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Bill Dellinger
	Bill Dellinger (right) at the 1964 Olympics
Personal information
Full name	William Solon Dellinger
Born	March 23, 1934 (age 90); Grants Pass, Oregon, United States
Sport
Sport	Track and Field
Event(s)	1500 m, 5000 m
Club	Oregon Track Club
Team	University of Oregon
Coached by	Bill Bowerman
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	1500 m – 3:41.5 (1958); 1 mile – 4:02.7 (1961); 2 miles – 8:43.8 (1961); 5000 m – 13:49.8 (1964)
Medal record
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
Pan American Games

William Solon Dellinger (born March 23, 1934) is a retired American middle-distance runner, and track and field and cross country coach. He competed in the 5,000 m at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 1964, setting his personal record.^[1]^[2] He lettered in track at the University of Oregon in 1954, 1955, and 1956.

Coaching career

Upon retirement from competition, Dellinger took a position as the assistant coach to Bill Bowerman for the Oregon Ducks track and field team. After Bowerman's retirement in 1972,^[2] Dellinger succeeded him as head coach. In his 25 years of coaching, Dellinger's men won five NCAA titles, achieved 108 All American honors, and had a 134–29 meet record. He was the Pac-10 coach of the year multiple times.^[3]

Dellinger was instrumental in the development and coaching of Oregon and American great distance star Steve Prefontaine in conjunction with Bowerman, and their experience was made into a 1997 film Prefontaine, in which Bill Dellinger was played by Ed O'Neill.

In Co-Operation with Adidas, Dellinger developed the so-called "Dellinger Web", a Cushioning Technology used on various Shoes throughout the 80s and early 90s.

Dellinger also coached many post-collegians including Olympians Mary Decker, Bill McChesney, Alberto Salazar, Matt Centrowitz, Don Clary, and many others.^[1]

After retiring from coaching

Dellinger retired from the University of Oregon in 1998 ^[4] and would later join his mentor, Bill Bowerman, as an inductee in the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2001. He retired after he had a stroke in 2000.

Since retirement, he has stayed out of the Track and Field world, except for a few appearances at meets named in his honor.

In 2021 USA Track and Field awarded Dellinger their Legend Coach Award.^[5]

Dellinger was inducted into the USTFCCCA Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame in 2024.^[6]