Robert Farken (born 20 September 1997) is a German athlete specialising in

middle distance running Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 15 ...

. He is German outdoor champion and a four time German indoor champion, earning him the nickname “Farken fast”. From

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, and a high school graduate at the sports high school there. He had a promising start to his career before an

achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

injury slowed his progress. In 2016 Farken was runner-up over 800m at the German youth indoor championships. In the same year he was the fastest U20 runner in Europe over 800m. Farken ran this best time at the evening sports festival in Pfungstadt, but this came after the selection period for participation in the U20 World Championships in

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

had finished so he was not able to compete. In 2017 Farken became German indoor champion over 800 meters in his first start in the men's class in Leipzig. At the evening sports festival in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

on January 27, he qualified for the indoor European championships in Belgrade with a personal best of 1:47.65 minutes. In June 2021, in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

, he not only ran a championship record (3:34.64 minutes) over 1500m, but he also made the Olympic qualifying time ensuring his place at the delayed

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 ...

, a great result for the many Germans waiting to see Farken in the Olympics. In Tokyo Farken qualified from his heat before finishing in eighth in his semi final race. Despite his early exit from medal contention, he managed to earn the nickname “Farken Fast”. In February, 2022 Farken became German champion over 1500 metres indoors for the first time, winning at his home track in Leipzig.

References

1997 births Living people German male middle-distance runners Athletes from Leipzig Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Germany {{Germany-athletics-bio-stub