Mario García Romo (born 29 June 1999) is a Spanish middle-distance runner, who specializes in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') 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 Athletic ...

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

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

and 2023 World Championships, finishing fourth and sixth. García competed collegiately for the University of Mississippi, where he won a national title in the mile at the

2022 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2022 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships were the 57th NCAA Division I Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 40th NCAA Division I Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Birmingham CrossPlex in ...

. 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 primarily ...

as a professional runner for

On Running On, sometimes referred to as On Running is an athletic shoe and performance sportswear company originating in Switzerland that designs and markets sports clothing and running shoes. As of 2019 the company held 40% of the running shoe market in S ...

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 ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It ...

, a small town in Spain 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. While at the University of Mississippi, García was a 7-time NCAA Division I All-American and 6-time Southeastern Conference 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 Countr ...

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 are 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 home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

to train under coach Dathan Ritzenhein 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 f ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, where he finished fourth in the final. Later that year, he earned a bronze medal in the 1500 m at the European Athletics Championships. 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. 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, contesting the mile. He finished fourth in 3:47.69.

Achievements

All information from World Athletics profile.

International competitions

Personal bests

Outdoor *

800 m The 800 metres, or 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 since the ...

: 1:46.90 (Oxford, MS 2022) *

1500 m The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') 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 Athletic ...

: 3:29.18 (Oslo 2023) *

Mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

: 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 3000m shoul ...

: 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 stand ...

: 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

References

{{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 21st-century Spanish people University of Mississippi alumni United States collegiate record holders in athletics (track and field) NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners