- See Less -After a few standout performaces as an underclassmen in high school, German came to prominence in his senior year when he broke Marc Davis' course record by 14 seconds at the 2007 CIF Cross Country State meet. He then won the Foot Locker West Regional and placed third at the finals. A few months later he won US Junior Nationals in Corss Country and earned a trip to the World XC Champs where he lead Team USA with a 25th place finish. At the end of 2009, German was named to the ESPN Rise All-Decade Team as one of the best 7 HS XC runners from 2000-2009. In track, he really turned heads with two amazing performances. At the CIF State Meet, German ran 4:00.29 to break Ryan Hall's meet record and then came back 3 hours later to win the 3,200m in a blistering 8:34.23. This is widely considered the best HS distance double of all time. A few weeks later he broke Jeff Nelson's HS Two Mile record at the Nike Outdoor Championships, winning in 8:34.40. He also borke Galen Rupp's 3,000m HSR running an en-route 7:59.82.
As a freshman at Oklahoma State, German won the Big 12 Cross Country title, but a mid-race injury left him a disappointing DNF. He came back strong in indoor track by breaking the World Indoor Junior mile record twice, with 3:55.02 being his fastest. That time is also an NCAA record. He skipped the NCAA Championships to focus on the World Cross Country Championships after he defended his US Junior Cross Country title. At Junior Worlds, he lead Team USA with an 11th place finish. During outdoor track, German won his first NCAA title, winning the 1,500m in 3:39.00. At the USA Championships, German broke Chris Derrick's weeks old US Junior 5,000m record when he placed 5th in the nation with a 13:25.46. He was a finalist for the first ever Bowerman Award for his stellar freshman year on the track.
During his sophomore season, German struggled with injury, but still helped his team win Big 12, Mid-West Regional, and NCAA National team titles.
german fernandez is perfection.
17 Aug 2008 Beijing, China ……….. Steeplechase 9:22.26 American Record
14 Feb 2009 Seattle, Washington …. 5000 meter (indoor) 15:01.70 NCAA Record
28 Feb 2009 College Station, Texas . Mile (indoor) 4:25.91 NCAA Record
14 Mar 2009 College Station, Texas . 3000 meter (indoor) 8:42.03 NCAA Record
07 Jun 2009 Eugene, Oregon ……… 1500 meter (outdoor) 3:59.90 NCAA Record
12 Jun 2009 Fayetteville, Arkansas .. Steeplechase 9:25.54 NCAA Record
17 Aug 2009 Berlin, Germany ……... Steeplechase 9:12.50p American Record
Now I've been around a pretty long time following the sport and I can't think of anyone, ever, who has pasted that many records up on the board in a year (from 17 Aug 2008 - 17 Aug 2009). That, to me, is "jaw dropping". If you want to pick one race out for the sake of a presentation video, I suggest her 1500 meter race at U of Oregon. She lost to Ethiopia's Olympian Galete Burka by .01 but became the first NCAA runner and youngest American (22) to dip under 4 minutes.
On a personal note, when Jenny collapsed on the Indiana State course I just flashed all of these races back in my mind and accepted the fact she's been going for a solid year, with little or no rest. Like the "never quit" athlete she is, she got up and finished the race. But everyone realized and accepted the fact it was time for her to sit down and take some time off. Stunning year for Jen, from China to Berlin, and America rewarded her with a fitting tribute, the first Bowerman Award ever.
“Kenenisa Bekele's performances were awesome, but I don't think anyone was stunned. Him winning is routine now. When German comes off an injury, the sets the WJR, then breaks his own WJR to beat a good field by 10 seconds...that's jaw dropping”
800: 1:57
1200: 2:56
Assuming he ran the last 300 in 43-44 ... 3:39-3:40?
I don't know. Either way ... it was an unreal performance.