Robert Farken (born 20 September 1997) is a German

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 ...

. In 2025, he became German national record holder over

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 ...

and the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards, 5,280 Foot (unit), feet, or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance running, middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling ...

, and is a multiple-time German champion.

Career

From

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, and a high school graduate at the sports high school there. He had a promising start to his career before an

achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

injury slowed his progress. In 2016 Farken was runner-up over 800m at the German youth indoor championships. In the same year he was the fastest U20 runner in Europe over 800m. Farken ran this best time at the evening sports festival in Pfungstadt, but this came after the selection period for participation in the U20 World Championships in

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...

had finished so he was not able to compete. In 2017 Farken became German indoor champion over 800 meters in his first start in the men's class in Leipzig. At the evening sports festival in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

on January 27, he qualified for the indoor European championships in Belgrade with a personal best of 1:47.65 minutes. In June 2021, in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

, he not only ran a championship record (3:34.64 minutes) over 1500m, but he also made the Olympic qualifying time ensuring his place at the delayed

2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, a great result for the many Germans waiting to see Farken in the Olympics. In Tokyo Farken qualified from his heat before finishing in eighth in his semi final race. Despite his early exit from medal contention, he managed to earn the nickname “Farken Fast”. In February, 2022 Farken became German champion over 1500 metres indoors for the first time, winning at his home track in Leipzig. He won the 1500 metres at the

2024 BAUHAUS-galan The 2024 BAUHAUS-galan was the 58th edition of the annual outdoor track and field meeting in Stockholm, Sweden. Held on 2 June at Stockholm Olympic Stadium Stockholm Olympic Stadium (), most often called Stockholms stadion or (especially loca ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

on 2 June 2024. He was selected for the

2024 European Athletics Championships The 26th European Athletics Championships were held from 7 to 12 June 2024 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. It was the third time Italy staged this sporting event after the inaugural 1934 European Athletics Championships, 1934 edition in T ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

but did not qualify for the final. He competed at the

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 ...

over 1500 metres, reaching the semi-final. On 6 June 2025, he ran 3:30.80 to set a new national record in the 1500 metres at the

2025 Golden Gala The 2025 Golden Gala was the 44th edition of the annual outdoor track and field meeting in Italy. Held on 6 June at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, it was the fifth leg of the 2025 Diamond League – the highest level international track and field c ...

in Rome. He ran a national record 3:49.12 in the Dream Mile at the

2025 Bislett Games The 2025 Bislett Games was the 60th edition of the annual outdoor track and field meeting in Oslo, Norway. Held on 11 and 12 June at Bislett Stadium, it was the sixth leg of the 2025 Diamond League – the highest level international track and fi ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

on 12 June 2025.

Personal bests

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 ...

: 1:45.65 (

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

2023) ** Indoor: 1:47.00 (

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

2024) *

1000 m 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 sp ...

: 2:15.81 (

2021) *

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 ...

: 3:30.80 (

2025) ** Indoor: 3:34.51 (

2024) *

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 ...

indoors: 7:51.42 (Karlsruhe 2022)

References

External links

* 1997 births Living people German male middle-distance runners Athletes from Leipzig Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century German sportsmen {{Germany-middledistance-athletics-bio-stub