Don Bowden

{{short description|American middle-distance runner}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2017}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name =

| image =Don Bowden 1957.jpg

| image_size = 230 px

| caption = Bowden in 1957

| birth_name =

| fullname =

| nationality =

| residence =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1936|8|8}}

| birth_place = San Jose, California, U.S.[https://web.archive.org/web/20200418093730/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/bo/don-bowden-1.html Don Bowden]. sports-reference.com

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = 190 cm

| weight = 73 kg

| country =

| sport = Athletics

| event = 400 m – mile

| pb = 400 m – 47.9 (1957)
880 yd – 1:47.2 (1957)
1500 m – 3:46.5 (1957)
Mile – 3:58.7 (1957)[http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=718&Gender=M Don Bowden]. trackfield.brinkster.net

| club = California Golden Bears

| alma_mater =

| retired =

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| show-medals = yes

| medaltemplates =

}}

Donald Paul Bowden (born August 8, 1936) is an American middle-distance runner. He competed in the 1500 m at the 1956 Summer Olympics, and in 1957 became the first American to run a mile within four minutes.

At the 1956 Olympics, he failed to reach the final, coming 11th in his qualifying heat.[http://todor66.com/olim/1956/Athletics/Men_1500m.html Men 1500m Athletics Olympic Games Melbourne 1956 – Saturday 03.12] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200236/http://todor66.com/olim/1956/Athletics/Men_1500m.html |date=October 29, 2013 }}, Sport Statistics – International Competitions Archive. Retrieved October 28, 2013. Despite having previously run only a few full mile races, on June 1, 1957, he clocked a 3:58.7, setting a new American record.[http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=230 Don Bowden] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611040310/http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=230 |date=June 11, 2011 }}, USA Track and Field – Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 28, 2013. He also ran on a world-record-setting 4×880 yd team for University of California.

Bowden attended Abraham Lincoln High School in San Jose, California, where he was a star 880 yd runner, winning the state meet in 1953 and 1954. He then entered the University of California, Berkeley, where he again specialized in the 880 yd. After college he helped develop the Tartan track, the first artificial running surface. He was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2008.