Charles Jock (born 23 November 1989) is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800 meter discipline. He ran collegiately at

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...

. He is currently the NACAC U23 record holder for the 800 meter race. Jock represented the United States at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in the ...

Early life

Jock was born in a refugee camp in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

after his parents, John and Mary, escaped the civil war in Sudan. He and his family would eventually reach asylum in the United States and move to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. In 2005, his father died of liver cancer.

Running career

High school

Jock attended

Mission Bay High School Mission Bay High School (MBHS) is a public high school in San Diego, California, adjacent to Mission Bay (San Diego), Mission Bay in the community of Pacific Beach, San Diego, Pacific Beach. It is a magnet school with emphasis on academic stu ...

. He first played basketball for the school, during which coach Emmitt Dodd insisted that Jock try track and field. He first began as a high jumper before being put into an 800-meter race, the distance he would succeed in 2008 he was the California State meet champion in the 800 running a time of 1:51.64. He currently holds both of Mission Bay's 400 and 800 meter records.

Collegiate

Jock attended

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

and was given an athletic scholarship. He majored in Urban Studies and showed an interest in sustainable living. He became a member of

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon () is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on March 9, 1856.Baird, William Raimond, ed. (1905).Baird's Manual of American College Fratern ...

fraternity at UCI. While still in college, Jock qualified to represent the United States at the

, where he ran in the men's 800 meters. A year later, Jock won the men's 800 meters at the 2012 NCAA DI T&F Championships.

Post-collegiate

Jock qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 800 meters after a surprise 3rd-place finish in the event in the U.S. Olympic Trials.
The Orange County Register: ''Boris Berian, Charles Jock complete unlikely journeys to U.S. Olympic track team'' Jock ran in heat 4 of the Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres, men's 800 at the 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing in sixth place with a time of 1:47.06.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jock, Charles 1989 births Living people American male middle-distance runners American people of South Sudanese descent Sportspeople of South Sudanese descent South Sudanese refugees UC Irvine Anteaters men's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Sigma Alpha Epsilon members NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportsmen