Rupp at the World Championship Athletics 2009 in Berlin. |
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
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| Born | May 8, 1986 Portland, Oregon |
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| 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 | |||||||||||||
| World finals |
2007 10000 m, 11th 2009 10000 m, 8th[1] 2011 10000 m, 7th[2]
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| Olympic finals | 2008 10000 m, 13th | ||||||||||||
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Medal record
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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. Rupp competed for his native country in the men's 10000 m at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, finishing in 13th place. He is the current American record holder at 10,000 m with a time of 26:48.00. He is only the second non-African to break the 27-minute barrier in the 10,000 m behind compatriot Chris Solinsky.
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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 (1500 meters in 2004 and 3000 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 5000 meters 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 3000 meters at 8:03.67 (since broken by German Fernandez), also breaking the high school record for 2000 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 5000 meters by almost seven seconds, running 13:37.91 for the distance. He finished his high school career with a 10,000 meters 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.
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.[4]
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,[5] Two months later, he placed 2nd in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship.[6] which is also the still the current North American and Pan American junior record. 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,[5] which also is the current North American and Pan American junior record.
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.[6] 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 Payton 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.[6] 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 5000 m with a time of 13:18.12 at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas.[7] At the NCAA indoor nationals, he won an unprecedented triple in the 5000 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 3000 (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.[8] 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.[9]
Rupp won the Inaugural Bowerman Award in 2009. The Bowerman Award is given to college track's Athlete of the Year.[10]
He made his global senior debut at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and he came eleventh in the 10,000 m race.[11] Rupp finished second in the 10,000 m event at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, earning a spot on the 2008 US Olympic team. He went on to finish 13th in the 10,000 m event at the 2008 Olympics with a season-best time of 27:36.99.[6]
He turned professional in the 2009 season and defeated Dathan Ritzenhein to win the 10,000 m title at the 2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.[12] This earned him a place in the American team for the 2009 World Championships in Athletics where he was one of only two non-Africans in the top twelve alongside Ritzenhein.[13] Without a major outdoor competition to focus on that year, he chose to compete at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He set a personal best of 7:42.40 for the 3000 m, taking fifth place in the final as a result.[14] He knocked over twenty seconds off his previous 10,000 m best with a run of 27:10.74 in Palo Alto at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford. Coming into that race, the American 10,000 meter record was 27:13.98 by Meb Keflezighi, and though Rupp's time was over three seconds faster than that, he was beaten to the punch by Chris Solinsky who won the race with a New American record of 26:59.60. Two months later Rupp went on to retain his national title in the 10k with a win at the 2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.[15] Rupp competed on the 2010 IAAF Diamond League circuit and made a series of improvements to his personal records. He broke four minutes for the mile run at the Pre Classic, running 3:57.72,[16] set a 3000 m outdoor best of 7:43.24 at the London Grand Prix,[17] and then improved his 5000 m time to 13:07.35 at the season-ending Weltklasse meeting.[18]
Rupp took part in the Great Edinburgh Cross Country in 2011 and came second behind Mo Farah, helping the American team to second place.[19] He then took part in the New York City Half Marathon, his debut at that distance, and finished third in a time of 1:00:30,[20][21] making him the 3rd fastest American at the half marathon. At the 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships he once again retained his national title in the 10,000 m, closing the last 800 m in a quick 1:52.59, and came back the next day to finish third in the 5,000 m. Later in July he improved his personal best to 13:06.86 in the 5000 m at the Diamond League meeting in Birmingham, out sprinting the reigning world cross country champion Imane Merga for second behind winner Mo Farah.
At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics Rupp finished 7th in the 10,000 meters in a seasonal best of 27:26.84. He then doubled back to run the 5,000 meters, and though he was in the lead with Mo Farah with a little more than a lap remaining, he was outkicked and finished in 9th place with a 13:28.64.
Rupp finished his track season with a new American record in the 10,000 meters as he ran 26:48.00 in finishing 3rd behind winner Kenenisa Bekele at the Memorial Van Damme meet on September 16th, 2011.[22]
| Surface | Event | Time | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outdoor track | 800 m | 1:50.00 | May 3, 2009 | Payton Jordan Cardinal Invite |
| 1500 m | 3:39.14 | May 30, 2009 | NCAA West Regional | |
| Mile | 3:57.72 | July 3, 2010 | Prefontaine Classic | |
| 3000 m | 7:43.24 | August 13, 2010 | London Grand Prix | |
| 5000 m | 13:06.86 | July 10, 2011 | Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix | |
| 10,000 m | 26:48.00 (AR, NR) | September 16, 2011 | Belgacom Memorial Van Damme [23] | |
| Indoor track | 1500 m | 3:43.96 | February 16, 2008 | Birmingham, GBR |
| Mile | 4:02.17 | February 1, 2008 | Millrose Games | |
| 3000 m | 7:42.40 | March 14, 2010 | IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics | |
| 5000 m | 13.11.44 (AR, NR) | February 19, 2011 | Birmingham, GBR | |
| Indoor track (oversized) | 800 m | 1:49.87 | February 28, 2009 | MPSF Championships |
| Mile | 3:56.22 | January 30, 2010 | Husky Classic | |
| Road | 5000 m | 13:39 | November 26, 2010 | Silicon Valley Turkey Trot |
| Half marathon | 1:00:30 | March 20, 2011 | New York City Half Marathon |
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| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by --- |
The Bowerman (Men's winner) 2009 |
Succeeded by Ashton Eaton |