Dathan Ritzenhein
Dathan Ritzenhein in 2015
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
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| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||
| Born |
December 30, 1982 Grand Rapids, Michigan |
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| Residence | Grand Rapids, Michigan | ||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 117 lb (53 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||
| Sport | cross country, track, distance running | ||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 5,000 metres, 10,000 metres, marathon | ||||||||||||
| College team | Colorado | ||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 2004 | ||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||
| World finals | 2009, 10,000 meters, 6th | ||||||||||||
| Olympic finals | 2008, Marathon, 9th | ||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) |
3000 meters: 7:39.03 2-mile: 8:11.74 5000 meters: 12:56.27 10,000 meters: 27:22.28 Marathon: 2:07:47 |
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Medal record
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Dathan Ritzenhein (born December 30, 1982) is an American long-distance runner. He held the American record in the 5,000 metres (12:56.27) from 2009–10, when it was broken by Bernard Lagat. He is a three-time national cross country champion with wins at the USA Cross Country Championships in 2005, 2008 and 2010. He now competes professionally for Nike.
Ritzenhein was a standout runner at Rockford High School in Michigan and the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was part of the stellar high school class of 2001 that also produced American mile record holder Alan Webb and American half-marathon record holder Ryan Hall.
Ritzenhein ("Ritz") emerged as a cult figure among high school track fans during his junior and senior years at Rockford High School, especially since he graduated from high school in the same year as Alan Webb and Ryan Hall, America's other budding distance prodigies. He set numerous state and national high school records during this time, notably in the 1600m (4:05.9) 3200m (8:41.10) and in the 5000m (13:44.70). He won back-to-back regional (Midwest) and national titles in the Foot Locker high school championship races in the fall of 1999 and 2000. There was major build-up to the 2000 championships due to the impending clash between Ritz, Webb, and Hall. Ritz scored a resounding victory over Webb and Hall in Orlando, Florida, running the 5k course in 14:35. Perhaps more impressive, the previous year he claimed an unexpected national title while setting the course record in 14:29. As a senior in high school he set the Michigan high school 5k record of 14:10 at state finals; second place was 15:05. His final cross country race in high school was at the IAAF junior world cross-country championships in Ostend Belgium where he won a bronze medal.
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