Clayton Murphy (born February 26, 1995) is an American

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 ...

. He won the bronze medal in the 800-meter run at the

2016 Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

. He was the gold medalist in the 800-meter run at the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

. He ran collegiately for the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...

, before signing with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

in June 2016 and joining the

Nike Oregon Project The Nike Oregon Project was a group created by the American corporation Nike, established in Beaverton, Oregon in 2001. The team folded on October 10, 2019 after an investigation resulted in a four-year ban of longtime coach Alberto Salazar. Fa ...

Early life and education

Clayton Murphy is the son of Mark and Melinda Murphy. He was raised in New Madison, Ohio. He attended Tri-Village High School and began to take part in

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 events ...

and

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

while there. Murphy broke the Division III state record in the 1600 Meter Run at the 2013 state track meet in Columbus in 4:11.72.

Collegiate career

2014

Murphy enrolled at the

in fall 2013. He began to train with the

Akron Zips Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

college track team.Clayton Murphy University of Akron profile
. Akron Zips. Retrieved on 2015-07-27. There he was coached by the head distance coach, Lee LaBadie, who is a sub 4-minute miler and a former runner for the University of Illinois. At the 2014

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

(MAC) indoor meet, Murphy won 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 ...

and was runner-up over

3000 meters 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 ...

. He went on to win the outdoor conference title in the

1500 meters The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

. He ran 3:44.53 for the distance that year to win the

Mt. SAC Relays The Mt. SAC Relays are an annual track and field festival held primarily at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College campus in Walnut, California. The Relays are held in mid-April each year since the first edition held on April 24-25, 1 ...

2015

He opened the following academic year (2014–15) with a fourth-place finish at the MAC Cross Country Championships, then followed this with an 800 m/mile double at the MAC Indoor meet. In February he ran a personal best and school record of 4:00.39 minutes for the indoor

. On his national debut at the 2015 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships he claimed third place in the 800 m with a new best time of 1:47.06 minutes. Similar results came outdoors, as he won a middle-distance double at the MAC Outdoor Championships and again placed third at the

2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held from June 10 to June 13, 2015. This was the 94th NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 34th NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Champi ...

. He also won the 800 m at the

Drake Relays The Drake Relays (officially the Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom) is an outdoor track and field event held in Des Moines, Iowa, in Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University. Billed as ''America's Athletic Classic'', it ...

and set a school record of 3:40.69 for the 1500 m. He placed well the following academic year (2015–16) with a 4th place at Mid American Conference Championships in Cross Country and twentieth place at 2015 NCAA Division I Great Lakes Region Cross Country Championships. Murphy won 2016

Indoor Track & Field Championships titles in

Distance medley relay The distance medley relay (DMR) is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a relay. With its inclusion in the IAAF World Relays program, the IAAF announced on May 1, 2015 that the event would be an official world record event. U ...

, 4x400 m relay,

Mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

, and

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

. Murphy won

2016 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2016 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships was the 52nd NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 35th NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Bi ...

. Murphy won 2016

Outdoor Track & Field Championships titles in

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

and

. Murphy won 1500 m at 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 3:36.38. Murphy won 12

titles,

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

2016 Indoor 800 m title,

2016 Outdoor 1500 m title and earned 4

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n awards.

National and international career

At the end of the college season, he entered the

2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field, University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Organized by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 25–28 and served as the national championships in ...

. He ran personal records in each round and ended the competition in fourth place with a time of 1:45.59 for the 800m. This earned him selection for the American squad for the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

. In his international debut – also his first time abroad – he surprised by winning the gold medal some four hundredths ahead of Colombia's

Rafith Rodríguez Rafith Rodríguez Lleneres (born 1 June 1989 in El Bagre), is a Colombian athlete competing predominantly in the 800 meters. His personal best in the event is 1:44.31 achieved in 2011 in Belém. Personal bests *400 m: 45.62 –Trujillo, Peru, 2 ...

, taking the lead in the final stretch. Murphy's roommate Ryan Martin was also a medalist in the event. Murphy was the first American in more than 15 years to win the title, following on from

Johnny Gray John Lee Gray Jr. (born June 19, 1960) is a retired American world class 800 meter runner from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s and the holder of the 600m world best. A four-time-Olympian (1984-1996) in 1985 he set the US record of 1:42.60 at a ...

's 1999 victory. He earned a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

in the 800 meters at the 2015

North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships The North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships is a continental Track and field, track and field athletics event organised by the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association. The last of the International ...

. This edition,

2015 NACAC Championships The 2015 North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships was a regional track and field competition held at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica in San José, Costa Rica from August 7-9, 2015. It was the second edition of a senior ...

were a regional track and field competition held at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica in San Jose, Costa Rica from August 7–9, 2015. Murphy finished 12th in

2015 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 800 metres The men's 800 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 22, 23 and 25 August. Summary There is a definite change in this event. Returning silver medalist Nick Symmonds and returning bron ...

held August 21–25, 2015 in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China. He chose to run the 800 meters at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials, which paid off. His fast finish out-sprinted

Boris Berian Boris Berian (born December 19, 1992) is an American middle distance runner. He was the 2016 National Champion and represented the United States at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships in the 800 meters where he won the gold medal. He set ...

for the win and Olympic team berth in a personal record 1:44.76. He won Bronze in the 800m at the 2016 Rio Olympics in a new personal record of 1:42.93, the fifth-fastest time ever by an American. At the 2017 USATF 1 Mile Road Championships, Murphy finished first with a time of 4:00.0. He chose to compete in the 800 meters at the

2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2017 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships were held at Hornet Stadium on the campus of California State University, Sacramento in Sacramento, California. Organized by USA Track & Field, the four-day competition took place June 22–25 an ...

then compete in the 1500 meters at the same championships and ran 1:45.70 to make the final, but did not start in the 800 meters final after an injury in the 1500 meters final where he finished in 3:50.55 to place 13th in the 1500 meters. He joined Nike Oregon Project in August 2017 and moved to

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

in the Fall 2017 to train at the Nike headquarters with Matthew Centrowitz, the Rio Olympic gold medalist over 1500m.

2021

Murphy won the 2020 Olympic Trials 800m in 1:43.17 to make his second Olympic team.

International results

Personal life

Murphy met fellow Olympian

Ariana Washington Ariana Washington (born August 27, 1996) is an American sprinter specializing in the 100 m and 200 m. She represented the United States in the relay at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and earned a gold medal at the 20 ...

over a game of Uno at the USA Track and Field Athletes Lounge in the Olympic Village at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio. They got engaged in 2018, and were married in the Napa Valley on December 7, 2019.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Clayton 1995 births Living people Track and field athletes from Ohio People from Preble County, Ohio American male middle-distance runners Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games Akron Zips men's cross country runners Akron Zips men's track and field athletes World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics American members of the Church of the Brethren Olympic male middle-distance runners People from Greenville, Ohio People from New Madison, Ohio USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics