Eric Jenkins (born November 24, 1991) is a professional

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

. He first began running at Portsmouth High School in his hometown, after which he was recruited by

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

. After his junior year Jenkins transferred to

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, where he further established his reputation in collegiate distance running. After his collegiate career he signed a contract 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 given ...

. He formerly ran with 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 ...

Running career

High school

Jenkins first ran competitively in cross country while in middle school. He then attended Portsmouth High School in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, although he did not run all of the four years he attended. In his senior year of high school he recorded a personal best time of 4:15.10 in the 1600 meters.

Collegiate

Jenkins first enrolled in

, where he made an immediate impact for the school's cross country team when he placed third overall at the 2011 CAA Cross Country Championships. In Jenkins' first semesters at Northeastern, the head coach was Renny Waldron, who noticed that he would start out too fast to finish strong in many of his freshman races. By Jenkins' junior year, Northeastern's cross country and track program went through widespread staff changes and new coaches were hired. Jenkins set Northeastern's indoor mile, 3000-meter, and 5000-meter records. In the summer of 2013, Jenkins transferred to the

. While a student and runner with Oregon, he won the men's 3K and 5K at the 2015 NCAA DI Indoor T&F Championships. During this time, a famous rivalry formed between him and his teammate

Edward Cheserek Edward Cheserek (born 2 February 1994) is a Kenyan distance runner. He is a 17-time NCAA champion collegiate distance runner for the University of Oregon. Cheserek was the most highly recruited high school distance runner in the nation out of Sain ...

, who would always finish either closely behind or ahead of Jenkins in several races. Eric is a two-time NCAA indoor champion; All-America honors every year in track and cross country; NCAA cross country runner-up, three NCAA track team titles, and the second-fastest 5,000 in NCAA history.) After graduating in June, Jenkins signed with Nike and headed to Europe, where he notched personal bests in the 3,000 meters (7:41.79) as well as in the 5,000 (13:07.33).

Professional

In June 2015, Jenkins signed with

and Flynn Sports Management. During his first summer as a professional runner, he got into the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

racing circuit, participating in two high-profile track meets. In

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Regio ...

, he ran the 1500 meters, and in

Heusden Heusden () is a municipality and a town in the South of the Netherlands. It is located between the towns of Waalwijk and 's-Hertogenbosch. The municipality of Heusden, including Herpt, Heesbeen, Hedikhuizen, Doeveren, and Oudheusden, merged with ...

he ran the 5000 meters and fulfilled the Olympic "A" standard in the process with his 13:07 result. On February 5, 2016, Jenkins recorded a time of 3:42:32 over 1500 meters House of Track meeting in Portland. Two weeks later he ran a personal record over 3000 meters during the Millrose Games in New York, his time of 7:39:43 was good for 3rd place in the race that was won by Ryan Hill in 7:38:82. On May 27, Jenkins competed in the 10,000 meters event 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 finished in 27:48.02 to achieve the 2016 Olympic qualifying standard. Later he placed fourth in the 5000 m at the U.S. Olympic Trials and failed to qualify. On September 3, 2016, Jenkins won the

Fifth Avenue Mile The Fifth Avenue Mile is an annual road race on Fifth Avenue in New York City, United States. The race begins at 80th Street and heads twenty blocks south to 60th Street. First held on September 26, 1981, the race is currently organized by N ...

in a time of 3:49.5, narrowly defeating the previous year's winner,

Matt Centrowitz Matthew Centrowitz (born January 28, 1955) is a two-time Olympic distance runner, a four-time United States champion, a collegiate All-American, a nationally renowned high school athlete, and a collegiate cross country and track coach. Life an ...

, by 0.1 seconds. On January 14, 2017, Jenkins won the Seattle UW Preview Mile in 3:58.68. On February 11, 2017, Jenkins won 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 ...

Wanamaker Mile The Wanamaker Mile is an indoor mile run, mile race held annually at the Millrose Games in New York City. It was named in honour of department store owner Rodman Wanamaker. The event was first held in 1926 inside Madison Square Garden, which was the ...

with a time of 3:53.23, he defeated Olympic bronze medalist

Clayton Murphy Clayton Murphy (born February 26, 1995) is an American middle-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 800-meter run at the 2016 Olympic Games. He was the gold medalist in the 800-meter run at the 2015 Pan American Games. He ran collegiat ...

by over a second. This was Jenkins' first Wanamaker title. http://results.nyrrmillrosegames.org On February 26, Jenkins finished second at the Boston BU Last Chance Meet in 13:05.85. Jenkins’ effort was the top time in the United States in 2017. On May 7, 2017, Jenkins won the Payton Jordan Invitational 1500m in 3:38.30, outdistancing top Americans such as Evan Jager, Izaic Yorks, and Brandon Kidder. On May 18, 2017, Jenkins won the Los Angeles USATF Distance Classic in 3:36.51. On June 11 Jenkins won the Portland Track Festival in 3:37.55. In doing so he beat out many talented domestic competitors, such as Sam Prakel, Lopez Lomong, Riley Masters, and Ryan Hill. On June 23, Jenkins finished second in the USATF Championships 5000m final behind Paul Chelimo to qualify for the 2017 IAAF World Championships in Athletics. On July 22, 2017, Jenkins placed 6th at the Heusden-Zolder KBC Night of Athletics 1500m in Belgium in 3:37.92. Jenkins’ race result at the Heusden-Zolder KBC Night of Athletics ended a nearly ten month long undefeated streak at 1500m and Mile distance races, including a Wanamaker Mile and Fifth Avenue Mile title and wins the reigning Olympic 1500m Champion Matthew Centrowitz and Olympic 800m bronze medalist Clayton Murphy. On August 9, 2017, Jenkins finished tenth in his heat of the 5000m at the 2017 IAAF World Championships.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Eric Northeastern Huskies men's track and field athletes Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes 1991 births People from Portsmouth, New Hampshire Living people World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States American male long-distance runners Sportspeople from Rockingham County, New Hampshire