What happened to Michael Granville? 1:46.45 in HS and still holds the 800m National Record!!

He was coached by his dad and didn't seem to workout with his Bell Garden HS team. I remember him doing drills before meets and leagure prelims and finals. League Meets were practice for him. He won 200m, 400m, 800m even though he focused on the 800m. But I think his dad pushed him too hard and it became more for his dad than for himself.

alsal2023 wrote:

He was coached by his dad and didn't seem to workout with his Bell Garden HS team. I remember him doing drills before meets and leagure prelims and finals. League Meets were practice for him. He won 200m, 400m, 800m even though he focused on the 800m. But I think his dad pushed him too hard and it became more for his dad than for himself.

It isn't clear if the burnnout was physical (sounds like he did a ton of really hard anaerobic work in HS. Heck maybe middle school) or mental (Dad was a tyrant).

Him and Obea Moore headline the list of kids from the 90s who you are shocked never become international class runners.

He won two national championships at UCLA in relays so that's not terrible. My guess is they used him as a 400/800 guy and focused too much on 400 training. I think his 400 PR was 46.low so he was probably running low to mid 45 splits in the relays.

He wrote a “dear younger me” letter on Flo Track or Milesplit like a month ago

Guys like that are a big reason why you should not get too excited about high school phenoms. Granville entered UCLA as the national record holder and left it as a mediocre 400 runner. He never improved on his high school time.

He's a track coach now and hosted some really good all-comer meets last Summer in the San Francisco Bay area.

He's a really cool, down-to-earth guy.

This question gets asked once a year I swear.

The same question gets asked about Greg Andersen of Ontario, Canada.

He ran 8:00 for 3000m in 1987 as a high school student.

But I know where he is!

It is still the Canadian high school record.

The closest anyone has come since 1987 is BRANDON ALLEN | General Amherst | 8:14.33 | 2013

Here is Greg Andersen's historic race:

https://youtu.be/7_2V_ovqGYU

NeverAWMDRF2020 wrote:

The same question gets asked about Greg Andersen of Ontario, Canada.

He ran 8:00 for 3000m in 1987 as a high school student.

But I know where he is!

It is still the Canadian high school record.

The closest anyone has come since 1987 is BRANDON ALLEN | General Amherst | 8:14.33 | 2013

Here is Greg Andersen's historic race:

https://youtu.be/7_2V_ovqGYU

At the same age Michael Woods ran 7:58.

Good job on the interview!!

NeverAWMDRF2020 wrote:

The same question gets asked about Greg Andersen of Ontario, Canada.

He ran 8:00 for 3000m in 1987 as a high school student.

But I know where he is!

It is still the Canadian high school record.

The closest anyone has come since 1987 is BRANDON ALLEN | General Amherst | 8:14.33 | 2013

Here is Greg Andersen's historic race:

https://youtu.be/7_2V_ovqGYU

Wow, just watched this ... that guy was a beast, so was the guy in 2nd (Matias).

The funniest part was the announcers talking about how the slow early pace helped. They went out in 61 and 2:07!

Ay, yes, but remember, "guys like that" have already GREATLY inspired others, GREATLY challenged their contemporary competitors, and GREATLY attained spectacular times. It is unfortunate that some observers tend to discount or dismiss a high school athlete's performance if the kid doesn't continue into professional competition. Who cares if they become a professional racer or not? Michael was an extraordinary runner, and he pursued the unknown, and he performed above and beyond, and he remained human and accepting about it all. And that's what matters! ~Fiona Bayly

I used to be that douche that said "yeah but they burned out and did nothing later on" but then I apparently grew up or just finally got my head out of butt and realized, who cares. No one can take away from these young phenoms that disappear, what they accomplished. Just cause their time came early, at least they had a time. As long as they are ok with it, then more power to them.

Les wrote:

Guys like that are a big reason why you should not get too excited about high school phenoms. Granville entered UCLA as the national record holder and left it as a mediocre 400 runner. He never improved on his high school time.

Pretty much this. I even beat him in a few 400s in college. Nice enough guy, but struggled to improve much from his hs times. That being said he was an absolute phenom in high school and would have smoked me then.

sbeefyk2 wrote:

He won two national championships at UCLA in relays so that's not terrible.

That's all - LOL? Pretty damn impressive.

Ben Franklin wrote:

NeverAWMDRF2020 wrote:

The same question gets asked about Greg Andersen of Ontario, Canada.

He ran 8:00 for 3000m in 1987 as a high school student.

But I know where he is!

It is still the Canadian high school record.

The closest anyone has come since 1987 is BRANDON ALLEN | General Amherst | 8:14.33 | 2013

Here is Greg Andersen's historic race:

https://youtu.be/7_2V_ovqGYU

Wow, just watched this ... that guy was a beast, so was the guy in 2nd (Matias).

The funniest part was the announcers talking about how the slow early pace helped. They went out in 61 and 2:07!

I'm pretty sure at least the top 2 guys were grade 13? This race was when they still had a 5th year of high school required. Most kids do 4 years high school these days, which could contribute to why no one has really run anything close to 8 flat besides Anderson. Regardless, that is an absolute studly performance. Great to have a video of it.

What do Jakob Ingebrigsten, Seb Coe, and Michael Granville have in common??

Dad's that coached them to greatness.

And which one went to be "coached" at the great" UCLA and never improved further??

Dad's are underrated as coaches.

The very best have been coached by Dad.

NCAA coaches waste more talent than they nurture.

Granville should've improved his pr by at least 2 seconds at UCLA.

Instead, another promising athlete has his talent wasted by chitty college coaching.

Should've stuck with Dad and gone pro.

Ca$hclay wrote:

sbeefyk2 wrote:

He won two national championships at UCLA in relays so that's not terrible.

That's all - LOL? Pretty damn impressive.

Sure, impressive.

But, he got slower every year in the 800 while @ UCLA.

His championships were in 4 x 400s.

He never won or even made the NCAA finals at 800.

....Only in PAC 10 and only as freshman and sophomore.

BAD COACHING.

Terrible waste of talent.

Crazy thing is that record was from his junior year wasnt it? I remember him losing the state meet and that was a big shock. Also same state meet Obea Moore ran one of the greatest 4x4 legs I've ever seen.