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Willamette University
900 State Street
Salem, Oregon 97301
(503) 370-6855
2008 Olympic Trials 800m champion; Two-time USA Outdoor runner-up (’06, ’07); 2007 USA Indoor champion; Seven-time NCAA Div. III Outdoor champion (800m, 1,500m)
At the 2008 Olympic Trials men’s 800m final, Symmonds used his patented kick coming off the final curve to propel himself into the lead and the eventual win in 1:44.10 in qualifying for his first Olympic Team in front of his hometown fans in Eugene, Ore. Symmonds won his first U.S. indoor title in 2007 and followed that up with a runner-up finish at the AT&T USA Outdoor Championships. He first proved his mettle on the elite level when he finished as the runner-up in the 800 meters at the 2006 AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Indianapolis. His time of 1:45.83 was a personal best for the Division III national record holder from Willamette University in Oregon, who wore his high school singlet during the competition. He was a seven-time NCAA Division III outdoor track champion, winning every NCAA championship race in which he competed. He won both the 800 and 1,500 each year of his college career except his sophomore season, when injury limited him to only the 800. Symmonds was named the 2005 Division III Track and Field Male Athlete of the Year, and was the recipient of the prestigious Ad Rutschman Award, presented at the annual Oregon Sports Awards Banquet to the state’s top small college athlete. Symmonds was the surprise winner of the 2005 Northwest Conference cross country championship last fall, helping lead the Bearcats to another conference and regional championship, their fifth in a row. In his first career indoor race on January 13, 2006 in Seattle, Symmonds posted an impressive time of 3:56.72 for the mile. A 2006 graduate of Willamette University, where he studied biochemistry, Symmonds attended Bishop Kelly High School in Boise, Idaho. He now competes for the Oregon Track Club.
Source of this content is featured on the offical USATF website.