Andrew Wheating Leaves OTC Elite

Feb 8, 2017 by Dennis Young

Andrew Wheating said today that he is no longer part of the Oregon Track Club Elite team, though he's still being coached by Mark Rowland. In an interview with Chris Hansen of the Eugene Register-Guard, Wheating said that "It's nothing against the guys on the team and it's nothing against Oregon Track Club, I just needed a bit of breathing room. It's been a rough last five years and I've been trying to find the right way to do it, do something, and eventually I came to the conclusion maybe it's best to write my own daily program and do the workouts, but on my time instead of having a regimented every-day schedule."

It has objectively been a rough last five years, as Wheating put it. He has mostly struggled since making his second Olympic team in 2012, and all of his outdoor PRs were set in 2010. While he has made the 1500m final at the U.S. championships in 2013, 2015, and 2016, he was 12th, fifth, and 12th in those three races. After the Olympic Trials, Wheating says that "I went on a nice vacation this summer, road tripped down the coast, and then coach and I connected when I came back. He's been very kind and left the door open for if I want to come back. But for me it's been kind of nice to stick to my own schedule and do my own thing with the help of coach Rowland."

Wheating turns 30 later this year. The only Americans who have ever run faster in the 1500 than his 3:30.90 from 2010 are Bernard Lagat, Sydney Maree, Alan Webb, and Matt Centrowitz.

Here's an interview with Wheating and Ryan Fenton from the night of his now six-and-a-half-year-old PR.