Leonel "Leo" Manzano (born September 12, 1984) is a retired

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

middle-distance track and field athlete specializing in the 1500 m and mile. He was a silver medalist at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Manzano is known for finishing his races with a strong finishing kick.

Running career

Early life and high school

Born in Dolores Hidalgo,

Guanajuato Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...

, Mexico, Manzano moved with family to Texas at the age of four. He was raised in Granite Shoals, Texas, and excelled at

Marble Falls High School Marble Falls High School (MFHS) is a public high school in Marble Falls, Texas, USA, and a part of the Marble Falls Independent School District Marble Falls Independent School District ("MFISD") is a school district based in the city of Marble F ...

, where he won a total of nine Texas 4A state championships in track and cross country. Manzano recorded prep bests of 1:50.48 (

800 m 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 ...

), 4:06.29 (1600 m), and 9:07.18 (3200 m).

Collegiate

During a recruiting trip to the University of Texas, Austin, Manzano went on a training run with several runners on the track and field team. It is reported that they ran 8 miles. After coming back from the run, Manzano was quoted as saying that the 8-mile run was the longest run he had ever completed. As a prep, Manzano possessed incredible talent and upside, having never trained in a higher-mileage system. Manzano's early talent did not go unnoticed, earning him a spot on the track and field team for the University of Texas, where he won five NCAA National Championship titles, earned All American nine times and holds four school records, including the indoor mile (3:58.78), 1,500 meter (3:35.29), and indoor and outdoor distance-medley relay. His senior year culminated in the Men's Track Athlete of the Year award from the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association ( USTFCCCA). He is the first Longhorn to ever make the U.S. Olympic team in the 1,500 meter and remains the most decorated athlete ever in the history of Track and Field at the University of Texas.

Post-collegiate

Three weeks after winning his final collegiate race, Manzano qualified for the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

with a runner-up finish at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials. At the

, he placed twelfth in his semi-final. 2009
Manzano had a breakthrough season at the international level in 2009, qualifying for the World Championships 1500 m event final. His success that season would also include victories at Reebok Grand Prix in New York and British Grand Prix, as well as second-place finishes at the

2009 IAAF World Athletics Final The 7th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece on September 12 and September 13, 2009. The competition represented the culmination of the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Tour, a selection of athletics m ...

, London Grand Prix and Rieti Meeting. 2010
In 2010, Leo competed at IAAF Diamond League meets, while achieving personal bests in the mile (3:50.64), 800 m (1:44.56), and 1500 m (3:32.37) in the span of three weeks. He was elected to compete for the Americas at the

2010 IAAF Continental Cup The 1st IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Originally scheduled as the 11th IAAF World Cup in Athletics, it was renamed in 200 ...

and took the 1500 m bronze medal. 2011
A series of injuries in 2011 resulted in less success at the international level that year. However, he was able to put together a strong late season performance to win the Emsley Carr Mile against a strong field. 2012
In 2012, Manzano returned to form and won the 1500 m titles at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships and 2012 United States Olympic Trials, while qualifying for the

. Throughout his career, Manzano has represented the United States on 6 world championship teams, including 2 Olympic Teams—2008 and 2012. In the 1500 m Final at the

, Leo Manzano unleashed his signature kick to claim the silver medal. Manzano became the first American to medal in the 1500 m since Jim Ryun won silver in

Mexico City 1968 The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport ev ...

, breaking a 44-year drought for the U.S. men's middle distance running. 2014
2014 DécaNation - 800 m 13

Leonel Manzano won another 1500 meter title in 3:38.63 at the 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, California. On 18 July, Manzano ran a personal best of 3:30.98 to take 8th place at 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 ...

Herculis The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. World records Over the course of its history, five world reco ...

Monaco. Manzano's time in the incredibly deep field was the fastest clocking of 8th place in any meet in history. 2015
Leonel Manzano placed 3rd at 1500 meters at the 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and 10th in 2015 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 1500 metres 2016
Leonel Manzano placed 4th at 1500 meters at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials (track and field). Manzano is a Coca-Cola spokesperson. 2019
On July 28, 2019, Leo announced his retirement citing a calf injury from February and a desire to spend more time with family

References

External links

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Texas Longhorns profile
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Manzano Mile
– an all-comers track meet * {{DEFAULTSORT:Manzano, Leonel 1984 births Living people People from Dolores Hidalgo Sportspeople from Guanajuato American male middle-distance runners American sportspeople of Mexican descent Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Hispanic and Latino American sportspeople Mexican emigrants to the United States World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States People from Burnet County, Texas USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Texas Longhorns men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Texas