Jon Rankin

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.

Jon Rankin
Personal information
NationalityAmerican and Caymanian
Born (1982-02-09) 9 February 1982[1][2]
Spring Valley, San Diego, California[2]
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Weight65.8 kg (145 lb)[2]
Sport
Country Cayman Islands
SportTrack and field
University teamUCLA Bruins
ClubNike Team Run LA
Coached byJoaquim Cruz[3]
Retired2012
Achievements and titles
National finals2001 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 medal – third place2011 Mayagüez1500 m

Early life and amateur career

Rankin graduated from Monte Vista High School in Spring Valley, California.[2] 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.[2] In 2004 he became UCLA's number one runner for the season and was an All-American.[3][4] On 9 April 2005, he became then the 17th African American and 268th American overall to run a sub four-minute mile.[5][3] He graduated from UCLA in 2005.[3]

Professional career

Athletics career

After graduating, he turned professional as a sponsored athlete with Nike. Rankin trained and raced throughout the US and Europe.[5] On 11 August 2007 he won the Emsley Carr Mile in Manchester, England in a personal best time of 3:54.24,[1] 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.[6] FSGS is estimated to occur in 2-3 persons per million, with males and African peoples at higher risk.[7][8] Later in 2011, Rankin underwent an experimental stem cell surgery to reverse his disease.[9]

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.[5] He retired from professional competitive racing at the end of 2012.[10] In 2015 Rankin was inducted into the National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame by the National Black Marathoners’ Association.[4]

Personal bests
DistanceTimePlaceDate
800 metres1:47.01Indianapolis, USA11 June 2008
1500 metres3:35.26Stockholm, Sweden26 July 2005
One mile3:54.24Stretford, England11 August 2007
5,000 metres14:08.09Los Angeles, USA11 March 2011
10k30:44New York City, USA15 May 2010
15k47:53Jacksonville, FL, USA9 March 2013
Half marathon1:08:59Carlsbad, CA, USA24 January 2010
Marathon2:34:29Sacramento, CA, USA5 December 2010

All Information taken from World Athletics profile.[1]

Competitions
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEvent
Representing  United States
2001 USA Track & Field Junior National Championships Sports Backers Stadium, Richmond, Virginia, USA[11] 1st[2] 1500 metres
2007 Emsley Carr Mile Stretford Stadium, Manchester, England 1st[12] Mile
2008 United States Olympic Trials Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon, USA 6th[13][14] 1500 metres
2009 Fifth Avenue Mile Fifth Avenue, New York City, USA 13th[15] Mile
Representing  Cayman Islands
2010 UAE Healthy Kidney 10K New York City, USA 23rd[16] 10,000 metres
Commonwealth Games Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi, India 14th[17] 800 metres
17th[17] 1500 metres
2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships Punta Umbría, Spain 98th[18] Cross country
Central American and Caribbean Championships Mayagüez Athletics Stadium, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 3rd[1] 1500 metres
Pan American Games Estadio de Béisbol Charros de Jalisco y Atletismo, Zapopan, Mexico 7th[1] 800 metres
4th[1] 1500 metres
2012 UW (University of Washington) Invitational Dempsey Indoor, Seattle, Washington, USA 5th[19] Mile
Retired From Professional Athletics
2013 Jacksonville River Run Jacksonville, Florida, USA 49th[20] 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.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Athlete Profile - Jon Byron Rankin". World Athletics. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  2. "Player Bio: Jon Rankin - UCLA Official Athletic Site". UCLA Bruins. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  3. "Jon Rankin". hawimanagement.com/. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  4. "2015 National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame". blackmarathoners.org/. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  5. "Jon Rankin: the sub-4 Miler who Survived Terminal Kidney Disease". runnerstribe.com. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  6. "Jon's Kidney Disease Story (Ep 31)". simplecast.com. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  7. Tucker JK. Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in African Americans. Am J Med Sci. 2002 Feb;323(2):90-3. doi: 10.1097/00000441-200202000-00006. PMID 11863085.
  8. Kitiyakara C, Kopp JB, Eggers P. Trends in the epidemiology of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Semin Nephrol. 2003 Mar;23(2):172-82. doi: 10.1053/snep.2003.50025. PMID 12704577.
  9. "Go Be More". National Alliance for Youth Sports. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  10. "Jon Rankin". zintro.com/. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  11. "2001 Junior National Championships - Results (Men's 1,500 Meter Run)". USA Track & Field. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  12. "Stretford Grand Prix". britishmilersclub.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  13. "LetsRun.com's Recap of Final Day of 2008 Olympic Track & Field Trials". LetsRun.com. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  14. "Olympic Track Trials Results". Hearst Magazine Media. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  15. "Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile-Professional". New York Road Runners. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  16. "Gebre Gebremariam Breaks Central Park Course Record, Pockets $27,500 at 2010 Healthy Kidney 10k". LetsRun.com. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  17. "Jon Byron Rankin". Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  18. "World Athletics Cross Country Championships". World Athletics. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  19. "UW Invitational". Track & Field Results Reporting System. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  20. "Gate River Run 2013 15K Results". gate-riverrun.com/. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
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