Jim Sorensen (born May 10, 1967) is an American Track and Field athlete, known primarily for running middle distance races. He is the current Masters M40 world record holder at

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 t ...

and former Masters M40 world record holder at

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 Athle ...

. Sorensen's race to stardom was rather slow. In high school he was moderately successful, finishing in 6th place in the 800 metres (1:52.38) at the 1986 CIF California State Meet while running for

Villa Park High School Villa Park High School (VPHS) is a four-year suburban public high school located in the city of Villa Park, California, United States. It was built in 1964 and is one of four comprehensive high schools in the Orange Unified School District. The cam ...

. He then ran for

Santa Ana College Santa Ana College is a public community college in Santa Ana, California. History In 1915, Santa Ana Junior College opened its doors to 25 students as a department of Santa Ana High School. It was the second community college founded in Oran ...

and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, eventually achieving a Division II NCAA Championship at 1500 metres in 1991. He became the 190th American to join the

4 minute mile A four-minute mile is the completion of a mile run (1609 m) in four minutes or less. It was first achieved in 1954 by Roger Bannister, at age 25, in 3:59.4. As of April 2021, the "four-minute barrier" has been broken by 1,663 athletes, and is n ...

club in a race in San Francisco in 1993. His time was 3:59.70.Sub-4:00 with Jim Sorensen , Running Times Magazine
. Runningtimes.com (December 17, 2010). Retrieved on October 25, 2011. He qualified for and competed at the US Track and Field Championships from 1993 to 1997. By 1996 he was the No. 4 ranked 1500 metre runner in the United States. His lifetime personal records (PR's) for 800 metres, 1500 metres, one mile, 3000 metres, and 5000 metres are 1:47.24, 3:38.65, 3:59.16, 8:09.00, and 14:10.17, respectively.

Olympic pursuit

He ran in the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials, finishing a "surprising" second place by .02 seconds in a tight "kicker's" race. After finishing the race in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia's heat and humidity, Sorensen was carted away from the finish line. To add insult to his injury, because he did not achieve the "A" standard, Sorensen did not get to run in the Olympics, his berth being given to Brian Hyde, though his 22-day pursuit of the qualifying time netted him his lifetime personal record of 3:38.65, .65 slower than the qualifying standard.

Masters

Following his disappointment, Sorensen took it in stride and continued to run without the help of a sponsor. By the time he reached age 40 he still had the goal of running sub-4:00. Though he didn't achieve that (through 2007, only Eamon Coughlan ever has-indoors) he did set the M40 world record for 1500 metres at the Southern California Association

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 a ...

Championships at Occidental College in

Eagle Rock, California Eagle Rock is a neighborhood of Northeast Los Angeles, abutting the San Rafael Hills in Los Angeles County, California. Eagle Rock is named after Eagle Rock, a large boulder whose shadow resembles an eagle.http://www.eaglerockcouncil.org/index.p ...

on June 3, 2007 at 3:44.06. Four weeks later in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...

at the American Milers Club meet at the

University of Indiana Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

he set the 800 metres world record at 1:50.34. He was named

's Athlete of the Week that week A week after that he ran in a Pro Men’s Mile exhibition at the USA Youth Championships in

Lisle, Illinois Lisle ( ) is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,390 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the population was recorded to be 23,270. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Illinois Technology and Resea ...

. Although the conditions were hot and windy, his time was 4:04.98, an M40 American record. Finally as a masters runner, he has a sponsor-The Sports Basement, a discount sporting and camping goods store. Sorensen's full-time employment is as a coach and physical education teacher at Bancroft Middle School (San Leandro, California). He also spent a few years as an assistant coach for the cross country team at

Notre Dame de Namur University Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) is a private Catholic university in Belmont, California. It is the third oldest college in California and the first college in the state authorized to grant the baccalaureate degree to women. In 2021, the ...

Notre Dame de Namur University – NDNU
. Ndnu.edu. Retrieved on October 25, 2011.

References

External links

Youtube video of Sorensen finishing in 6th place in the 800 metres (1:52.38) at the 1986 CIF California State Meet while running for Villa Park High School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorensen, Jim 1967 births Living people American male middle-distance runners American track and field coaches California Polytechnic State University alumni American masters athletes Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Sportspeople from San Leandro, California Sportspeople from Alameda County, California Sportspeople from Orange County, California Track and field athletes from California World record setters in masters athletics