Evan Reese Jager (born March 8, 1989) is an American

distance Distance is a numerical or occasionally qualitative measurement of how far apart objects or points are. In physics or everyday usage, distance may refer to a physical length or an estimation based on other criteria (e.g. "two counties over"). ...

runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

. He won the silver medal in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, a ...

at the

2016 Rio Olympics ) , 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 de ...

and a bronze at the

2017 World Championships in Athletics Seventeen or 17 may refer to: * 17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japane ...

. Jager is the current NACAC area record holder in the event with a time of 8:00.45, which makes him the 16th fastest performer in its history. He is sponsored by

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 given ...

and is coached by

Jerry Schumacher Jerry Schumacher is an American coach for the University of Oregon track and field and cross country program, specializing in distance running. He has coached Olympic silver medalist and the former American women's 10k record holder Shalane Flanaga ...

in the

Bowerman Track Club The Bowerman Track Club (BTC) is an American training group sponsored by Nike, Inc. for professional distance runners as well as a separate recreational club for casual runners. The professional team is supported by head coach Jerry Schumacher and ...

Running career

High school

Jager attended Harry D. Jacobs High School in Algonquin, Illinois, a suburb northwest of Chicago. In 2005, as a junior, he placed 9th at the

Foot Locker Cross Country Championships The Eastbay-Foot Locker Cross Country Championships are a series of annual cross country running races held in various regions of the United States to determine the premier cross country runner in various age groups, but mainly serves to find the ...

in San Diego. In the same year, he lowered his personal best 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 ...

to 4:08.15, winning the Midwest Distance Gala. In 2007, as a senior, he ran 8:47.59 in the 2 mile, placing 4th at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. At the same meet, he ran 4:05.68 in the mile, placing 3rd although he competed in the "B" heat. During his high school career, he won three individual state championship titles and one relay title. In 2006, as a junior, he won the 1600 m with a time of 4:11.22 and was a part of the winning 4 × 800 m relay with a time of 7:40.02. In 2006, as a senior, he won the cross country state championships with a time of 14:07. In 2007, as a senior, he won the 3200 m with a time of 8:52:33. Jager used to run up a hill now known as "Jager Hill" in Algonquin. This hill has been used for running by the Jacobs High School Cross Country team.

Collegiate

Jager attended the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, where he competed for the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

and was coached by Schumacher. He did not compete as a freshman at the 2007 NCAA Championships for Cross Country, and was

NCAA Division 1 NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

All-American in the DMR at 2008

Indoor Track 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 event ...

, but in 2008, Jager placed 8th in the

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 ...

at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track Championships. In the summer after his freshman year, Jager qualified to represent the United States in the 2008 IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championships by winning the 1500 m in 3:47.43 at 2008 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships June 20–22, 2008 in

Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium is a 10,000-capacity stadium located in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The stadium is home of the Ohio State Buckeyes men's and women's lacrosse teams as well as the soccer and track and field teams. The stadium open ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. He made the finals of the

and placed 8th with 3:49.59. That fall, Jager signed a professional contract with

, forfeiting his remaining NCAA eligibility. He left the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and moved to Portland to continue training with Schumacher, who had been hired by Nike to be a full-time coach to professional Nike-sponsored runners. Jager enrolled in

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

to continue his studies.

Professional

Early career

Jager competed at his first

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Olym ...

in the 5000 m, where he took the lead with 200 m to go before placing third behind his teammates

Matt Tegenkamp Matthew "Teg" Tegenkamp (born January 19, 1982) is a retired professional runner from Lee's Summit, Missouri who specialized in various long-distance events. Tegenkamp represented the United States at two Summer Olympics, in 2008 and 2012. He tra ...

and

Chris Solinsky Chris Solinsky (born December 5, 1984) is a retired American distance runner and an American college cross country coach. Solinsky is the current assistant coach of the Oregon Ducks cross country team at the University of Oregon. Among his more no ...

. By placing third, Jager earned the opportunity to represent the United States at the 2009 IAAF World Championships in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. At the World Championships, Jager placed 11th in his heat of the 5000 m and did not advance to the final. Much of Jager's first professional season was documented in the Runner's World web series "Wisconsin to Worlds," which followed the teammates' historic sweep at the USATF Championships and their European season as they prepared for the 2009 IAAF World Championships. In early 2010, Jager experienced pain in his foot during training runs. After taking some time off, he returned to competition, but the pain persisted and culminated in a stress fracture that he received in the 1500 m final at the USATF Championships on June 25. On July 28, 2010 he had surgery to repair a fracture in the

Navicular bone The navicular bone is a small bone found in the feet of most mammals. Human anatomy The navicular bone in humans is one of the tarsal bones, found in the foot. Its name derives from the human bone's resemblance to a small boat, caused by the ...

of his foot. Recuperation from his surgery took time, with pool and bike workouts substituting for running. He did not do any serious running workouts until March 2011, with the remainder of that track season being an essential, gradual return to high level training rather than a season of competitive racing.

2012

In the spring of 2012, guided by coach Jerry Schumacher and former U.S. steeplechase champion Pascal Dobert, Jager switched to the 3000 m steeplechase. He made his debut at 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 ...

in April 2012. He won that race in 8:26.14, a stunning time for a neophyte and close to the 8:23.1 Olympic A standard necessary for participation in the London Games. During this race, he also beat America's best steeplechaser at the time,

Daniel Huling Daniel "Dan" Huling (born July 16, 1983) is an American distance running, runner who specializes in the 3000-meter steeplechase. He holds a personal record of 8:13.29 minutes for the event, set in 2010. He has represented the United States at the ...

, now one of his training partners. Jager followed through on this auspicious performance by comfortably winning the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials 3000 m steeplechase in 8:17.40. On July 20, 2012, Jager broke the American record in the 3000 m steeplechase, running 8:06.81. On August 5, Jager competed in the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, finishing 6th in the final. After the Olympics, on August 17, Jager ran a new personal best of 7:35 in the 3000 m at the Stockholm Diamond League meet, finishing 5th.

2013

Jager kicked off the 2013 indoor season at the

Millrose Games The Millrose Games is an annual indoor athletics meet (track and field) held each February in New York City. They started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after having taken place in Madison Square Garden from 1914 to 2011 ...

two-mile, where he finished fourth in 8:14.95 to winner

Bernard Lagat Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat (born December 12, 1974) is a Kenyan-American middle and long-distance runner. Lagat was born in Kapsabet, Kenya. Prior to his change of domicile to the US, Lagat had an extensive competitive career representing his ...

, who set the American record in that race. This made Jager the fourth fastest American indoor two-miler of all time. He was fifth in the New York Columbia Qualifier 5000 m, where he finished in a time of 13:33.37. Later on in the season he finished 2nd in the indoor mile at the Seattle Husky Classic in 3:56.14, where he got nipped at the line by his teammate, Andrew Bumbalough. Jager raced sparingly during the outdoor season before the U.S. Championships. He ran 13:14.60 which was good for 2nd to

Saucony Saucony is an American brand of athletic footwear and apparel. Founded in 1898, the company is owned by Wolverine World Wide. Products commercialised by Saucony include footwear and clothing ranges, such as athletic shoes, jackets, hoodies, t-sh ...

Ben True Benjamin True (born December 29, 1985) is an American track and field and cross-country athlete, who competed for Dartmouth College and currently trains in Hanover, New Hampshire, while competing for Saucony and In the Arena. True was the top A ...

at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. He also placed second in the Oxy HP 1500 m in 3:36.34. At the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University o ...

he placed 4th in a time of 8:08.6, only two seconds off his American record. He followed up these personal record performances with an easy win at the USATF Outdoor Championships 3000 m steeplechase, where he finished in 8:20.67, giving him the opportunity to represent the USA at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow for the second time, and also winning him his second consecutive 3000 m steeplechase national title. During his European outdoor season, he ran a 3k in Luzern which was his only race between USAs and Worlds. Jager went into Worlds wanting to improve on his 6th place in the London Olympics. He won his qualifying round of the Steeplechase in Moscow in what seemed to be an easy effort. He went on to place fifth in the final, getting out-leaned by Kenya's Paul Koech. Although he only improved one place from the 2012 Olympics, he put himself in the race and was there with 400 meters to go, with the gap to 6th place being about 3 to 4 seconds. To round out his 2013 season, he raced the 5000 m at the Brussels Diamond League Meet, lowering his personal best by 12 seconds, to 13:02.40.

2014

To kick off the 2014 outdoor season at the

, Jager ran a personal best of 3:53.33 to place him 3rd in the Men's International Mile. Only a few weeks later in Oslo, Jager was less than 2 tenths of a second off of breaking his own American 3000 m steeplechase record of 8:06.8 by running an 8:06.97. On June 29, 2014 Evan Jager won the USA 3,000 Meters Steeplechase Title by running 8:19.83.

2015

On June 27, Jager won the steeplechase at 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 ...

in 95 degree temperature in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

. On July 4, Evan lowered the American Record in the steeplechase to 8:00.45 in 2015

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Meeting Areva Meeting de Paris (formerly known as the Meeting Areva and Meeting Gaz de France) is an annual track and field meeting at the Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris, France. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamon ...

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

, despite falling over the final barrier. Jager placed 6th in 2015 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase.

2016

Jager won steeplechase in a time of 8:22.48 at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials ahead of teammates

Hillary Bor Hillary Bor (born November 22, 1989) is a Kenyan-born American track and field athlete. He qualified for the 2016 Olympics by finishing in second place in the 3000 meters steeplechase at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials (track and field), 2 ...

and

Donn Cabral Donald Cabral (born December 12, 1989) is an American Cross country running, cross country and track and field, track runner from Connecticut who went on to star at Princeton University. He has been most successful in the Steeplechase (athleti ...

to qualify for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. On August 17 Jager won the silver medal at the

2016 Olympics ) , 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 ...

behind

Conseslus Kipruto Conseslus Kipruto (born 8 December 1994) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was the 2016 Rio Olympic champion in the event. At the World Athletics Championships, Kipruto won gold medals in 20 ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

with a time of 8:04.28.

2017

At the 2017 World Championships in London on August 8, 2017, Evan placed 3rd in the

3000 m Steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the h ...

in a time of 8:15.53.3000 Metres Steeplechase Result , IAAF World Championships London 2017 , iaaf.org
iaaf.org. August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017. The race started out slow for the first kilometer in 2:51.81, then soon after Jager took the lead and held on to it, until 300 m remaining where he was passed, first by

(1st) and then

Soufiane El Bakkali Soufiane El Bakkali ( ar, سفيان البقالي, born 7 January 1996) is a Moroccan male runner specializing in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion, having previously finished fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics ...

(2nd). Jager managed to hold on for third with

Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad (born 15 March 1985) is a French professional middle-distance running, middle-distance runner of Algerian descent who mainly competes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He has won medals in major international competitio ...

close behind

2022

Jager suffered a stress fracture in 2018, and was unsure whether he would ever return to elite competition. But after several years, Jager returned to international competition, and placed 6th in steeplechase at the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the f ...

held in Eugene, Oregon.

Competition record

International competitions

USA National Championships

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jager, Evan 1989 births Living people American male middle-distance runners American male steeplechase runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Track and field athletes from Portland, Oregon People from Algonquin, Illinois Portland State University alumni Wisconsin Badgers men's track and field athletes World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships medalists Track and field athletes from Illinois Olympic male steeplechase runners USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American people