Santiago Catrofe (born 13 February 1999) is a Uruguayan athlete who competes in

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

. He is a multiple Uruguayan national record holder and national champion.

Early life

Having moved to

Girona, Spain Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

with his family, he has lived in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

since the age of 4 years old. He was competing internationally in the colours of Uruguay at the 2018 under-23 South American Championships, in which he came fourth in the

1500m The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run 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 Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers ...

Career

In May 2019 Catrofe finished fourth in the

at the 2019 South American Championships. In Barcelona, in July 2019 Catrofe broke the 30-year old national 1500m record of

Ricardo Vera Ricardo Cirilo Vera Rebollo (born September 16, 1962) is a retired long-distance runner from Uruguay. Career Vera competed for his native country in the men's 3.000 metres Steeplechase at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992 ...

. Vera was in the stands to see his mark of 3:43.47, which he set in 1989 in Seville, being broken by Catrofe running 3:42.73. Catrofe finished in fourth place at both the 2019 Pan America Games 1500m race in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

in August 2019. Catrofe won the bronze medal at the

2021 South American Championships in Athletics 2021 South American Championships in Athletics was the 52nd edition of the biennial athletics competition between South American nations. The event was held in Guayaquil, Ecuador, from 29 to 31 May at the Estadio Modelo Alberto Spencer Herrera. It ...

1500m race, running 3.38:67 to finish behind

Thiago André Thiago do Rosário André (born 4 August 1995) is a Brazilian Middle-distance running, middle-distance runner. Running career He represented his country in the 1500 metres at the 2016 Summer Olympics without advancing from the first round. He fi ...

, and

Federico Bruno Federico Bruno (born 18 June 1993) is an Argentine middle- and long-distance runner. He is and weighs .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 Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

record on the road. In May 2022, he then twice broke the national 5000m record on the track, lowering it first in Nerja, Spain and then on the 22 May 2022 in at the

Stadio Olimpico Carlo Zecchini Stadio Olimpico Carlo Zecchini (formerly known as Stadio Olimpico Comunale) is a multi-use stadium in Grosseto, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of U.S. Grosseto. The stadium holds 10,200. During ...

, in

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and a ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the province of Grosseto and the main city of the Maremma region. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the ...

, Italy to 13:26.78. On 3 June 2022 at the BoXX United Manchester

World Athletics Continental Tour The World Athletics Continental Tour is an annual series of independent track and field athletic competitions, recognised by World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF). The Tour forms the second tier of international one-day meetings after the ...

event, Catrofe set a new meet record by winning the 1500m race in a time of 3:40.58. Catrofe qualified for the World Athletics Championships 1500m in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, based on his ranking as the 44th out of 45 entrants. However, he far exceeded those expectations qualifying seventh fastest for the semi-finals before finishing 10th in his semi-final and 20th fastest overall. He competed in the 5000 metres at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in August 2024. In March 2025, he finished second at the Lille 5km road race in a South American record of 12:57. He was runner up to

Selemon Barega Selemon Barega Shirtaga (born 20 January 2000) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, silver for the 5,000 metres at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and bronze in the ...

at the

Great Manchester Run The Great Manchester Run is an annual run through Greater Manchester (namely Manchester, Trafford and Salford). It has consisted of a 10k run since it was established in 2003, and a half marathon since 2017. The 10k race is the largest of its t ...

in England on 18 May 2025. He lowered his South American area record for the 5000 metres to 12:59.26 at the

2025 Meeting de Paris The 2025 Meeting de Paris was the 30th edition of the annual outdoor track and field meeting in Paris, France. Held on 20 June at the Stade Sébastien Charléty, it was the eighth leg of the 2025 Diamond League – the highest level international ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Catrofe, Santiago 1999 births Living people World Athletics Championships athletes for Uruguay Uruguayan male long-distance runners Uruguayan male middle-distance runners Uruguayan cross country runners South American Games competitors for Uruguay Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 South American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Uruguay 21st-century Uruguayan sportsmen Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 Pan American Games