Kenneth Lloyd Swenson (born April 18, 1948 in Clay Center, Kansas

Clay Center, Kansas

Clay Center is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,334.-Geography:Clay Center is located at...

) is a retired middle distance runner

Running

Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...

 from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, who represented his native country at the 1972 Summer Olympics

1972 Summer Olympics

The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

 in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

.

Swenson is best known for winning the gold medal in the men's 800 metres event at the 1971 Pan American Games

1971 Pan American Games

The 6th Pan American Games were held in Cali, Colombia, from July 30 to August 13, 1971. The then called "Salsa World Capital", located at the foot of the Andes Mountains, hosted a total of 2,935 athletes from 32 countries, who participated in seventeen sports...

 in Cali

Calì

Calì, also written in English as Cali, is an Italian surname, widespread mainly in the Ionian side of Sicily.For the surname Calì is assumed the origin of the Greek word kalos , or from its Sanskrit root kali, "time."The surname refers to:...

. He won the 880y in 1970 at both the NCAA and AAU Meets. He competed for Kansas State University

Kansas State University

Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...

 and later for the US Army.