Max Edwin Truex ( b. November 4, 1935 Warsaw, Indiana, d. March 24, 1991 Milton, Massachusetts) was an American long-distance runner. He was a two-time Olympian, running the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

at the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

Olympics. He also was a two-time United States champion in the 6 mile run, the imperial equivalent and added a 3-mile championship in 1962 (though he actually finished second to New Zealander Murray Halberg).

Prep

While running for Warsaw High School, Truex came to fame by setting the national high school record in the mile at 4:20.4, the record that had been held by

Louis Zamperini Louis Silvie Zamperini (January 26, 1917 – July 2, 2014) was an American World War II veteran and an Olympic distance runner. He took up running in high school and qualified for the United States in the 5,000 m race for the 1936 Ber ...

for close to 20 years. He went to the University of Southern California where he joined the Air Force ROTC.

NCAA

He won the 1957 NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship and on the track set the NCAA 2 mile record. While at USC he won his first AAU National Championship and the 1956

Olympic Trials Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

. But the college sophomore went to the Olympics injured and was unable to finish his race. At the Fresno Relays he added the American record in the 5,000 metres at 14:14.5, setting the 3 mile record at 13:47.6 along the way. Three weeks later in

Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

he knocked ten seconds off the mark. That mark still ranks him #2 time on the USC all-time list. By the time he graduated he was already in the Air Force at the Oxnard Air Force Base, where Olympian Bob Schul and world record holder Eddie Southern were also training.

Olympian

He became part of the Southern California Striders, a dominant track team of this period. His second national championship in 1959 qualified him to run in the

1959 Pan American Games The 1959 Pan American Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959. Host city selection One city initially submitted a bid to host the 1959 Pan American Games that was recognized by the Pan Ame ...

. In 1960, he won the Olympic trials, then finished 6th in the Olympics. In the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

in Rome, Max Truex set the American record in the

10,000 meters The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ...

, 28:50:2, in finishing sixth in an event long dominated by Europeans. In 1962, Truex won the national championships in the 3 mile run. This qualified him to run in the USA- USSR dual meet, the biggest meet of the year. During that race, he developed a 2-inch blood blister. He tried to heal it for a year with no success. He finally retired and returned to USC to get his law degree.

Personal

At the age of 40, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The disease deteriorated his quality of life rapidly. He had to retire early, eventually seeking unconventional fetal brain transplant surgery in China. He died at the age of 55.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Truex, Max 1935 births 1991 deaths American male long-distance runners Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1959 Pan American Games People from Warsaw, Indiana Track and field athletes from Indiana USC Trojans men's track and field athletes USC Trojans men's cross country runners Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States