Jack Bacheler

Because of his height he played basketball at Seaholm High School, but found in his senior year that he excelled more in cross country and track.

Following the end of his sophomore year he competed in the U.S. Olympic trials in the summer of 1964, where he finished in eleventh place (out of 13 runners) in the 3,000 meter Steeplechase.

He broke the school record in the 3-mile run, which had been held by Bob Schul, who won the 5,000 meters at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

[4] He graduated in 1966 and, in 1981, he was inducted into the Miami Hall of Fame: at that time he was the only Miamian to have participated in two Olympics as an athlete.

Bacheler then left Ohio and moved to Gainesville, Florida where he obtained a research assistantship that allowed him to pursue post-graduate studies in entomology at the University of Florida, eventually earning a master's degree (with his thesis, The Biology of a Anthocorid Flower Bug) and, later, a doctorate.

That same year, Bacheler trained for a spot on the U.S. track team going to the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where the high altitude and thinner air would present a challenge to distance runners.

Athletes would compete in Los Angeles in late June, and the top finishers would then advance to a high altitude competition to be held at South Lake Tahoe, California in July.

At South Lake Tahoe he appeared to be less impacted by the altitude than most; Bacheler said he was accustomed to the difficulty of running in Gainesville in the summer, when it is extremely humid.

Three months prior to the 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials, Bacheler, along with Florida Track Club teammates Frank Shorter and Jeff Galloway, moved to Vail, Colorado to train at altitude.

Behind them, Jeff Galloway, having already secured a spot on the team in the 10K, helped to pace Bacheler and magnanimously eased up near the finish line so that it would be clear to the officials that Bacheler had finished third(2:20:29.2), earning an automatic spot on the marathon team with Frank Shorter and Kenny Moore.