(born Apr. 27, 1940) Dyrol Burleson was Oregon’s first great middle-distance runner, reaching the Olympic finals in the 1,500 meters in both 1960 and ’64.

Born in Cottage Grove in 1940, Burleson won the national championship in the mile in 1959, ’60 and ’61, and was the world’s top-ranked runner in the 1,500 in 1961 while still competing for the University of Oregon. He was unbeaten throughout his college career and helped the Ducks win the 1962 NCAA championship.

Burleson was the first to best the 4-minute mile barrier at Hayward Field, when he ran 3:58.6 during a meet in 1960. The time established an American record.

Prior to the ’64 Tokyo Summer Games, he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
He placed sixth in the 1,500 in the 1960 Rome Olympic Summer Games and fifth in Tokyo in 1964. An injury kept him from competing in the 1968 Olympic Trials.

Burleson worked 31 years as an administrator for the Linn County regional parks department before retiring in 1997, and regularly ran 50 miles per week. He was inducted to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class in 1980, the University of Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993 and the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2010.