Jon Rankin had always been a good runner at UCLA, but it took
him three years to establish himself as a collegiate great.
Now, only three races removed from his career as a Bruin, Rankin
has already established himself as a force to be reckoned with at
the international level.
Rankin finished first in each of his three races last week,
establishing a new personal best in the 1500m and coming away with
two 800m titles.
Rankin’s first victory came at the expense of the Swedish
national champion in the 800m at Karlstad, Sweden, on Tuesday.
Rankin ran mid-pack for a majority of the race and left the field
with 190 meters left to go, easily defeating the competition in
front of 8,000 spectators with a time of 1:47.61, half a second off
his personal best.
The former Bruin’s success didn’t stop there, as he
went on to victory in Norkoping, Sweden, on Thursday in search of
the world A standard in the 1500m. Rankin’s time of 3:38.90
was a new personal best, but not good enough to secure the A
standard.
Rankin’s third win came in Gavle, Sweden, on Saturday in
the 800m with a time of 1:47.67.
“I didn’t think I would be as successful so early in
the season,” Rankin said. “These first few meets have
been a great blessing because I have been able to sharpen my race
tactics and prepare in the most efficient way possible for the top
European races.”
Though his time at UCLA is complete, Rankin will remain in the
area to continue training with Eric Peterson, who was his coach
throughout his collegiate career.
Despite the change in competition, Rankin’s workouts have
remained largely the same as they were working up to the NCAAs, but
will soon feature altitude training in Mammoth Lakes and workouts
with other elite athletes in hopes of continuing what has been a
rapid progression for the recent graduate.
“It wouldn’t be fair for me to have him stay in this
area and work him so hard if I didn’t believe in his talent
and ability,” Peterson said. “He is as fine a talent as
any distance runner in the United States right now.”
Rankin’s long-term goals mirror Peterson’s
confidence in his athlete. Rankin will be looking to qualify for
the Indoor Championships this upcoming winter, while focusing on
the 800m in hopes of becoming America’s top competitor in
that event by the end of next year’s track season.
In 2007, Rankin’s focus will shift to the 1500m with the
goal of making the Outdoor World Championships, hopefully leading
to a Beijing-bound 2008 at the Summer Olympics.
And then there is the recent Nike contract.
“He is so capable of running at that high, world-class
level,” Peterson said. “He’s got so much talent,
a strong work ethic, excitement, and now he has the contract with
Nike so he can do things others aren’t able to do and focus
completely on his training and make this his profession.”
The question remains whether Rankin will be able to progress at
a fast enough pace to reach the elite level. While his senior year
featured one improvement after the next, it is difficult to assess
after only three races whether he can maintain such a rapid
progression.
“That’s the million-dollar question,” Peterson
said. “You can’t judge the speed that people will
develop at. If he continued to develop at the same rate that he has
over the past 20 months, he could make it to where he wants to be
in another 20 months.”
Rankin will have three more opportunities to continue his
development with a 1500m and mile race in Sweden and an 800m race
in Oslo, Norway, in the remaining days of July.
And even if Rankin does reach his goal of becoming the
nation’s finest 800m runner and representing the United
States in the 2008 Olympics, he refuses to speculate on how long
his track and field career will last.
“I won’t look beyond the next Olympics,” he
said. “I believe that I should set my sights on that goal and
not beyond it, since the Olympics is the ultimate stage for track
and field, and every athlete dreams of getting there at some point
in their career.”