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Jon Rankin
Personal information
Nationality American and Caymanian
Born (1982-02-09) 9 February 1982 (age 42)
Spring Valley, San Diego, California
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 65.8 kg (145 lb)
Sport
Country  Cayman Islands
Sport Track and field
University team UCLA Bruins
Club Nike Team Run LA
Coached by Joaquim Cruz
Retired 2012
Achievements and titles
National finals 2001 USA Track & Field Junior National Championships (1,500 m – 1st)
Personal best(s) 800m: 1:47.01
1500m: 3:35.26
Mile: 3:54.24
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing
 United States (until September 2009)
 Cayman Islands (since October 2009)
CAC Championships
Bronze 2011 Mayagüez 1500 m

Jon Byron Rankin (born 9 February 1982) is an American born retired Caymanian middle and long-distance track and field runner. The highlight of his track and field career was winning the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships at 1500 metres and the 2007 Emsley Carr Mile in England. He is the CEO of Go Be More, who design apparel. He is also a copywriter working for various organisations and for himself.

Early life and amateur career

Rankin graduated from Monte Vista High School in Spring Valley, California. He then went on to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree in English language. In 2004 he became UCLA's number one runner for the season and was an All-American. On 9 April 2005, he became then the 17th African American and 268th American overall to run a sub four-minute mile. He graduated from UCLA in 2005.

Professional career

Athletics career

After graduating, he turned professional as a sponsored athlete with Nike. Rankin trained and raced throughout the US and Europe. On 11 August 2007 he won the Emsley Carr Mile in Manchester, England in a personal best time of 3:54.24, A year later in 2008, at the time of the United States Olympic Trials, he was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), although his official diagnosis didn't come about until the end of 2008. FSGS is estimated to occur in 2-3 persons per million, with males and African peoples at higher risk. Later in 2011, Rankin underwent an experimental stem cell surgery to reverse his disease.

Earlier, on 1 October 2009, Rankin decided to switch his allegiance to the Cayman Islands, "Jon is eligible to do this because both of his parents were born in the Cayman Islands," wrote his manager, Merhawi Keflezighi. He retired from professional competitive racing at the end of 2012. In 2015 Rankin was inducted into the National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame by the National Black Marathoners’ Association.

Personal bests

Distance Time Place Date
800 metres 1:47.01 Indianapolis, USA 11 June 2008
1500 metres 3:35.26 Stockholm, Sweden 26 July 2005
One mile 3:54.24 Stretford, England 11 August 2007
5,000 metres 14:08.09 Los Angeles, USA 11 March 2011
10k 30:44 New York City, USA 15 May 2010
15k 47:53 Jacksonville, FL, USA 9 March 2013
Half marathon 1:08:59 Carlsbad, CA, USA 24 January 2010
Marathon 2:34:29 Sacramento, CA, USA 5 December 2010

All Information taken from World Athletics profile.

Competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event
Representing  United States
2001 USA Track & Field Junior National Championships Sports Backers Stadium, Richmond, Virginia, USA 1st 1500 metres
2007 Emsley Carr Mile Stretford Stadium, Manchester, England 1st Mile
2008 United States Olympic Trials Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon, USA 6th 1500 metres
2009 Fifth Avenue Mile Fifth Avenue, New York City, USA 13th Mile
Representing  Cayman Islands
2010 UAE Healthy Kidney 10K New York City, USA 23rd 10,000 metres
Commonwealth Games Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi, India 14th 800 metres
17th 1500 metres
2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships Punta Umbría, Spain 98th Cross country
Central American and Caribbean Championships Mayagüez Athletics Stadium, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 3rd 1500 metres
Pan American Games Estadio de Béisbol Charros de Jalisco y Atletismo, Zapopan, Mexico 7th 800 metres
4th 1500 metres
2012 UW (University of Washington) Invitational Dempsey Indoor, Seattle, Washington, USA 5th Mile
Retired From Professional Athletics
2013 Jacksonville River Run Jacksonville, Florida, USA 49th 15,000 metres

Career outside of athletics

Since graduating, outside of athletics, Rankin has been a freelance senior copywriter, and since 2018 he has been the chief executive officer of both Go Be More and Catchy Content Co.

See also

  • List of Caymanian records in athletics
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