Ron Kutschinski was a three-time state champion half-miler for East Grand Rapids High where he went undefeated his entire prep career (1963-65), a college star at the University of Michigan and an Olympian in 1968 in Mexico City.
?He won the 1968 Big Ten Conference title in the 800-meter run for the Wolverines and clocked the fastest time in the world during a U.S. Track & Field meet the same year while winning a national amateur title in the event.
He was spiked in a preliminary race at the NCAA championships and couldn’t race in the final, and at the Olympic Games he reached the semifinals before having stomach issues. In the Olympic Trials via a special Olympic Committee invite in Lake Tahoe, he earned his Olympic spot be topping track legend Jim Ryun, who was attempting to double qualify in the 1,500 and 800.
He earned an engineering degree from Michigan and launched a career as an entrepreneur developing real-estate, restaurants and buying and selling cars at auto auctions. He left running behind after college and the Olympics and became a scratch golfer. He has lived in Florida since 1970.