Galen Rupp
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Galen Rupp competing for the University of Oregon |
|
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 8 May 1986 |
| Place of birth | Portland, Oregon |
| Residence | Portland, Oregon |
| Height | 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 138 pounds (63 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United States |
| Event(s) | Mile, 5000m, 10,000m, Cross Country |
| College/university team | Oregon Ducks |
| Coached by | Alberto Salazar |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Worlds | 2007 10000 m , 11th |
| Olympics | 2008 10000 , 13th |
| Personal best(s) | 800 m: 1:49.87i 1500 m: 3:39.14 |
Galen Rupp (born May 8, 1986 in Portland, Oregon) is an American cross-country and track and field athlete who competed for the University of Oregon and currently trains under Alberto Salazar as a member of the Oregon Track Club.
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[edit] Early career
Rupp set junior national and American high school records while competing for Portland, Oregon's Central Catholic High School. Originally a soccer player, he caught the eye of American marathon legend Alberto Salazar, who coached him to great high school success, including two Oregon state titles in cross country (2002 & 2003) and three individual championships in track (1,500 meters in 2004 and 3,000 meters in 2003 & 2004). After winning the Oregon state title in cross country in 2003, he went on to finish 2nd nationally in the 2003 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships. In the spring of 2004, Rupp won his 5,000 meter heat against college runners at the Stanford Cardinal Invitational with a time of 13:55.32, fourth best in prep history. He went on to break the Oregon state record in the 1500 meters (3:45.3) and the mile (4:01.8), the latter mark being the eighth best in American high school history. In June 2004 Rupp broke the U.S. high school record for 3,000 meters at 8:03.67 (since broken by German Fernandez), also breaking the high school record for 2,000 meters en route (5:18.5). On July 31 in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, he broke Gerry Lindgren’s 40-year old U.S. high school record for 5,000 meters by almost seven seconds, running 13:37.91 for the distance. He finished his high school career with a 10,000 meter race of 29:09.56 in Brasschaat, Belgium, fourth fastest 10K ever for an American schoolboy.
After graduating from high school in the summer of 2004, Rupp took a semester off and then went on to run track and cross country for the University of Oregon.
[edit] College cross-country career
After an injury shortened NCAA cross country season in 2005, Rupp came back in 2006 to defeat two-time Pac-10 champion Robert Cheseret, Bernard Lagat's brother, of the University of Arizona to become Oregon's 10th male runner to win a Pac-10 Conference cross country title. He also led a young Oregon team to victory over the Stanford Cardinal, who had won the previous six Pac-10 titles in a row. He went on to finish in 6th place in the 2006 NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship. One year later, Rupp finished in second place (1 second behind the champion, Liberty's Josh McDougal) and led the Oregon Ducks to the 2007 NCAA men's cross country team championship.
In the 2008 NCAA national cross country championships, Rupp won his first individual NCAA title by outkicking Liberty University's Sam Chelanga, crossing the finish line with a time of 29:03.8, a new course record on the Terre Haute, IN site, and leading the Ducks to repeat as NCAA team champions.[1]
[edit] College track and field career
On May 7, 2005 at the Oregon Twilight Meet Rupp broke Rudy Chapa's U.S. junior (age 19 and under) record for 10,000 meters with a time of 28:25.52. [2] Two months later, he placed 2nd in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship. [3] On July 17, 2005 Rupp broke Gerry Lindgren's U.S. junior record in the 3000 meters at Lignano, Italy with a time of 7:49.16. [2]
In indoor track, Rupp placed 5th in the 5000 meters and 6th in the 3000 meters at the 2006 NCAA indoor championships, earning All American status in both events. His 2006 outdoor season was brief due to the onset of hypothyroidism.
A year later he finished 3rd in the 5000 and 4th in the 3000 at the 2007 NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship. He began his outdoor season by running a 28:35 10,000 meters at Stanford.[3] During the race he caused some controversy by continually slowing down to wait for another athlete. On April 20, 2007 Rupp made a huge comeback in the last 200 meters of a 5000 meter race to edge out Chris Solinsky. In this race Rupp improved his 5k PR to 13:30. On April 29, 2007 Rupp defeated a stellar field to win the men's 10,000 meter race at the Peyton Jordan Cardinal Invitational at Stanford. Rupp's time of 27:33.48 set an American-born NCAA Collegiate Record for the event and also gave Rupp the seventh fastest time in US history. Two weeks later Rupp won the 10k and the 5k at the Pac-10 conference meet, and helped Oregon to the team title.[3] As in his freshman year, he went on to finish second in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA track & field championships.
After redshirting the 2008 track season to prepare for the Olympics, Rupp's 2009 track season was a resounding success. Indoors he joined the sub-4:00 club for the mile on March 7 by running a 3:57.86 at the Husky Last Chance Qualifier Meet in Seattle, WA. On February 13, 2009 he broke the American record for the indoor 5000m with a time of 13:18.12 at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas.[4] At the NCAA indoor nationals, he won an unprecedented triple in the 5,000 meters (13:41.45), the distance medley relay (running a 3:57.07 1600 meter anchor leg only 90 minutes after his 5000 victory), and the 3,000 (7:48.94, the next day). This triple victory helped Oregon win its first ever indoor national team title.
Outdoors, Rupp helped break the NCAA 4 x mile record on May 10. Rupp (3:58.93) anchored the relay with fellow Oregon teammates Matt Centrowitz (3:59.53), Andrew Wheating (3:59.60), and Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott (4:05.21), shaving a little more than a second off of the old record with a 16:03.24. After helping Oregon to defend their Pac-10 title, Rupp won the 5000 and 10,000 meters at the 2009 NCAA Division I outdoor track championships.[5] In all, Rupp earned 14 All American honors at Oregon along with 5 individual championships, a relay championship, 2 NCAA cross country team titles and an indoor track NCAA team title.
In his last appearance for the University of Oregon, Rupp won the 10,000 meters at the 2009 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field with a time of 27:52.53.[6]
Rupp won the Inaugural Bowerman Award in 2009. The Bowerman Award is given to college track's Athlete of the Year.[7]
[edit] Olympics
Rupp finished second in the 10000m event at the 2008 US Olympic Track and Field trials, earning a spot on the 2008 US Olympic team. He went on to finish 13th in the 10000m event at the 2008 Olympics with a season-best time of 27:36.99.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ "Rupp, Oregon Men win NCAA Cross Country title". OregonLive.com. 2008-11-24. http://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/index.ssf/2008/11/rupp_uo_men_win_ncaa_cross_cou.html. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
- ^ a b "American Junior Outdoor Track & Field Records". USATF Records Lists. USA Track & Field. 01-02-2009. http://www.usatf.org/statistics/records/view.asp?division=american&location=outdoor%20track%20%26%20field&age=junior&sport=TF. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
- ^ a b c d "Galen Rupp". USATF Athlete Bios. USA Track & Field. 2007-01-17. http://www.usatf.com/athletes/bios/Rupp_Galen.asp. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
- ^ Binder, Doug (February 13, 2009). "Rupp breaks U.S. indoor record for 5,000 meters". The Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/index.ssf/2009/02/rupp_breaks_us_indoor_record_f.html. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ "Rupp wins second title". Associated Press. 2009-06-13. http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090613/SPORTS/906130314. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
- ^ "Rupp Wins First USA Title". Register Guard. 2009-06-26. http://blogs.registerguard.com/cms/index.php/track-and-field/comments/mens-10000-meters-rupp-wins-first-usa-title/. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
- ^ Anderson, Curtis (December 16, 2009). "sp.ruppwins.1217". The Register-Guard. http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/updates/24266605-55/bowerman-track-field-ncaa-oregon.csp. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
