Meb Punches Ticket to Rio Olympics
February 13, 2016 | Cross Country
LOS ANGELES โ American distance legend and UCLA Hall of Famer Meb Keflezighi punched his fourth ticket to the Olympic Games by placing second at the USA Olympic marathon trials. Meb posted a time of 2:12.20 on the familiar grounds of the downtown LA course.
Meb won four NCAA individual crowns in 1997 while at UCLA and was a four-time All-American in cross country. In the Fall in cross country, he placed first over the 10,000m in a course-record time of 28:54 to become the first Bruin to ever win the NCAA cross country title.
In the Spring in track and field at the NCAA Outdoor in Bloomington, Ind., Meb won the 5,000 (13:44.17) and 10,000m (28:51.18). At the time, only the third athlete in NCAA history to win the NCAA cross country and outdoor 5000m/10,000m the same season.ย In the Winter at the NCAA Indoor, Meb won the 5,000m (13:52.72). ย
Meb is the only distance runner in history to win the New York City Marathon (2009), Boston Marathon (2014) and earn a marathon Olympic medal (2004 Athens Olympics, Silver Medal).
In April 2014, Keflezighi won the Boston Marathon, in a personal-best time of 2:08.37 against the fastest men's field in Boston Marathon history. He became the first American man in 31 years to win Boston and the oldest man (39 years old) to win Boston since 1931.
Training under legendary UCLA Coach Bob Larsen, a 2013 inductee into the USATF Hall of Fame, at the high-level altitude site of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., Meb has become one of the top distance runners in U. S. history, winning 22 National championships.
The 2012 London Olympics was his third representing the U. S. The two-time (2000/2004) U. S. Trials 10,000m champion, at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Meb came down with the flu but still managed to place 12th in the 10,000m.
At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, Meb ran to one of his career highlights, placing second and winning the Silver Medal in the marathon with a then personal-best time of 2:11.29. It was the first medal won by a U. S. men's runner in the marathon since Frank Shorter won the gold in 1972 and silver in 1976.ย
On Jan. 14, 2012, Meb won the 2012 U. S. Marathon trials in Houston, TX, in a then-new personal-best mark of 2:09.08, finishing ahead of second-place Ryan Hall and third-place Abdi Abdirahman. He became the oldest winner of the U. S. Olympic Trials marathon at the age of 36 (Meb will be 40 years old on May 5).
On Aug. 12, 2012, the last day of the 2012 London Olympics, Meb placed fourth in the marathon, in a time of 2:11.06. Twenty-four Keflezighi family members made the trip to London to support Meb.
Meb's other U. S. distance highlights include โ winning the 2009 New York City Marathon in a then-personal-best time of 2:09.15 to become the first American to win the event since 1982; 2009 USA Half Marathon and Marathon champion; three-time U.S. 10,000m (2000, '02, '04) and 12km cross country ('01, '02, '09ย ) champion and a six-time champion in the U. S. 15km ('01, '02, '03,'04, '06, '07).ย ย In 2001 he set the American record in the 10,000m (27:13.98, broken in 2010).
His personal best times include โ 2:08.37 (marathon), 61:00 (half marathon), 27:13 (10k), 13:11 (5k) and 4:02 (mile).
In 2010, Meb was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame and that same year he released his autobiography, 'Run to Overcome: The Inspiring Story of an American Champion's Long-Distance Quest to Achieve a Big Dream,' co-authored with Dick Patrick. He is the founder of the MEB (Maintaining Excellent Balance) Foundation, promoting health, education and fitness for school-age youth. He has a running shoe contract with Sketchers and is a vice president at San Diego-based Competitor Group, Inc.
His professional agent and personal assistant is his brother Merhawi, who as a UCLA undergraduate was a student manager for the Bruin men's basketball team (head student manager in 2001-02) and is a 2006 graduate of the UCLA School of Law.
Meb and his wife, Yordanos, reside in San Diego and are the proud parents of three daughters โ Sara, Fiyori and Yohana. ย