 Blankenship in 2018 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1988-12-15)December 15, 1988 (age 36) Stillwater, Minnesota, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track | ||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 1500 metres,mile | ||||||||||||||
| College team | Mississippi State Minnesota | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personalbest(s) | 1500m: 3:34.26[1] 3000m: 7:38.08[1] | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Ben Blankenship (born December 15, 1988) is an Americanmiddle distance runner. He is aworld record holder as a member of the 2015 USADistance medley relay team, of which he ran the 1600-meter anchor leg.[2]
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.
AtStillwater Area High School, Blankenship was theMinnesota State AA Champion at 1600 meters in both 2006 and 2007. Also in 2005, he led his team to second place inCross Country. His high school had previously molded other prolific distance runners such as Luke Watson andSean Graham.
He began his collegiate career atMississippi State University. After a year there he transferred to his home stateUniversity of Minnesota. By 2010, he became the first Golden Gopher to break the4 minute mile, when he ran 3:57.83 at the indoor Washington Qualifier meet.[3] In December 2011, hissacrum fractured from his training, and Blankenship made a decision to quit running during his junior year at Minnesota.[4]
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After graduating from Minnesota, he moved to Colorado and worked for a friend's excavation company.[4] However, he traveled toLondon to watch a friend participate in the2012 Summer Olympics, and became interested in returning to running after he felt his injuries were gone.[4] He subsequently moved toWashington, D.C., where he lived for a year.[4] After working out consistently for the first time since college, he won the 2013 Crystal City Twilighter, a 5K road race, in 15:10.[5] His agent, Stephen Haas, worked to convinceOregon Track Club to invite Blankenship to train professionally inEugene, and eventually Blankenship accepted the offer.[4]
Both his best1500 meters andmile personal track records have been set indoors, his 3:53.13 mile set while finishing second in a world class field at theNew Balance Indoor Grand Prix in 2015 ranks as the #8 time by an American. His road mile personal best of 3:52.7, set while winning the "Minnesota Mile" is the fastest mile in Minnesota state history.[6]
At the2015 IAAF World Relays Blankenship put the weight of his team on his shoulders at the end of the distance medley relay. While he received the baton in first place, similar to a move intrack cycling strategy, he immediately conceded the lead to KenyanTimothy Cheruiyot, who in turn broke contact and attempted to run away with the race. Blankenship's even paced lack of aggression also let the Australian team anchor byCollis Birmingham back into contention. When Cheruiyot paid the price for his front running, Blankenship passed the tiring Cheruiyot. But Cheruiyot was not broken and stayed with in contact all the way to the final straightaway where Blankenship's speed put the race away. With the oddly strategic ending, the 0.06 of a second improvement on the existing world record by a Kenyan team in 2006 was more of an accident than a plan.
A month and a half later, at the2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Blankenship finished a disappointing fourth place, .02 behindLeo Manzano, only 0.03 behind second placeRobby Andrews who finished with a late rush, to miss making the team for the2015 World Championships.[7]
He won the 2016 Medtronic TC 1 mile, setting a course record of 3:55.8 and taking home the USATF Road Mile title.
On July 10, 2016, Blankenship finished third in the1500 meters finals at the2016 United States Olympic Trials, qualifying him to compete in the 1500 meter race at the2016 Olympic Games inRio de Janeiro, Brazil. Blankenship then finished 8th in the Olympic Final.
In September 2017, Blankenship set a record for the fastest 1 mile time in Alaska, achieving a time of 3:57.85. This makes Blankenship one of only two to run a mile in under 4 minutes in Alaska ever, along withKyle Merber.
Blankenship currently lives inEugene, Oregon and trains with theOregon Track Club.
Blankenship won a US national xc title over 10 km in 29:21 at 2018USATF National Club Cross Country Championships.[8]
