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

Mexican-American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

former middle-distance

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 ...

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, were 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 Dolores Hidalgo (; in full, Dolores Hidalgo Cuna de la Independencia Nacional, ) is the name of a city and the surrounding municipality in the north-central part of the Mexican state of Guanajuato. It is located at , at an elevation of about a ...

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, Manzano moved with family to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

at the age of four. He was raised in Granite Shoals, Texas, and excelled at Marble Falls High School, 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), 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 The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

, where he won five

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

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 with a runner-up finish at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 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 The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...

, as well as second-place finishes at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final, 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 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, breaking a 44-year drought for the U.S. men's middle distance running. 2014
Leonel Manzano won another 1500 meter title in 3:38.63 at the 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

. 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 fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

Herculis

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. 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 Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number) *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * 15 (Buckcherry album), ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * 15 (Ani Lorak album), ''15'' (Ani Lorak album), 2 ...

2016
Leonel Manzano placed 4th at 1500 meters at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials (track and field). Manzano is a

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

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

* * *
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 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 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportsmen