Jack Rayner (born 19 December 1995) is an Australian

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

. He qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. He ran in the men's marathon but failed to finish due to cramping in both his legs after running 500 meters. Rayner is part of the Melbourne Track Club.

Early years

When Rayner was about 7 years of age his parents looked for a sport for him. A neighbour suggested he would make a good

cross country runner 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 earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

. By the age of 9 he had a coach, Keith Fearnley. A year later he ran at his first national cross country championships. For the next ten years he continued to run nationally mostly finishing just outside the medals. However, when he was 17 years of age he won the national junior 5000m. After school, Rayner was unsure what to do with his life and worked in

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

for a few years. He still ran long distances and competed in fun runs. He then decided to take his running seriously and joined Nic Bideau's Melbourne Track Club.

Achievements

In 2015 he won the Australian national championships in the 3000m. In 2018 he won the half marathon national championships in the

Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast may refer to: * Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia **Sunshine Coast Region, a local government area of Queensland named after the region **Sunshine Coast Stadium * Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), geographic subregion of the Br ...

. Later on in 2018, Jack won the inaugural

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

Commonwealth championships in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

in a time of 1:01:01. In October 2019 he was one of forty-one pacemakers in the Ineos 1:59 Challenge, where

Eliud Kipchoge Eliud Kipchoge ( ; born 5 November 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized at the 5000 metre distance. Widely regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time, he is the 2016 and 2020 ...

successfully became the first person to run the marathon distance in under 2 hours. In April 2019, Rayner made his marathon debut in London and clocked a Tokyo Olympic qualifier of 2:11.06, a time which has held up for selection for the postponed Games in 2021. On 6 March 2022 Rayner set a new Australian record in the 10,000m with a time of 27:15.22.

References

1995 births Living people Australian male long-distance runners Australian male marathon runners Australian male cross country runners Olympic male marathon runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Australia 20th-century Australian people 21st-century Australian people {{Australia-athletics-bio-stub