Galen Rupp, a four-time Olympian, became the third fastest American marathon runner ever in 2018 (behind Khalid Khannouchi and Ryan Hall) and the second fastest American ever on a record eligible course.
Name: Galen Rupp
Country of Origin: USA
Standout Race:
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
In 2017, Rupp became the first American male to win the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 15 years, beating an internationally talented field to run into history.
More About Galen Rupp:
Rupp returned to Chicago in 2018 with an eye toward taking down Khannouchi’s American record (2:05:38), but fell short, coming home fifth in 2:06:21. Shortly after the marathon, he underwent Achilles tendon surgery. He returned to Chicago in 2019 and took home his only career DNF in a marathon. Undeterred, Rupp turned around and won the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon trials, and then finished 8th in Sapporo in August at the Olympic Marathon.
Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle
He is the 15th fastest man in history over 10,000m, and his 5000m PR, 12:58.90, puts him in an exclusive category of American runners – he is one of only six Americans to break 13:00 for the distance. In 2018, Rupp narrowly missed breaking Ryan Hall’s American record by four seconds in the half marathon, running 59:47 to become only the third American to break 60 minutes and the second fastest American in history. At the 2012 London Olympics, Rupp became the first American since 1964 to earn a medal in the 10,000m; he captured the silver (his training partner at the time, Mo Farah, took the gold) after throwing down a final 400m lap in a blazing 53.8 seconds.
