Jim Grelle (September. 30, 1936 – June 13, 2020) helped the University of Oregon track program build its legacy as a middle-distance power by winning the NCAA cross country title and running in the 1960 Rome Olympic Summer Games.
Born in 1936, Grelle grew up in Portland and twice won the 880-yard state title during track season for Lincoln High. At Oregon, he ran under Bill Bowerman and finished second in the mile at the NCAA Track and Field Championships twice before winning in 1959. Late in the year, he finished second in the 1,500 meters at the Pan-Am Games in Chicago. In 1960, he won the national title in the 1,500, which qualified him for the Olympics, where he finished eighth in the event.
Grelle continued running and became the fourth American to break the 4-minute mile barrier in 1962 under the banner of the Los Angeles Track Club. The following year, he won the Pan-Am Games title in the 1,500 and established an American record in the two-mile run.
In 1964, while competing for the Multnomah Athletic Club, Grelle won the national title in the indoor 1,500 but finished fourth in the Olympic Trials and missed qualifying. In 1965, he again won the national title in the indoor 1,500 and began coaching distance runners at the University of Portland. In 1967, he ran his 21st sub-4-minute mile.
Grelle was inducted to the University of Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994; he is also a member of the Mt. SAC Relays Hall of Fame.
