance runner who from 1973 to 1975 set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters. He competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and he w ...

in conjunction with Bowerman, and their experience was made into a 1997 film '' Prefontaine'', in which Bill Dellinger was played by

Ed O'Neill Edward Leonard O'Neill (born April 12, 1946) is an American actor, comedian, and former football player. Over his career, he has earned four Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe ...

. In Co-Operation with

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

, Dellinger developed the so-called "Dellinger Web", a Cushioning Technology used on various Shoes throughout the 80s and early 90s. Dellinger also coached many post-collegians including Olympians

Mary Decker Mary Teresa Slaney (formerly Tabb, Married and maiden names, née Decker, born August 4, 1958) is an American retired middle-distance and long-distance runner. During her career, she won gold medals in the 1500 metres, 1500 meters and 3000 metr ...

, Bill McChesney,

Alberto Salazar Alberto Salazar (born August 7, 1958) is an American former track coach and long-distance runner. Born in Cuba, Salazar immigrated to the United States as a child with his family, living in Connecticut and then in Wayland, Massachusetts, where ...

, Matt Centrowitz, Don Clary, and many others.

After retiring from coaching

Dellinger retired from the University of Oregon in 1998 and would later join his mentor, Bill Bowerman, as an inductee in the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2001. He retired after he had a stroke in 2000. Since retirement, he has stayed out of the

Track and Field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

world, except for a few appearances at meets named in his honor. In 2021 USA Track and Field awarded Dellinger their Legend Coach Award. Dellinger was inducted into the USTFCCCA Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame in 2024.

Records

Records set by Dellinger:Duck Record Holders
. goducks.com *1956 American Record holder: 5000 meters 14:16.2 *1958 American Record holder: 1500 meters 3:41.5 *1959 World Record holder (indoors): 2 miles 8:49.9 *1959 World Record holder (indoors): 3 miles 13:37.0 *1960 American record holder: 2 miles 8:43.8

References

External links

* 1934 births Living people American male middle-distance runners Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1959 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes Oregon Ducks track and field coaches American track and field coaches Sportspeople from Grants Pass, Oregon Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Track and field athletes from Oregon Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub

Coaching career

After retiring from coaching

Records

See also

References

External links