Ben Blankenship
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
December 15, 1989 Stillwater, Minnesota |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track |
| Event(s) | 1500 metres, Mile |
| College team |
Mississippi State Minnesota |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | 1500 metres: 3:34.26 |
| Updated on February 9, 2016. | |
Ben Blankenship (born December 15, 1989 Stillwater, Minnesota) is an American middle distance runner. He is a world record holder as a member of the USA Distance medley relay team, of which he ran the 1600-meter anchor leg.
Blankenship attended St. Croix Catholic school in Stillwater, Minnesota. Classmates from his elementary recall Blankenship to be the fastest runner at St. Croix Catholic when running the mile run at the Old Athletic Field located near the elementary school.
At Stillwater Area High School, Blankenship was the Minnesota State AA Champion at 1600 meters in both 2006 and 2007. Also in 2006, he led his team to second place in Cross Country. His high school had previously molded other prolific distance runners such as Luke Watson and Sean Graham.
He began his collegiate career at Mississippi State University. After a year there he transferred to his home state University of Minnesota. By 2010, he became the first Golden Gopher to break the 4 minute mile, when he ran 3:57.83 at the indoor Washington Qualifier meet. In December 2011, his sacrum fractured from his training, and Blankenship made a decision to quit running during his junior year at Minnesota.
After graduating from Minnesota, he moved to Colorado and worked for a friend's excavation company. However, he traveled to London to watch a friend participate in the 2012 Summer Olympics, and became interested in returning to running after he felt his injuries were gone. He subsequently moved to Washington, D.C., where he lived for a year. After working out consistently for the first time in college, he won the 2013 Crystal City Twilighter, a 5K road race, in 15:10. His agent, Stephen Haas, worked to convince Oregon Track Club to invite Blankenship to train professionally in Eugene, and eventually Blankenship accepted the offer.
...
Wikipedia