Sam Parsons (runner)
Sam Parsons (born June 19, 1994 in Wilmington, Delaware) is a German-American distance runner. He competes in events ranging from the 1500 meters to the 10,000 meters. He attended Tatnall School of Wilmington, Delaware and later competed on the collegiate level at North Carolina State University.[1]
Parsons in 2019 | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Citizenship | United States Germany |
Born | Wilmington, Delaware, United States | June 18, 1994
Alma mater | North Carolina State University |
Sport | |
Sport | Long-distance running |
University team | North Carolina State University |
Turned pro | 2017 |
Career
High school
Parsons was coached by Patrick Castagno and competed in running all 12 seasons. Parsons raced a personal best of 1:58 in the 800 meters, 4:14 in the Mile, 9:00 in the 3200 meters, and 14:47 in 5000 meters at New Balance Indoor Nationals. Parsons also individually qualified for Nike Cross Nationals as a senior. Parsons led his team to multiple state championships including winning all races in a single season in 2012 by winning the Cross Country, Indoor track, and Outdoor track state championships.
College
Parsons ran for Rollie Geiger at North Carolina State. He achieved personal bests of 3:44 in the 1500 meters, 13:52 in the 5000 meters, and 28:43 in the 10,000 meters. In cross country, Parsons competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championship earning All-American honors with a time of 28:52 for 10,000 meters.
Professional
Parsons traveled to Germany to visit his mother’s native country. Parsons was hesitant to continue in track but decided to turn pro. In 2018, Parsons signed a one year deal with Adidas and teamed with Drew Hunter to start Tinman Elite track club. Competing under Tom “Tinman” Schwartz (www.runfastcoach.com), Parsons posted personal bests of 3:38 in the 1500 meters, 3:58 in the Mile, 7:49 in the 3000 meters, and 13:29 in the 5K. In February 2019, Parsons acquired German citizenship in an attempt to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 5000 metres or 10,000 metres.[2] At the Payton Jordan Invitational (April 2019) Parsons ran with two of his teammates (Drew Hunter and Jordan Gusman) in an attempt to meet the IAAF World Track & Field Championships qualifying standard (13:22.5) in the 5,000m run. Parsons ran 13:22.32; right behind his teammates who ran 13:21. He competed in the men's 5000 metres event at the 2019 World Athletics Championships held in Doha, Qatar.[3] He did not advance to the final.[3]
References
- "Sam Parsons - Stats". MileSplit Delaware. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- "Sam PARSONS | Profile | iaaf.org". www.iaaf.org. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- "Men's 5000 metres" (PDF). 2019 World Athletics Championships. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- "Sam Parsons on Getting Serious In The Sport, Tinman Elite (Run Your Mouth Podcast Crossover)". Citius Mag. 2018-04-19. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- "Tatnall graduate Sam Parsons to compete at the U.S.A Track and Field Championships". delawareonline. Retrieved 2019-03-14.