Galen Rupp, Oregon (28:28.68)

The University of Oregon track and field athlete started breaking records on a junior national and American high school level while competing for Portland’s Central Catholic High School. In 2004 he…
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The University of Oregon track and field athlete started breaking records on a junior national and American high school level while competing for Portland’s Central Catholic High School. In 2004 he…
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The University of Oregon track and field athlete started breaking records on a junior national and American high school level while competing for Portland’s Central Catholic High School. In 2004 he broke a 40-year-old U.S. junior record for the 5000m by almost seven seconds (13:37.91). Rupp also holds the U.S. high school record for 3000m at 8:03.57 and the U.S. junior record for 10,000m at 28:15.52.

Rupp’s collegiate career at the University of Oregon started out with a bang as he broke the 10,000m record in 27:33.48. In 2006, he became the 10th Oregon runner to win a Pac-10 title. Rupp finished second to lead the Oregon Ducks to the 2007 NCAA Men’s cross-country team championship. In the 2008-2009 season, after multiple NCAA runner-up finishes, Galen won every event he entered in at the NCAA Championships. He won the NCAA XC title, the 3,000m, 5,000m and anchored the DMR at Indoor NCAAs and won the 5,000m and 10,000m at Outdoor NCAAs. He lead his team to NCAA team victories in cross country and indoor track as well. For his senior season, he was awarded the inaugural Bowerman Award in December of 2009.

In 2007, he qualified for the World Championships in Osaka after placing 2nd in the 10,000m at the US Championships. He repeated that feat a year later to earn a trip to the Beijing Olympics. While there, Galen recorded the fastest 10,000m by a US athlete in Olympic history (27:36) in placing 13th. He won his first senior US Title in 2009 by winning the 10,000m and earning a spot at the World Championships in Berlin. At Worlds, Galen finished a strong 8th overall.

Other career highlights include a 2005 USA Junior Cross Country championship, broke U.S. Junior records in the 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m, and a runner-up in the 2003 Foot Locker National meet.