Robert Adrian Andrews (born March 29, 1991) is an American

middle distance runner Middle Distance Runner was an American indie rock band from Washington, D.C. Middle Distance Runner was founded in 1998, but the band didn't play a live show until 2005, shortly before the release of their debut album. The group was an early succ ...

who specializes in the

800 __NOTOC__ Year 800 ( DCCC) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar, the 800th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 800th year of the 1st millennium, the 100th and last year of the 8th century, a ...

and

1500 meters 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 kilometers ...

. While competing with

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

he won the men's 800 meters at the 2011 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He is also an Olympian, having qualified for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

in the 1500 meters, placing second at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials. In 2017, he became a national champion, winning the 1500 meters at the US Outdoor National Championships.

Running career

High school

Raised in

Manalapan Township, New Jersey Manalapan Township (, ) is a Township (New Jersey), township in western Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is centrally located within the Raritan River, Raritan Valley Region and is a pa ...

, Andrews attended Manalapan High School, graduating in 2009. As a senior in 2009, he set the U.S. high school indoor records for both the 800 m, at 1:49.21, and the 1000 m, at 2:22.28. At the

2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to s ...

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. Th ...

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 ...

, Andrews won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

over 800 m, becoming (along with

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

ist Casimir Loxsom) the first American male to medal in a middle distance event at the world junior championships.

Collegiate

Andrews competed in the 2010

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. ...

Outdoor Track and Field Championships his freshman year, placing second in the 800 m event to Andrew Wheating of Oregon. His more recent achievements include winning the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship 800-meter race in the second fastest time ever run for an NCAA 800 Championship race, recording a personal best time of 1:44.71 to come from the back of the field and narrowly beat

Charles Jock Charles Jock (born 23 November 1989) is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800 meter discipline. He ran collegiately at UC Irvine. He is currently the NACAC U23 record holder for the 800 meter race. Jock represented the U ...

of UC Irvine (1:44.75). Other notable achievements included winning the 800 meters at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships, beating out Andrew Wheating on the line.

Professional

Andrews left University of Virginia in 2012, his junior year, and signed a professional contract with

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

through 2017. In 2013, he joined the New York New Jersey Track Club and coach Frank Gagliano while keeping Adidas sponsorship. However, after a period of time he decided to leave the New York New Jersey Track Club, favoring a return to his UVA coach Jason Vigilante. He qualified at the 2016 Olympic Trials by kicking into the second qualifying position. Later that year he participated in the

2016 Olympic Games The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

where he was disqualified in the semi-final round for stepping inside of the curb while executing his kick. In the 1500 meters final at the

2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2017 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships were held at Hornet Stadium (Sacramento), Hornet Stadium on the campus of California State University, Sacramento in Sacramento, California, Sacramento, California. Organized by USA Track & Field ...

, he outkicked Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz Jr. to take first place with a time of 3:43.29, capturing his first-ever national championship.

Personal best

References

External links

*
Virginia Cavaliers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews, Robby 1991 births American male middle-distance runners Living people Manalapan High School alumni Sportspeople from Manalapan Township, New Jersey Track and field athletes from New Jersey Virginia Cavaliers men's track and field athletes World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportsmen