by Glen McMicken
Mike Manley, a 1972 Olympian and the 1971 and 1975 Pan American Games gold medalist in the Men's 3000m Steeplechase, passed away on October 28, 2025. He was 83. Born on February 14, 1942 in Wausau, Wisconsin, Manley was a football and track athlete at Washington High School in Milwaukee before moving on to the University of Wisconsin. While a student at the University of Wisconsin, Manley won the Big Ten mile title in 1964 and was 25th at the 1963 NCAA Cross Country Championships as the Badgers finished 11th in the team standings. After graduating from Wisconsin, he joined the Marines and served in Vietnam. He then moved to the West Coast where he earned his teaching degree from the University of Oregon and was hired as a teacher at North Eugene High School. Winning his first national title with an AAU victory in 1969, Manley finished in the top five at the U.S. championships five other times. He was third in international matches against the Soviet Union in 1969 and 1971 before placing second against Africa in 1971. At the 1971 Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia, Manley held off U.S. teammate Sid Sink to take gold in 8:42.27. He repeated as Pan American Champion in 1975 in Mexico City, clocking 9:04.29 in the thin air at the 1968 Olympic Games site. Manley won the Men's 3000m Steeplechase at the 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials – Track and Field by two seconds in 8:29.8 to earn his spot on Team USA. At the Munich Olympic Games, he finished 10th in heat four in 8:50.4. He competed in the 3000m Steeplechase at five Olympic Trials from 1964-1980. Quickly becoming a major player in the Eugene running scene as a member of the Oregon Track Club, Manley also achieved notoriety as a coach, leading Lane Community College to NJCAA national titles in women's cross country in 1979 and 1980. He was the first American Masters man to break 30 minutes in the 10,000m and 2:20:00 in the Marathon, and was TAC (now USATF) Masters Athlete of the Year in the 40-44 division in 1982. Following his time at Lane Community College, Manley coached many Eugene-area runners, including World Championships marathoners Debbie Eide (1983) and Cathie Twomey Bellamy (1987). He was also active in the community as a race organizer and helped found a charity for at-risk children. Manley is survived by his wife Connie, three sons, and six grandchildren.