2008 Olympic Hopeful - Galen Rupp of the University of Oregon

Galen Rupp, a junior at the University of Oregon, is currently one of the best distance runners the United States has to offer. Galen won the Stanford Invitational 10k in a time of 27:33.48. He finished ahead of numerous professional athletes in this race, including 2007 U.S. Cross Country Champion Alan Culpepper. Rupp's time puts him at #7 all-time for Americans. It also breaks the American Collegiate record of 27:38, set by Dathan Ritzenhein in 2004.

Rupp has proven that he has what it takes to beat Americans and fellow collegiates. He has yet to face the top distance runners in the world, namely, the East Africans. To give light to Galen's recent performance, at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, the top American finisher in the 10k was Dan Browne, running 28:14. Rupp's ultimate challenge may come at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Galen's distance running prowess would come as no surprise to those who have been following his running career since high school. As a senior in high school, Rupp already had numerous accomplishments which he will be remembered for. He finished 2^nd at the Foot Locker Nationals cross-country race, as well as setting the national high school record for 3000m at 8:03.67. This time surpassed that of the distance running legend, Steve Prefontaine, who ran 8:08 in 1969. To add to this list, he also ran a 4:01 mile at the Prefontaine Classic.

Following his high school career, Galen set U.S. junior records in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter events. His times were 13:37 and 28:15 for the respective distances. The 5000m record was previously held by 1964 Olympian Gerry Lindgren, while the 10,000m record was held by fellow Oregon Duck, Rudy Chapa. Rupp had originally decided to forego NCAA running to train under his high school coach, 1984 Olympic marathoner Alberto Salazar. His move to the University of Oregon brought with it a coaching change, as he is now coached by Vin Lananna, formerly Stanford's Head Coach, although he continues to receive instruction and feedback from Salazar.