Kevin Sullivan (born March 20, 1974) is a retired

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

who holds the Canadian records in the

1500 m 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 kilometer ...

and the

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

. Since 2014, he has served as the head coach of the track and field and cross country teams at his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

, the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Personal life

Sullivan studied civil engineering at the

where he had 14 All-American honours and won 4

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. ...

titles (one relay and 3 individual). Sulivan's father, Richard, is a machinist. He has two brothers, Darren and Colin. He played hockey and soccer while growing up in Brantford. Kevin is Married to Ilora Cipolat a former track and field Coach at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

. Kevin and Ilora are the parents of Cian Sullivan. The couple reside live in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

Athletics career

Sullivan competed in 1000 metres, 1500 metres, and mile events and represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. His personal best times are 3:31.71 for the 1500 (set in June 2000) and 3:50.36 for the mile. He is the former Canadian record-holder for the indoor 3000 m, 7:40.17 (set February 9, 2007). His best Olympic showing is a fifth-place finish at

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. In 2005, he left his longtime Michigan coach, Ron Warhurst, to train under the coaching of Juli Henner. In the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, Sullivan reached the semi-finals of the 1500 metres but failed to qualify for the final. Sullivan was also a torchbearer for the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

, carrying the torch into

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully indep ...

. Sullivan was an assistant coach at Michigan in the early 2000s. He was a volunteer assistant coach at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

and a coach at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. Sullivan has been named one of the greatest Canadian distance runners of all time, concerning his placings in international competition, having competed at 3 Olympic Games, 22 World Championships (outdoors, indoors, and cross country), and still holding 4 Canadian track and field records including 3 outdoor and 1 indoor.

Personal bests

Coaching career

Sullivan is the men's distance & cross country head coach at

. In his first year, the Michigan Wolverines qualified for the NCAA Division 1 Cross Country Championships under his leadership. Kevin took this position in 2014, after years of successful coaching at

where he assisted his wife coaching the women's distance team. Kevin also coached at

References

External links