Van Nelson
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics
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Representing the  United States
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World Student Games
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1967 Tokyo | 5000 m |
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1967 Tokyo | 10,000 m |
| Pan American Games | ||
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1967 Winnipeg | 5000 m |
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1967 Winnipeg | 10,000 m |
Van Nelson (born November 24, 1945) is an American former
Born in
At the
Nelson made his Olympic debut in the 10,000 m at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. He was not used to the hot conditions or altitude and his performance suffered as a result. In spite of being ranked eighth in the world for that event, he finished in 28th place with a time of 31:40.2 minutes. Although, he had not performed well, he was pleased to have represented his country at the competition.[3]
Nelson returned to his studies at St. Cloud State in 1969, but the year after he suffered a serious back injury due to heavy lifting and the surgery that followed impaired his running ability. He made his last international appearance in 1971 and retired thereafter, although he continued running for pleasure. Nelson has retired from his job as a health teacher, although he still substitute teaches. He still serves as a boys track and field coach at
References
- ^ Van Nelson. Washburn HS Hall of Fames (2008). Retrieved on 2011-11-11.
- ^ SCSU Athletic Hall of Fame. St. Cloud State. Retrieved on 2011-11-11.
- ^ a b c Interview with 1968 Olympian Van Nelson. Twin Cities Track Club/Chad Austin (2011-10-05). Retrieved on 2011-11-11.
- ^ Van Nelson. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2011-11-11.
- ^ Pan American Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-11-11.
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