5 Things to Know About Jenny Simpson’s History-Making Olympic Performance

"Standing on the starting line, I’m terrified—I’m always terrified of it, but that last 100 meters is always a thrill for me. I just love the sport.”

By Erin Strout, Runner's World

When Jenny Simpson won the 1500 meter Olympic bronze medal on Tuesday night in Rio de Janeiro, she added the one...

Inspiring Her Daughter, an Olympic Runner, Was No Sweat for a Fitness Guru

“Even if I didn’t envision this path, I always had coaches telling me, ‘You can do this in college; you can even do this after. My mom had cheerleading available in high school; she is fitter than most of us, but of course she wasn’t told that. But I was told it, and I believed it.”

By Lindsay...

Why do Olympic runners race in the 1500 meters instead of the Mile?

"The Mile is easy to explain to non-track people... Everyone understands a fast Mile."

By Oliver Staley, qz.com

Today (August 16) in Rio, some of the world’s most talented runners will contest the 1500 meters.

That’s too bad. They should be running the Mile instead.

The 1500 meters has...

Jenny Simpson wants to put up a good fight in 1500m

“When I was challenged with what’s really the one message I believe in when it comes to not just sports but how what I do transcends sport, for me it really is what does brave look like everyday’.’

By Josh Peter, USA Today Sports

RIO DE JANEIRO — Before her first-round race in the 1500 meters...

Sporting legend Roger Bannister calls for “optimism” ahead of Olympic Games

"There will always be failures, wrongdoing and cheating in every human endeavour. Britain should be bursting with pride over our Froomes, Murrays, Ennis-Hills and Mo Farahs. They inspire amateur athletes all over the world."

By Hannah Somerville, Oxford Mail

Sporting legend Roger Bannister...

Olympic bronze medalist Rod Dixon: Kiwi Rio trio value the history of the 1500m

"I had an incredible feeling of connection with them. I know they called Quax too. They value the history as I did and that's what connects us and that's the glue that holds us all together."

By Phillip Rollo, Stuff

Rod Dixon knows what it is like to have a mate on the Olympic Games...

Brenda Martinez driven to be a role model

"There’s more to life than just running. I’m starting to realize that more as I get older. Kids are looking up to me."

By Allan Steele, The Press Enterprise

The Brenda Martinez story is bigger than Brenda Martinez.

The 28-year-old former Rancho Cucamonga High and UC Riverside track star is...

Matthew Centrowitz follows his father’s footsteps to a second Olympic team

"I kind of embraced that kind of role as a favorite. That’s where everyone wants to be. It’s certainly harder to stay on top of the mountain than to get up there. My personality, I’ve embraced and enjoyed the spotlight."

By Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

The joke already has hardened into...

From Iowa to Rio: Simpson’s journey to Olympic Games began in Iowa

"People ask about her all the time and we have so many friends who are following her."

By Andrew Logue, The Des Moines Register

A poster-sized photo of Jenny Simpson hangs in her grandfather’s home office.

Her grandmother keeps the neighbors in Spencer, Iowa, updated on Simpson’s progress...

Kankakee’s first Olympian: Joie Ray

Multi-talented Illinois native won a record 8 national titles in the outdoor Mile

By Jack Klasey, Daily Journal

Joie Ray was a gutsy little guy who loved to run whether the opponent was a Kankakee streetcar or a field of world class runners in the Olympic Games.

Although he was only...