Charles Jock (born 23 November 1989) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

who specializes in the 800 meter discipline. He ran collegiately at

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''University Challenge'', a popular British quiz programme airing on BBC Two ** '' University Challenge (New Zealand)'', the New Zealand version of the British programme * Universal Century, one of the ti ...

. He is currently the NACAC U23 record holder for the 800 meter race. Jock represented the United States at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in th ...

Early life

Jock was born in a refugee camp in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

after his parents, John and Mary, escaped the civil war in Sudan. He and his family would eventually reach asylum in the United States and move to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. In 2005, his father died of liver cancer.

Running career

High school

Jock attended

Mission Bay High School Mission Bay High School (MBHS), is a public high school located in the San Diego, California community of Pacific Beach. It is a magnet school with emphasis on Academic Studies. In Fall 2006, Mission Bay introduced International Baccalaureate c ...

. He first played basketball for the school, during which coach Emmitt Dodd insisted that Jock try track and field. He first began as a high jumper before being put into an 800-meter race, the distance he would succeed in 2008 he was the California State meet champion in the 800 running a time of 1:51.64. He currently holds both of Mission Bay's 400 and 800 meter records.

Collegiate

Jock attended

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...

and was given an athletic scholarship. He majored in Urban Studies and showed an interest in sustainable living. He became a member of

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...

fraternity at UCI. While still in college, Jock qualified to represent the United States at the

, where he ran in the men's 800 meters. A year later, Jock won the men's 800 meters at the 2012 NCAA DI T&F Championships.

Post-collegiate

Jock qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 800 meters after a surprise 3rd-place finish in the event in the

U.S. Olympic Trials The United States Olympic Trials are competitions held in certain sports to select the United States' participants in those sports at the Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading i ...

.
The Orange County Register: ''Boris Berian, Charles Jock complete unlikely journeys to U.S. Olympic track team'' Jock ran in heat 4 of the Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres, men's 800 at the 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing in sixth place with a time of 1:47.06.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jock, Charles 1989 births Living people American male middle-distance runners American people of South Sudanese descent American sportspeople of African descent Sportspeople of South Sudanese descent South Sudanese refugees University of California, Irvine alumni Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes of the United States