Benjamin "Ben" Flanagan (born 11 January 1995) is a Canadian middle and

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

. He is currently the Canadian record holder in the

5 km 5 km may refer to: *5K run The 5K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of . Also referred to as the 5K road race, 5 km, or simply 5K, it is the shortest of the most common road running distances. It is usually dis ...

and 10 km road races. He also is a 3-time winner of the

Falmouth Road Race The Falmouth Road Race is an annual road race on Cape Cod from Woods Hole, a village in the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts, to Falmouth Heights. The race organizer is Falmouth Road Race, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization that puts on the race e ...

, having won the race in 2018, 2021, and 2022.

High school career

Flanagan finished second in the U16

2000 m The 2000 metres or 2000-metre run is a track running event where five laps are completed around an outdoor 400 m track, or ten laps around a 200 m indoor track - the distance is 11.68 meters short of 1¼ miles. The global governing body World Ath ...

at the 2010 Canadian Youth Nationals. The next year he competed in the U18

3000 m The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

, once again finishing in second. That same year he was selected to represent Canada at the 2011 World Youth Championships in

Lille, France Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...

, where he placed 16th in the 1500 m. He competed in the junior race at the 2013 World Cross Country Championships in

Bydgoszcz, Poland Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

placing 34th and finishing as the top Canadian.

College career

Flanagan attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

. While there, he was coached by 3-time Olympian and fellow Canadian Kevin Sullivan. Flanagan was the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

10,000 m champion in 2016 and 2018, the 2017 NCAA Great Lake Regional Cross Country champion, and won the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships 10,000 m by running 28:34.53 and passing Vincent Kiprop of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

in the final metres of the race. Following his victory, Flanagan went viral on social media after he was recorded screaming "where's my mom?" in his post-race interview.

Professional career

Flanagan claimed his first major professional victory in the 2018

running the 7 mile course in a time of 32:21. On September 4, 2018, he joined the

Reebok Boston Track Club The Reebok Boston Track Club (RBTC) is an American training group sponsored by Reebok for professional distance running, distance runners (known as "RBTC Elite") as well as a separate recreational club for casual runners. RBTC Elite is supported b ...

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

to be coached by Chris John Fox.

2021

In 2021, Ben failed to qualify for the postponed Tokyo Olympics. He achieved the necessary world ranking but was beaten out for a spot on the Canadian team by Moh Ahmed,

Justyn Knight Justyn Knight (born 19 July 1996) is a Canadian long-distance track runner. A successful collegiate runner during his time at Syracuse University, he was the school's most-decorated distance runner in cross country and track. On the professional ...

, and Luc Bruchet. Nevertheless, he was able to run a 10,000 m personal best of 27:49.07 on May 14 and a 5000 m personal best of 13:20.67 on May 27. On the roads, he won his second

in August and won his first

Manchester Road Race The Manchester Road Race is a 4.748 mile (7.641 km) footrace held annually on Thanksgiving Day in Manchester, Connecticut. Race proceeds are donated each year to Muscular Dystrophy research and about 18 other local charities. Beginning prompt ...

in November.

2022

On January 12, he announced on Instagram that he was leaving the Reebok Boston Track Club. The next week, he announced that he had signed a contract with On and was moving back to Ann Arbor to train with the Very Nice Track Club under coach

Ron Warhurst Ron Warhurst (born c. 1943) is a former American track and field coach. He was the head coach of the University of Michigan's men's track and field team from 2000 to 2008. Warhurst was also a member of the cross country teams at Western Michigan ...

. Under Warhurst, Flanagan continued his success on the roads setting a Canadian 10 km road record at the

B.A.A. 10K The B.A.A. 10K is an annual road running event for men and women over that takes place in June in Boston in the United States. A total of 3040 people finished the race at the inaugural edition. The B.A.A. 10K is one of two major annual races tha ...

in 28:11 and winning his third Falmouth Road Race in 32:25. On October 23, Flanagan competed in the

Valencia Half Marathon The Valencia Half Marathon ( es, Medio Maratón de Valencia) is an annual half marathon road running event held in Valencia, Spain, since 1988. It is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athletics. The race is organised by the Valenc ...

. While he only finished 18th overall, he beat fellow Canadian

Cam Levins Cameron Levins (born March 28, 1989) is a Canadian long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Levins had the best-Canadian finish ever of fourth in the marathon at the 2022 World Champi ...

by 4 seconds and broke

Rory Linkletter Rory Linkletter (born 12 August 1996) is a Canadian Long-distance running, long-distance runner. He represented Canada in the marathon at the 2023 World Athletics Championships – Men's marathon, 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships – Me ...

's Canadian half marathon record holder with a time of 1:01:00.

2023

Flanagan opened his season on January 27 with a personal best of 13:11.97 over 5000m at the BU Valentine Invitational. The following week he set a personal best of 7:43.49 in the 3000m at the

New Balance Indoor Grand Prix The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, formerly known as the Boston Indoor Games, is an annual indoor track and field meet which is held in late January or early February at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. It was first held in Roxbury, a n ...

. At the B.A.A 5K in April, Flanagan broke Charles Philibert-Thiboutot's Canadian record in the 5 km road race running 13:26, finishing second behind training partner Morgan Beadlescomb. At the 2023

Canadian Track and Field Championships The Canadian Track and Field Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organized by Athletics Canada, which serves as the Canadian national championships for the sport. The most recent edition of the event took place in Montrea ...

, Flanagan won the 5000 m in a time of 13:39.36. Later that summer, he qualified to represent Canada at his first

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

in the 5000m where he finished 11th in his heat with a time of 13:38.69 In October, he represented Canada in the inaugural 5 km road race at the

2023 World Athletics Road Running Championships The 2023 World Athletics Road Running Championships are scheduled to take place in Riga, Latvia, on . As the inaugural World Athletics Road Running Championships, they will include the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, which were las ...

Riga, Latvia Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Bal ...

finishing 12th in a time of 13:34.

Personal bests

Information from

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

profile.

Personal life

Ben is the son of Ron and Michelle Flanagan. He has two sisters, Kristen and Jamie. Flanagan met his fiancé when his host family for the Falmouth road race got a flat tire causing him to stay the night with the president of the race, whose daughter happened to also attend the University of Michigan. After dating for three years the two got engaged.

References

External links

Benjamin Flannigan
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flanagan, Ben Track and field athletes from Ontario Canadian male long-distance runners University of Michigan alumni Michigan Wolverines athletes Michigan Wolverines men's track and field athletes 1995 births Living people