Jon Byron Rankin (born 9 February 1982) is an American born retired Caymanian middle and long-distance track and field runner. The highlight of his track and field career was winning the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships at 1500 metres and the 2007 Emsley Carr Mile in England. He is the CEO of Go Be More, who design apparel. He is also a copywriter working for various organisations and for himself.
Early life and amateur career
Rankin graduated from Monte Vista High School in Spring Valley, California. He then went on to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree in English language. In 2004 he became UCLA's number one runner for the season and was an All-American. On 9 April 2005, he became then the 17th African American and 268th American overall to run a sub four-minute mile. He graduated from UCLA in 2005.
Professional career Athletics career After graduating, he turned professional as a sponsored athlete with Nike. Rankin trained and raced throughout the US and Europe. On 11 August 2007 he won the Emsley Carr Mile in Manchester, England in a personal best time of 3:54.24, A year later in 2008, at the time of the United States Olympic Trials, he was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), although his official diagnosis didn't come about until the end of 2008. FSGS is estimated to occur in 2-3 persons per million, with males and African peoples at higher risk. Later in 2011, Rankin underwent an experimental stem cell surgery to reverse his disease.
Earlier, on 1 October 2009, Rankin decided to switch his allegiance to the Cayman Islands, "Jon is eligible to do this because both of his parents were born in the Cayman Islands," wrote his manager, Merhawi Keflezighi. He retired from professional competitive racing at the end of 2012. In 2015 Rankin was inducted into the National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame by the National Black Marathoners’ Association.
Personal bests Distance Time Place Date 800 metres 1:47.01 Indianapolis, USA 11 June 2008 1500 metres 3:35.26 Stockholm, Sweden 26 July 2005 One mile 3:54.24 Stretford, England 11 August 2007 5,000 metres 14:08.09 Los Angeles, USA 11 March 2011 10k 30:44 New York City, USA 15 May 2010 15k 47:53 Jacksonville, FL, USA 9 March 2013 Half marathon 1:08:59 Carlsbad, CA, USA 24 January 2010 Marathon 2:34:29 Sacramento, CA, USA 5 December 2010
All Information taken from World Athletics profile.
Competitions Representing 2001USA Track & Field Junior National ChampionshipsSports Backers Stadium, Richmond, Virginia, USA 1st1500 metres 2007Emsley Carr MileStretford Stadium, Manchester, England1st Mile2008United States Olympic TrialsHayward Field, Eugene, Oregon, USA6th 1500 metres2009Fifth Avenue MileFifth Avenue, New York City, USA13th MileRepresenting 2010UAE Healthy Kidney 10KNew York City, USA23rd10,000 metresCommonwealth GamesJawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi, India14th800 metres17th1500 metres2011IAAF World Cross Country ChampionshipsPunta Umbría, Spain98th Cross countryCentral American and Caribbean ChampionshipsMayagüez Athletics Stadium, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico3rd1500 metresPan American GamesEstadio de Béisbol Charros de Jalisco y Atletismo, Zapopan, Mexico7th800 metres4th1500 metres2012UW (University of Washington) InvitationalDempsey Indoor, Seattle, Washington, USA5th Mile2013Jacksonville River RunJacksonville, Florida, USA49th 15,000 metres
Career outside of athletics
Since graduating, outside of athletics, Rankin has been a freelance senior copywriter, and since 2018 he has been the chief executive officer of both Go Be More and Catchy Content Co.
See also List of Caymanian records in athletics
References
External links