1. Joe Klecker was born on November 16,1996 and is an American long-distance runner.
44 Facts About Joe Klecker
1. 2.
Joe Klecker graduated in 2015 and attended the University of Colorado in the Fall.
3.
Joe Klecker is currently the school's record holder in the indoor 5000m.
4.
In 2022, Joe Klecker married fellow University of Colorado alum and On Athletics Club teammate Sage Hurta.
5.
Joe Klecker had a successful high school career, leading to two individual state championships his senior year.
6.
Joe Klecker considered Minnesota, Furman, Georgetown and Tulsa before choosing Colorado.
7.
Joe Klecker chose to redshirt his Freshman season of Cross Country but competed in indoor and outdoor track, setting PRs of 3:44.55 for 1500m, 7:59.77 for 3000m, and 13:44.23 for 5000m.
8.
Joe Klecker picked up his first all-american honors at the 2016 NCAA DI XC Championships, placing 28th.
9.
Joe Klecker ran track PRs of 7:51.43 for 3000m, 13:42.64 for 5000m, and 3:41.69 for 1500m.
10.
Joe Klecker placed 4th at the 2017 NCAA DI Indoor Track and Field Championship in the 3000m, and 7th in the Outdoor Championships for 5000m.
11.
Joe Klecker won the NCAA Mountain region championships and placed 2nd at the Pac-12 Championship for Cross country.
12.
Joe Klecker did not repeat his All-American status his Junior year of cross country, placing 67th at the championship race.
13.
Joe Klecker did not race indoor or outdoor track for Colorado the following winter and spring.
14.
Joe Klecker ran a PR in the 5000m in June 2018, with a time of 13:30.09.
15.
In 2018, Joe Klecker repeated as the Mountain Region Champion, and placed 8th in the NCAA XC Championships, his first time in the top 10.
16.
Joe Klecker finished 2nd in the NCAA Indoor 5000m to Morgan McDonald and 3rd in the 3000m to McDonald and Grant Fisher.
17.
Joe Klecker did not race in the outdoor championships due to a mid-season injury.
18.
Joe Klecker went on to run a 3000m personal record of 7:47.57, but the indoor championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the entire outdoor season.
19.
Under Ritzenhein, Joe Klecker ran personal bests of 3:37.55 for 1500m, 13:28.98 for 5000m and 27:35.57 during the second half of 2020.
20.
On February 6,2021, Joe Klecker opened his season at the Prickly Pear Invitational in Phoenix, AZ.
21.
Joe Klecker placed fourth to Bowerman Track Club teammates Marc Scott, Grant Fisher, and Sean McGorty.
22.
Joe Klecker's time of 7:39.18 was a personal record and his first time under 7:40.
23.
Joe Klecker finished 2nd to Justyn Knight in the 2-mile with a time of 8:14.20.
24.
Joe Klecker ran a 10,000 m personal best of 27:23.44 in Irvine, California on May 14,2021.
25.
Joe Klecker made his first Olympic team on June 18,2021, at the US Olympic Trials.
26.
Joe Klecker finished 3rd in the 10,000m running 27:54.90 with a final lap of 54.54 behind Bowerman athletes Woody Kincaid and Grant Fisher.
27.
Joe Klecker became the first US athlete with the "On Athletics Club," coached by Dathan Ritzenhein to make the Olympic team.
28.
At the 2020 Olympic Games, Joe Klecker finished 16th in the men's 10,000m final with a time of 28:14.18.
29.
On July 16,2022, again at Hayward Field in Eugene at the WAC, Joe Klecker ran with the leaders for over 23 laps, a tactical race, finishing 8th in 27:37.73, behind the winner Joshua Cheptegei.
30.
On January 27,2023 Joe Klecker broke the 13 minute barrier in the 5K, running 12:54.99 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic held at Boston University.
31.
Joe Klecker finished second in the race to Woody Kincaid, who broke the American record in 12:51.61.
32.
Joe Klecker was paced for just over two miles by teammate Ollie Hoare and led after Hoare stepped off the track.
33.
Joe Klecker was able to gap Kincaid by over a second heading into the final lap, but Kincaid closed in a fast 26.27 seconds for his final 200m while Klecker could only manage a 31.03.
34.
Joe Klecker's time was good for 7th fastest ever in the world indoors and 3rd fastest American indoors.
35.
Joe Klecker became the 11th American to break 13 minutes in the 5K.
36.
Two weeks later, Joe Klecker finished 3rd place at the Millrose Games in New York City at the Armory.
37.
Joe Klecker's time of 7:34.14 was a personal record and ranks him 4th on the all-time American indoor list.
38.
At the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in July, Joe Klecker ran the 10,000 and 5,000 with the top 3 in each event being selected to the US team for the World Athletics Championship.
39.
Joe Klecker placed 2nd in the 10,000 to Kincaid, running 28:24.50 with a 56.88 final 400m.
40.
Joe Klecker missed the 5000m team, qualifying for the final but placing 4th, one place out of qualification in 13:25.98.
41.
At the 2023 World Athletics Championships held in Budapest in August, Joe Klecker placed 20th in the 10,000m final with a time of 29:03.
42.
Joe Klecker opened his 2024 season on January 26 running a 5000 m at the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Classic with the goal of hitting the Olympic standard of 13:05.00.
43.
Joe Klecker finished in 9th, over 20 seconds back of 1st place finisher Josh Kerr and almost 10 seconds back of his personal best.
44.
Joe Klecker made his half marathon debut at Houston Half Marathon, running 1:01:06 for 18th place.