Galen Rupp facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Galen Rupp

Rupp at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Born	(1986-05-08) May 8, 1986 (age 39) Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Height	5 ft 11 in
Weight	135 lb
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Athletics/Track, Long-distance running
Event(s)	10,000 meters, 5000 meters, 3000 meters, 1500 meters, Half marathon, Marathon
College team	Oregon Ducks
Club	Nike
Turned pro	June 2009
Coached by	Mike Smith
Achievements and titles
World finals	2007 Osaka 10,000 m, 11th 2009 Berlin 10,000 m, 8th 2011 Daegu 10,000 m, 7th 5000 m, 9th 2013 Moscow 10,000 m, 4th 5000 m, 8th 2015 Beijing 10,000 m, 5th 5000 m, 5th
Olympic finals	2008 Beijing 10,000 m, 13th 2012 London 10,000 m, 2 Silver 5000 m, 7th 2016 Rio de Janeiro 10,000 m, 5th Marathon, 3 Bronze 2020 Tokyo Marathon, 8th
Personal best(s)	1500 m: 3:34.15 (Brussels 2014) Mile: 3:52.11 (London 2013) 5000 m: 12:58.90 (Eugene 2012) 10,000 m: 26:44.36 (Eugene 2014) Indoors 800 m: 1:49.87i OT (Seattle 2009) 1500 m: 3:34.78i+ (Boston 2013) Mile: 3:50.92i (Boston 2013) 3000 m: 7:30.16i (Stockholm 2013) 2-mile: 8:07.41i (Boston 2014) 5000 m: 13:01.26i (Boston 2014) Road Half marathon: 59:47 (Rome 2018) Marathon: 2:06:07 (Prague 2018)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing the  United States Olympic Games Silver 2012 London 10,000 m Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro Marathon Pan American Junior Championships Gold 2003 Bridgetown 5000 m World Marathon Majors Gold 2017 Chicago Marathon Silver 2017 Boston Marathon Silver 2021 Chicago Marathon

Galen Rupp (born May 8, 1986) is an American long-distance runner. He has competed in four Summer Olympic Games. He won a silver medal in the 10,000 meters race at the 2012 London Olympics. He also earned a bronze medal in the marathon at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Rupp ran for the University of Oregon in college. He trained with the Nike Oregon Project for many years. In 2017, he won the 2017 Chicago Marathon, becoming the first American to win it since 2002. He also won the marathon at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials. Rupp is known as one of the best American distance runners ever. He holds many U.S. records in high school, college, and as a professional.

Early Running Days (2002–2004)

Galen Rupp was born in Portland, Oregon. He started as a soccer player. But he soon became a talented runner. He was coached by famous marathon runner Alberto Salazar.

Galen set many records in high school. He won two state titles in cross country. He also won three track and field championships. In 2004, he broke the U.S. high school record for the 3000-meter race. He also set a new high school record for the 5000-meter race. He was named "High School Athlete of the Year" in 2004.

College Career (2005–2009)

Galen went to the University of Oregon. In 2005, he broke the U.S. junior record for the 10,000-meter race. He also set a new junior record for the 3000-meter race.

In 2006, Galen won the Pac-10 Conference cross country title. He helped his team win against Stanford Cardinal. He finished sixth in the NCAA Cross Country Championship. In 2007, he set an American college record for the 10,000-meter race. He helped the Oregon Ducks win the NCAA men's cross country team championship.

In 2008, Galen focused on the Olympics. He finished second in the 10,000-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Trials. This earned him a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. He finished 13th at the 2008 Olympics. Later that year, he won his first individual NCAA title. He led the Ducks to win the NCAA team championship again.

Galen had a very successful 2009 season. He ran a mile in under four minutes. He broke the U.S. indoor 5000-meter record. At the NCAA indoor championships, he won three events. This helped Oregon win its first indoor national team title. He also helped break the NCAA 4 x mile relay record. Galen won the 5000-meter and 10,000-meter races at the 2009 NCAA outdoor championships. He earned 14 All-American honors in college. He also won the first-ever Bowerman Award.

Professional Running Career

2009–2011: Starting Strong

Rupp at the 2009 World Championship in Berlin

After college, Galen became a professional runner in 2009. He competed at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. He finished eighth in the 10,000-meter race. In 2010, he set a new personal best in the 10,000-meter race. He also won his national title in the 10,000-meter race.

In 2011, Galen ran his first Half marathon. He finished third in the New York City Half Marathon. He won his national 10,000-meter title again. At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, he finished seventh in the 10,000-meter race. He also set a new U.S. record for the 10,000-meter race. His time was 26:48.00.

2012: Olympic Silver Medal

In 2012, Galen broke a U.S. indoor record for the two-mile run. He also became the sixth American to run the 5000-meter race in under 13 minutes. He won the 10,000-meter race at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. This secured his spot for the London Olympics.

Rupp on the medal podium at the 2012 Olympics

At the 2012 London Olympics, Galen won a silver medal. This was in the 10,000-meter race. It was a big surprise and the first U.S. medal in that event in 48 years. He finished seventh in the 5000-meter final.

2013–2015: Setting More Records

In 2013, Galen broke the U.S. indoor 3000-meter record. He won his fifth straight outdoor 10,000-meter national title. At the 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow, he placed fourth in the 10,000-meter final.

In 2014, Galen set new U.S. indoor records. He broke the 5000-meter and two-mile records. He also broke his own U.S. record for the outdoor 10,000-meter race. His time was 26:44.36. This made him the world's top athlete in the 10,000-meter event that year. In 2015, he won his seventh straight 10,000-meter national title. He placed fifth at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics.

2016: Olympic Marathon Bronze

In 2016, Galen qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics as a marathon runner. This was his first marathon race ever. He won the U.S. Olympic marathon trials. He then won the 10,000-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Trials. This meant he would compete in two events at the Olympics.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Galen finished fifth in the 10,000-meter race. Eight days later, he won a bronze medal in the Olympic Marathon.

2017–2018: Marathon Success

Galen Rupp approaching the halfway point of the 2017 Boston Marathon, in which he placed second

In 2017, Galen finished second in the 2017 Boston Marathon. He then won the 2017 Chicago Marathon. This made him the first American man to win the Chicago Marathon since 2002.

In 2018, Galen won the Roma-Ostia Half Marathon. He became the second American to run a half marathon in under 60 minutes. He also won the Prague Marathon, setting a new personal best time of 2:06:07. Later that year, he finished fifth at the 2018 Chicago Marathon. In October 2018, Galen had surgery on his heel.

2019–2021: More Olympic Marathons

Galen's former coach, Alberto Salazar, faced serious issues in 2019. Because of these issues, Salazar was banned from sports for four years. In January 2020, Galen announced his new coach would be Mike Smith.

On February 29, 2020, Galen won the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials again. This was his second time winning this event. He qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The Olympics were held in 2021 due to world events. Galen finished eighth in the Olympic Marathon in Sapporo, Japan.

Later in 2021, Galen placed third in the Great North Run, a large half marathon. Weeks later, he finished second in the 2021 Chicago Marathon.

2022–2024: Recent Races

In 2022, Galen faced more injuries and illness. He finished 19th in the marathon at the World Athletics Championships. He also dropped out of the 2022 New York City Marathon.

In 2023, Galen continued to deal with health issues. He ran the NYC Half Marathon, finishing 17th. He then focused on training for the Chicago Marathon. He hoped to run fast enough to qualify for the next Olympics. He finished eighth at the 2023 Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:08:48. This was his first healthy marathon in two years.

In the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, Florida, Galen finished 16th. He did not qualify for the 2024 Olympic team.

Personal Life

Galen Rupp is married to Keara Rupp. They have four children. Their twins were born in July 2014. Another child was born in November 2016, and their fourth child in February 2019.

Competition Record

Representing the  United States

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Time
2003	World Youth Championships	Sherbrooke, Canada	7th	3000 m	8:10.42 PB
	Pan American Junior Championships	Bridgetown, Barbados	1st	5000 m	14:20.29 PB
2004	World Junior Championships	Grosseto, Italy	9th	5000 m	13:52.85 PB
2005	World Cross Country Championships	Saint-Galmier, France	20th	Junior race	25:05
	Pan American Junior Championships	Windsor, Canada	4th	1500 m	3:50.96
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	11th	10,000 m	28:41.71
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	13th	10,000 m	27:36.99 SB
2009	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	8th	10,000 m	27:37.99 SB
2010	World Indoor Championships	Doha, Qatar	5th	3000 m	7:42.40 PB
2011	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	7th	10,000 m	27:26.84 SB
			9th	5000 m	13:28.64
2012	World Indoor Championships	Istanbul, Turkey	12th	1500 m	3:43.39 PB
	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	2nd	10,000 m	27:30.90
			7th	5000 m	13:45.04
2013	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	4th	10,000 m	27:24.39 SB
			8th	5000 m	13:29.87
2014	World Indoor Championships	Sopot, Poland	4th	3000 m	7:55.84
2015	World Championships	Beijing, China	5th	10,000 m	27:08.91 SB
			5th	5000 m	13:53.90
2016	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	5th	10,000 m	27:08.92 SB
			3rd	Marathon	2:10:05 PB
2021	Olympic Games	Sapporo, Japan	8th	Marathon	2:11:41
2022	World Championships	Eugene, OR, United States	19th	Marathon	2:09:36
Road races
2017	Boston Marathon	Boston, MA, United States	2nd	Marathon	2:09:58 PB
	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, IL, United States	1st	Marathon	2:09:20 PB
2018	Boston Marathon	Boston, MA, United States	—	Marathon	DNF
	Prague Marathon	Prague, Czech Republic	1st	Marathon	2:06:07 PB
	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, IL, United States	5th	Marathon	2:06:21
2019	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, IL, United States	—	Marathon	DNF
2021	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, IL, United States	2nd	Marathon	2:06:35 SB
2023	New York Half Marathon	New York, NY, United States	17th	Half Marathon	1:04:57
2023	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, IL, United States	8th	Marathon	2:08:48

USA National Championships

Outdoor Track and Field

¹Did not start the final

Indoor Track and Field

Road Running

NCAA Championships

Outdoor Track and Field

Indoor Track and Field

Cross Country

Personal Bests

Record Performances

See also

In Spanish: Galen Rupp para niños