Bernie Sanders was a great athlete in high school

Due in part to his release of his medical records, but more so because the subject came up during the most recent CNN Democratic town hall, Bernie Sanders' physical prowess has recently come up in conversation on the campaign trail.

When Bernie Sanders was a senior at Madison in 1959, the track and field team had such great success that the graduating class of 1960 boasted about it and often mentioned Sanders in its yearbook despite the fact that he had already graduated. Under the guidance of squad captain Richard Creditor, he began running during his first year. According to the yearbook, Sanders was a "standout" in the 10th grade, winning the Flatbush championships (the local area competition within Brooklyn). He finished first in Flatbush and third in the city in the indoor one-mile the next year, the year he was elected co-captain, as he noted on CNN.

The squad had success as well, placing second in the borough and sixth overall during his senior year, garnering the accolade "one of the best teams in Madison's history" in the yearbook. The only accomplishment recorded in the yearbook the year Sanders left is a team's second-place finish in Flatbush.