Luis Grijalva (born 10 April 1999) is a Guatemalan

long-distance Long distance or Long-distance may refer to: *Long-distance calling * Long-distance operator * Long-distance relationship * Long-distance train *Long-distance anchor pylon, see dead-end tower Footpaths * Long-distance trail *European long-d ...

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 ...

. Born in Guatemala, he attended

Armijo High School Armijo High School is a public secondary school located in Fairfield, California, Fairfield, California, United States. It is the oldest of the three high schools in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, the other two being Fairfield High ...

Fairfield, California Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Solano County, California, in the North Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is generally considered the midpoint between the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento, approximately fro ...

, where he was a state champion in cross country and track. He went on to compete for

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

, securing multiple All-American finishes in the NCAA. In 2021, Grijalva began competing professionally, sponsored by

HOKA ONE ONE Hoka One One (stylized as HOKA) is an athletic shoe company originating in Annecy, France that designs and markets running shoes. The brand first gained attention in the running industry by producing shoes with oversized outsoles, dubbed "maximal ...

. At the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, he finished twelfth in the

5000m The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Athletics at the Summer Olympics, Olympic Games and the World Championships in At ...

. He also finished fourth in the 5000m at both the

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

and

2023 World Athletics Championships The 2023 World Athletics Championships ( hu, 2023-as atlétikai világbajnokság), the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, are scheduled to be held from 19 August to 27 August 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. The city of Budapes ...

Running career

High school and college

Grijalva was a state champion in cross country while attending

, winning Division 1 of the 2016 CIF State Cross Country Championships. He was also an All-American at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships. On the track, Grijalva won the 1600m state championship in 2017, and he recorded high school personal bests of 4:02 in the mile and 8:46 for 2 miles. His senior year, Grijalva signed a letter of intent to compete for Northern Arizona University (NAU), beginning in fall 2017. While at NAU, Grijalva raced four times in the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, improving from a 60th place finish his freshman year to a 9th place finish his senior year. His efforts helped lead the school to three national titles. On the track, Grijalva primarily specialized in the 5000m. In his final collegiate race, he finished second in the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, behind

Cooper Teare Cooper Teare (born August 18, 1999) is an American distance runner who races events such as the 1500m, 3000m, 5000m. As a runner at the University of Oregon, he won the 5000m in 13:12.27 at the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Cham ...

. His time of 13:13.14 was among the top 5 fastest times ever run by a collegian in the event, and it surpassed the Olympic standard of 13:13.50.

Professional

2021

In June 2021, Grijalva turned professional after securing a sponsorship deal with shoe company

, and he remained in

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...

to continue training under his college coach, Mike Smith. He was slated to represent Guatemala in the 5000m of the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

in August. However, his status as a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient posed challenges for his travel outside the United States, as DACA beneficiaries risk denial of reentry if they leave the country. This situation garnered national attention. Ultimately, Grivalija received special permission from the

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and immigration system. It is a successor to the Immigration and Naturalizati ...

to leave and compete. He went on to finish in 12th place in the 5000m final.

2022

Grijalva competed internationally in June over 3000m on the

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 ...

, running to a time of 7:38.67 and a sixth place finish in

Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropoli ...

. He also contested the 5000m at the

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bislet ...

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...

, finishing eleventh. In July, Grijalva represented Guatemala 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 ...

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 ...

. His time of 13:10.44 led him to a fourth place finish.

= 2023

= Grijalva competed in several European races during June and July, with the most notable result at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meet in Italy. At that

event, the athlete ran a new personal best of 12:52.97 for 5000m, earning him third place. Later that summer, Grijalva represented Guatemala at the

in Budapest, Hungry. He placed 4th for the second time in the 5000m of a global championship, just 0.22 second shy of bronze medalist Jakob Krop of Kenya. On September 17th, he competed in the 3000m of 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 ...

in Eugene, Oregon, which also served as the Diamond League Final. His time of 7:29.43, en route to a seventh place finish, was another national record for the Guatemalan.

Personal life

Grijalva’s family emigrated to the United States from Guatemala in 2000, when he was a year old. They initially moved to New York, before setting in Fairfield, California. When Grijalva was 13 years old, his two older brothers became involved in gang-related activity and were deported. He credits running with helping him to stay focused on his education.

Achievements

All statistics from athlete's profile on World Athletics.

Personal bests

International competitions

References

1999 births Living people Guatemalan male middle-distance runners Guatemalan male long-distance runners Northern Arizona Lumberjacks men's track and field athletes Guatemalan emigrants to the United States DACA recipients Sportspeople from Guatemala City Olympic athletes for Guatemala Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Northern Arizona Lumberjacks men's cross country runners People from Fairfield, Alabama Sportspeople from Jefferson County, Alabama {{Guatemala-athletics-bio-stub