One of the first pros I looked up to I'll always appreciate having been around to watch Jenkins crush it in college and have a great career as a pro. Had one of the best personalities in the running world too. Thanks for the memories, Jenkins. Wish him nothing but the best moving forward.
Two-time NCAA champ Eric Jenkins (3:53/13:05/27:22) has retired
Pro News/Info/Results
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What does he say about Alberto?
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He was a great interview and had a world of potential. When he crushed his teammate, King Cheserek, in the kick in the NCAA 3k when Ches looked like he had it easily, that was one of the few times Ches was ever outkicked in college. Later when he ran 3:49 to win the 5th Ave. Mile it looked like his future was in the mile but it never happened because of injuries or the wrong coaching setup for him. Too bad. He was a lot more entertaining than your typical pro.
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go to minute 46 of the interview to listen
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Thanks man!
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If you don’t win 3 Olympic golds and set at least two world records your career is a failure
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Jenkins was one of the only pros in recent years who wasn’t a HS phenom and was an absolute dirtbag before realizing his potential (but also kept some of his dirtbag energy). Can only imagine the kind of things he got into as a high schooler in New Hampshire. Wish he would have had a little more success as a pro but 13:05 and 27:22 ain’t nothin to sneeze at.
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Jenkins was one of the only pros in recent years who wasn’t a HS phenom and was an absolute dirtbag before realizing his potential (but also kept some of his dirtbag energy). Can only imagine the kind of things he got into as a high schooler in New Hampshire. Wish he would have had a little more success as a pro but 13:05 and 27:22 ain’t nothin to sneeze at.
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So what happened to him? He had a poor showing at Cow Harbors 10K last summer. He was still young when Covid layover started. Didn't really get to use super shoes.
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bye bye eric wrote:
Heard it on Citius today.
I can't say I'm super surprised, but it's a bummer! Eric showed a lot of upside and versatility, and he was a really fun personality in the sport. Wishing him the best.
I also appreciated his candor around the Alberto stuff in the interview. Not totally sure how I feel about him becoming a Citius contributor in retirement...
I think Eric is a great example of a runner who was very talented and ran some impressive times, but left something on the table. I'm not sure if injuries played a significant part or not, but it seems he had plenty of opportunities to settle in with a quality training group and have a long pro career. The only void I see is the lack of U.S. pro titles and national teams, especially an Olympic team. NCAA title is a keeper, he needed a couple U.S. titles to really walk away fulfilled. Nonetheless, he had a terrific career.
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Dude came like .2 away from making the 2016 5k team and denying Chelimo an Olympic silver medal
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I remember this quote, close to verbatim:
”Im just a a regular guy with amazing hair trying to do great things.”
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