Warren Oliver Druetzler (June 8, 1929 – September 21, 2017) was an American athlete, who competed mainly in the

1500 m The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...

. Druetzler was a finalist in the

at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

College career

Growing up in Illinois, he ran for

Lyons Township High School Lyons Township High School (often referred to as LTHS or simply LT) is a public high school located in Western Springs, Illinois (South Campus), and also in La Grange, Illinois (North Campus). Lyons Township is a co-educational high school and ...

where he set the state record in the mile that stood for 23 years. He was the 1947 IHSA State Champion. In

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

Druetzler was a 3-time

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

top-10 placer and national runner-up (1950) individually for the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

. He was also a member of two national champion teams (1948 and 1949) and one runner-up team (1950) at the

NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship The NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championship is the cross country championship held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association each autumn for individual men's runners and cross country teams from universities in Division I. Teams a ...

. In track and field Druetzler won the

NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate outdoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Athlete's individual performances earn points for ...

title in the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

in 1951. He was also a member of the 4x880 yard relay team that set the world record in 1950. That year he was also the United States national champion in the 3000 meters steeplechase. He continued in the sport as an official.

Olympic career

At the 1952 Olympics Druetzler won his heat, finished 4th in his semi-final, and finished 12th in the final.

Military career

Druetzler served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

where he achieved the rank of Captain by the time he retired from the reserves.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Druetzler, Warren 1929 births 2017 deaths American male middle-distance runners American male steeplechase runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Track and field athletes from Chicago Athletics (track and field) administrators American referees and umpires United States Army officers United States Army reservists Military personnel from Illinois