Ethan Strand (born October 20, 2002) is an American distance runner who competes for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

Early life and education

Strand attended Vestavia Hills High School, located near Birmingham, Alabama. His father Scott is a graduate of

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

and the former coach of the men's track team at the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

, while his mother Lori is a former cross country coach at

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

. Strand is a two-time winner of the Alabama Gatorade Cross Country Player of the Year award.

Collegiate career

In June 2024, Strand reached the 1500 meter final of the United States Olympic Trials. He was one of five collegians to make the race. On November 23, 2024, Strand finished eighth in the 2024 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, in a time of 28:53.0. His teammate, Parker Wolfe, finished one place ahead at 28:50.2. On December 7, 2024 in Boston, Strand broke Drew Bosley's former NCAA record in the short track 3000 meters of 7:36.42 by more than six seconds, running 7:30.15. Strand out-kicked his teammate Parker Wolfe in the final straightaway, who ran 7:30.23. On February 1, 2025 in Boston, Strand broke Cooper Teare’s former NCAA record in the short track mile of 3:50.39 by over two seconds, running 3:48.32. Strand accelerated past Robert Farken of

On Athletics Club On Athletics Club (OAC) is a training group of professional Distance running, distance runners sponsored by On (company), On. The team is coached by Dathan Ritzenhein and was founded in August 2020 with eight original members. OAC trains primaril ...

Boulder, closing in 27.10 seconds for his last 200m. Strand's time places him as the seventh fastest indoor miler of all time. In March 2025, at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, Strand won an NCAA title over the 3000 meter distance, with a winning time of 7:52.03. On July 5, 2025, Strand won the International Mile at the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic is a track and field meet held at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Organized by the Oregon Track Club, it was previously one of the IAAF Grand Prix events, and ...

, with an outdoor personal best of 3:48.86. That same month, he signed a professional contract with Nike.

References

External links

Ethan Strand
at World Athletics
Ethan Strand
at University of North Carolina Athletics {{DEFAULTSORT:Strand, Ethan Living people 2002 births American male long-distance runners American male middle-distance runners North Carolina Tar Heels men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Alabama 21st-century American sportsmen