Brian Baker (born 8 June 1970) is a retired American long-distance runner and current coach at Gardner-Webb University.

Early career

Baker was born and raised in

Batesville, Arkansas Batesville is the county seat and largest city of Independence County, Arkansas, United States, 80 miles (183 km) northeast of Little Rock, the state capital. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city was 10,268. The city serve ...

, and competed in his prep career at Batesville High School. He holds the state high school record in the 3200 meter run with 9:09.80 minutes. He was also a two-time state champion in the 1600 and 3200 meter run events. Baker ran collegiately at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

, winning team national titles in 1990 (indoor track and cross country), 1991 (indoor), 1992 (cross country, indoor and outdoor) and 1993 (cross country, indoor and outdoor). He won the NCAA Outdoor 5000-meter run in 1994 and ran a leg on the winning indoor distance medley relay team the same year. Baker won two individual SEC conference cross country titles and two conferences titles in the 5000 meter run during his career at Arkansas. Baker's team won twelve total conference championships during his career and he was a seven time All-American.

International career

After graduating in 1994, Baker continued a professional running career with

New Balance New Balance Athletics, Inc. (NB), best known as simply New Balance, is one of the world's major sports footwear and apparel manufacturers. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the multinational corporation was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch ...

. In 1995, he finished tenth in the 5000 meters at the

1995 Summer Universiade The 1995 Summer Universiade, also known as the XVIII Summer Universiade, took place in Fukuoka, Japan. Emblem The symbol mark is a motif of "U", expressing passion and energy in the flickering flames of a burning torch. In the flames one sees bot ...

. He was also a member of the United States World Cross Country team in 1996 and 1997. At the 1996 World Cross Country Championships, Baker finished 41st in the long race and 13th in the team competition. At the 1997 World Cross Country Championships, he finished 98th in the long race and 11th in the team competition. Baker then competed in the

5000 meters The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

at the 1997 World Championships, without reaching the final, and finished tenth in the 3000 meters at the 1999 World Indoor Championships. He finished fourth in the 5000 meters at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg. Baker's personal best times were 3:57.4 in the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

, achieved in May 1999 in Attleboro; 7:43.88 minutes in the 3000 meters, achieved in August 1998 in

Hechtel Hechtel-Eksel () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On 1 January 2018 it had a total population of 12,290 an area of 76.70 km² giving a population density of 150 inhabitants per km². The municipality was created ...

; and 13:28.62 minutes in the

, achieved in June 2000 in Dedham.

Coaching career

He is currently a

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

for the

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

teams at Gardner-Webb University. In June 2004, Baker was inducted into the Arkansas Track and Field Hall of Fame.http://www.guardonline.com/?q=node/26096

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Brian 1970 births Living people People from Batesville, Arkansas Track and field athletes from Arkansas American male long-distance runners Arkansas Razorbacks men's track and field athletes Arkansas Razorbacks men's cross country runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States American track and field coaches Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs cross country coaches Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs track and field coaches