Ryan Martin is an American

Middle distance runner 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 1 ...

. Martin tried out to compete for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the men's 800 m 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 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He is a professional runner for Asics.

Personal

Martin was born in 1989 in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

, the son of Debra and Chris Martin.

High school

Martin ran four seasons of track during his stay at

Santa Margarita Catholic High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School (SMCHS) is a coeducational college preparatory Roman Catholic high school located in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, United States. SMCHS is owned and operated by the Diocese of Orange, and was opened in ...

. Ryan Martin is the current school record holder at 800 meters with his time of 1:53.23 set at the CIF California State Meet where he finished in second place, and is a member of the 4x800m record setting team (7:51.51) with Kary Yergler, Mark Hirschboeck, and Jon Telles Martin was a State Runner-up, 2-time C.I.F. SS Champion (2006, 2007),

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

Champion, and League Champion numerous times. During his senior season of track in his senior year, he burst onto the track scene, ranking nationally with a time of 1:53.28 in the

800 meters 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 ...

College career

Martin attended the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

in Santa Barbara; his majors were

Business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

and

Art History Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

. During his first year of track during the 2008–2012 season, Martin ran the 800 m for the first time, and led the Gauchos in the 800. Martin advanced to the 2009 NCAA Outdoor finals of the 800m by placing second in Heat 3. The top two times in each heat, plus the next two fastest times overall, advanced to the final. Martin's time of 1:50.23 edged him past a runner from BYU who finished at 1:50.37. On Saturday, Martin finished eighth in the 800m final with a time of 1:52.12. It was a close race, with the winner crossing the line in 1:49.48. The fifth-place runner clocked a time of 1:50.60. Martin earned points in

Big West The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

competition. In addition, he was ranked seventh nationally in the

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 the ...

with a time of 1:44.77. Martin skipped his freshman year of cross country, making 2008 his first season. He was on the All-Big West First Team for finishing top fourteen in league competition. His time of 1:44.77 at the 2012 Big West Conference Championship was good for first on the all-time

University of California Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the Un ...

list. He was the NCAA all american twice in the 800 in both 2011 and 2012. The two-time All-American at UCSB was one of the youngest runners in the race and narrowly missed a berth to the London Olympic Games.

Professional

In 2012, Martin placed 4th at the USA Trials. He made it through the semifinals of the 2012 United States Olympic Trials (track and field), but failed to qualify to the Olympics by placing 4th and running a 1:44.90 in his Final. In 2013 Martin failed to qualify for the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia by placing 23rd at the USA Outdoor Track Championships, running a 1:49.72. At the 2014

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Olym ...

Martin placed 6th in 1:52.62 in the final. At the 2015

Martin placed 5th in 1:46.04 to qualify for the

NACAC Championships The North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships is a continental track and field athletics event organised by the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association. The last of the six IAAF areas to hold a conti ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

where Ryan won the 800 meters in championship and meet records running 1:45.79.

Personal bests

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Ryan 1989 births Living people Track and field athletes from California American male middle-distance runners Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's track and field athletes Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games