Leonel Manzano

Leonel Manzano
nation	United States
birthday	September 12, 1984
place of birth	Dolores Hidalgo , Guanajuato (State) ,  Mexico
size	1.65 cm
Weight	57 kg
Career
discipline	Middle distance run
Best performance	800 m : 1: 44.56 1,500 m : 3: 30.98 mi : 3: 50.64
Trainer	Ryan Ponsonby
End of career	active
Medal table
Olympic games 0 × 1 × 0 × Athletics Continental Cup 0 × 0 × 1 ×
Olympic games silver London 2012 1500 m Athletics Continental Cup bronze Split 2010 1500 m USA Outdoor Championships gold 2014 Sacramento 1500 m silver 2013 Des Moines 1500 m gold 2012 Eugene 1500 m bronze 2011 Eugene 1500 m silver 2010 Des Moines 1500 m silver 2009 Eugene 1500 m silver 2008 Eugene 1500 m silver 2007 Indianapolis 1500 m bronze 2006 Indianapolis 1500 m
last change: July 18, 2014

Manzano (right) with Jessica Steffens, Marlen Esparza and Brenda Villa at the ALMA Award 2012.

Leonel "Leo" Manzano (born September 12, 1984 ) is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 1500 m or mile .

youth

Born in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato Mexico , Manzano moved to Texas with his family at the age of four . He grew up in Granite Shoals. There he excelled at Marble Falls High School, where he won a total of 9 titles at the Texas 4A State Championships on track and cross . His best times as a student are 1: 50.48 over the 800 meter run , 4:06 over the mile , and 9:06 over two miles.

College career

During a stay at the University of Texas , Austin , Manzano completed an endurance run with the local athletics team that was approximately 8 miles (13 km) long. At the end of the training, Manzano is said to have reported that this was the longest run he had ever finished. As a student ("prep") Manzano possessed outstanding talent and due to the fact that he had never trained high volumes before, he was given great potential. Manzano's early talent didn't go unnoticed for long, earning him a spot on the University of Texas team , where he won 5 NCAA titles. He also won 9 All American titles and still holds 4 school records, namely the indoor mile (3: 58.78), the 1500 meters (3: 35.29), and the mixed distance medleys (long-distance relays) outdoors and in the hall. The highlight of his last year as a student culminated in the presentation of the "Men's Track Athlete of the Year" award from the USA Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). He is also the first Texan to get a place on the US Olympic team over 1,500 m and the most awarded track and field athlete at the University of Texas.

Professional career

Three weeks after he had finished his last race in college, located Manzano was for those with a strong final sprint at the US Trials Olympic Games in Beijing qualify. There he reached 12th place in the semi-finals.

Manzano had his breakthrough on an international level in the 2009 season, where he qualified for the 1500 m final at the World Athletics Championships . Also that year he won the Reebok Grand Prix (now Adidas Grand Prix ) in New York and British Grand Prix in Birmingham , as well as several second places at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final, in London and in Rieti .

In 2010 he took part in several Diamond League meetings, where he set personal bests over the mile (3: 50.64), 800 m in (1: 44.56), and 1500 m in (3: 32.37) within three weeks. Then he was selected for the Continental Cup and was able to win bronze over 1500 m there. A series of injuries resulted in a poor 2011 season. In 2012, he found his way back to his old form and won the 1500 m at the USA Indoor Championships and the Olympic Trials and was thus qualified for the Olympic Games in London. During his career, Manzano was able to represent the USA a total of 6 times at international championships. This also includes participation in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games .

In the final over 1500 m at the Games in London , Manzano was able to win the silver medal with his typical strong final sprint. This makes Manzano the first American since Jim Ryun in 1968 to win a medal in the 1500 m Olympic Games. With this performance he ended a 44-year dry spell for the American middle distance athletes.

Web links

Commons : Leonel Manzano  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website
• Leonel Manzano in the database of World Athletics (English)
• USATF profile
• Texas Longhorn's profile
• Flotrack Videos of Leo Manzano
• Manzano Mile - an all-comers track meet

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Leo Manzano after winning silver medal at 2012 London Olympic Games | Leo Manzano Videos . Flotrack. January 12, 2009. Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 10, 2012. 
2. ↑ http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/track-and-xc/post/_/id/4139/richards-ross-felix-complete-golden-quest
3. ↑ Flotrack Workout Episode 1 . Flotrack.org. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 26, 2013. 
4. ↑ Leonel Manzano Profile, Bio, Results, Medals and Photos - Yahoo! Sports coverage of the Summer Olympics in Beijing . Sports.yahoo.com. April 20, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2012.