Jim Ryun receives nation’s highest civilian honor from President Trump

At a White House ceremony honoring him Friday, Wichita native and ESPN’s No. 1 high school athlete of all time Jim Ryun said his successes started with a prayer to God after being cut from the church baseball team.

Ryun said his plea was asking God if the plan for his life could include “sports of some kind.”

“Thank you and goodnight,” Ryun would end the prayer.

After telling that story, Ryun thanked President Donald Trump, calling him a “full-throated champion of this country” and saying that he hoped God would continue to bless him and his family. Then, Trump placed the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, around the neck of the 73-year-old Olympian and former member of Congress.

The White House ceremony lasted about 22 minutes and included remarks from the president and two of Ryun’s children.

Trump talked about how Ryun became the first high school runner to “smash the four-minute barrier” running a mile while he was at Wichita East High School. Ryun, known as the “master of the mile,” went on to run in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics that summer. He finished with a silver medal at the 1968 Games in Mexico City.

The president also remarked about the time high schooler Ryun beat gold medalist Peter Snell who, before the race, “reportedly said that he didn’t think Jim would have much of a chance or be much of a factor.”

“But that was a bad day for Pete,” Trump said as the people in attendance laughed.

Trump added: “Jim has personified the greatness of our country throughout his life ... He’s a giant of American athletics.”

Ryun’s children — Catharine and Ned — also spoke during the ceremony.

“Dad, thank you for being the man that you are,” Catharine Ryun said. “I know that today is all about your accolades in the public eye, but you have been such an amazing dad and (husband) of more than 50 years to Mom. And just a man of character. This is a man that loved the Lord with all his heart.”

She ended her speech by leaving the president with her favorite Bible verses: Numbers 6:24-26 which asks that God bless someone and give them peace.

Ned Ryun mentioned the time Jay Dickey, a former Arkansas congressman, pulled him aside and talked about how the elder Ryun was one of the most humble and gracious people he knew. Dickey, Ryun said, told him that it was even more incredible that someone with his father’s accolades carried himself the way he did around congresspeople that were arrogant and “drunk on power.”

“And I tell people this all the time: the integrity and the honesty, the nobility that he has shown in life, if I can be half the man that he is, it would be a triumph,” he said.

Jim Ryun thanked the people in attendance, saying that no one accomplishes what he did without prayer and help.

“As I receive this medal and this incredible honor, thank you Mr. President, I will close by saying this: to God be the glory, great things he has done. This day, my life and all of these achievements, this is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in his eyes.”

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded for “exceptional contributions to the security or national interests of America, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors,” according to the White House. Past recipients of the award include civil rights activist and former congressman John Lewis, President George H. W. Bush, astronaut John Glenn, billionaire Warren Buffett and basketball phenom Michael Jordan.