Mario García Romo (born 29 June 1999) is a Spanish

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 specializes in the

1500 metres 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 kilomet ...

. He was the national champion in the event in 2022, and he represented Spain in the 1500 m at the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and 2023 World Championships, finishing fourth and sixth. García competed collegiately for the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

, where he won a national title in the mile at the 2022 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships. After graduating in 2022, he joined the

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 ...

as a professional runner for On Running.

Early life and collegiate competition

García hails from

Villar de Gallimazo Villar de Gallimazo is a municipality located in the province of Salamanca, Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous commu ...

, a small town in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

with a population of 200. He relocated to the United States in 2018 to attend the University of Mississippi, pursuing a degree in chemistry. While at the university, he competed in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). His older brother, Jamie, also participated in NCAA athletics for

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. It also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, and Manchester and offers over 40 online undergraduate and graduate options. History Founding ...

. While at the University of Mississippi, García was a 7-time

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n and 6-time

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

champion in cross country and track. He won a national title in the indoor mile at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, running 4:07.54 to narrowly edge

Morgan Beadlescomb Morgan Beadlescomb (born June 1, 1998) is an American middle-distance and long-distance runner currently representing Adidas. Early years Beadlescomb attended Algonac High School in Algonac, Michigan. He won the Lower Peninsula D2 Cross Country ...

for the win. He was runner-up in the 1500 m at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. While still a student, García was also the silver medalist in the 1500 m at the

2021 European Athletics U23 Championships The 2021 European Athletics U23 Championships were the 13th edition of the biennial athletics competition between European athletes under the age of twenty-three. It was planned to be held in Bergen, Norway from 8 to 11 July., but this venue was c ...

Professional

2022

After graduating college, García relocated to

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

to train under coach

Dathan Ritzenhein Dathan James Ritzenhein (born December 30, 1982) is a retired American long-distance runner, and current head coach of the On Athletics Club (OAC). He held the American record in the 5,000 metres (12:56.27) from 2009 to 2010, until it was broke ...

as part of the

. At the Spanish National Championships, García won the 1500 meters in 3:35.52, qualifying him for the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, where he finished fourth in the final. Later that year, he earned a bronze medal in the 1500 m at the

European Athletics Championships The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletic Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for me ...

2023

On the 15 June, García set a personal best of 3:29.18 in the 1500 m at the Bislett Grames to finish fifth. The following month, he placed third in the Spanish Championships, qualifying him for the 2023 World Championships in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. On 23 August, he finished sixth in the 1500 final of these championships in 3:30.26. The following month, on 8 September, García set a national record over 2000 m with his time of 4:49.85. The Spaniard ran his last track race of the year 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 ...

, contesting the mile. He finished fourth in 3:47.69.

Achievements

All information from

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

profile.

International competitions

Personal bests

Outdoor *

800 m The 800 metres, or 800 meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event sin ...

: 1:46.90 (Oxford, MS 2022) *

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 ...

: 3:29.18 (Oslo 2023) *

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 ...

: 3:47.69 (Eugene, OR) * 2000 m: 4:49.85 (Brussels, Belgium 2023) NR *

3000 m The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m shou ...

: 7:47.56 (Nashville 2022) *

5000 m The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

: 13:56.69 (Memphis 2020) Indoor *

: 3:35.98 (New York City 2023) *

: 3:51.79 (New York 2023) NR *

: 7:34.74 (Boston, MA 2023)

NCAA

Statistics sourced from athlete's profile on Track & Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS).Mario Garcia Romo's Ole Miss XC & Track Results
TFRRS

Notes

References

External links

*
Mario García
at RFEA *
Mario Garcia
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Mario García – COE – Paris 2024
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Mario 1999 births Living people Spanish male middle-distance runners Sportspeople from Salamanca Ole Miss Rebels men's track and field athletes European Athletics Championships medalists University of Mississippi alumni United States collegiate record holders in athletics (track and field) NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Spain 21st-century Spanish sportsmen