Who Is German Fernandez

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic (by 3 people)   Your rating: 1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic

The Best High School Runner Ever?

 

German Fernandez may soon be the best high school runner ever. Despite numerous injuries that have kept him off the track, he has demolished the CIF state meet record in cross country (14:24), won the USA Junior Cross Country championships (24:18 for 8k), and ran the best distance double in high school history at the California State meet, clocking 4:00.29/8:34.23 for 1600m and 3200m, respectively!

To top it off, he took down Jeff Nelson's 29 year-old 2-mile record, running 8:34.40, helping him to earn the Gatorade National Track and Field Athlete of the Year!

Breaking News!

German was named the USA Today Boys Track and Field National Athlete of the Year!

Did you know? Seven fun facts about German Fernandez! 

We'll all know more about him soon enough!

  1. German ran a 4:22 for 1600m as a freshman!
  2. German finished 3rd at the 2007 Footlocker National Cross Country meet, after forgetting his spikes!
  3. German is the first athlete to win the California State Meet 1600/3200 double since Meb Keflezighi!
  4. German has taken down high school records from multiple Olympians, including Marc Davis, Dathan Ritzenhein, Meb Keflezighi, and Ryan Hall!
  5. German has signed to run at Oklahoma State University, along with high school standout Colby Lowe!
  6. German had to have his spikes filed down by a jeweler prior to his historic double, because they were too long for the Cerritos track!
  7. German also broke Galen Rupp's 3,000 meter high school record en route to his record-setting 2-mile performance! He crossed the 3,000 meter line in 7:59.83!

German Fernandez

Quick Poll: Where does German rank among the all-time high school greats? 

Ryun, Webb, Lindgren, Rupp...German?

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Was German's California State Meet performance the best ever? 

Alan Webb's 3:53. Michael Granville's 1:46. Galen Rupp's 13:37. And now German's own 8:34.40! And there have been even more! So where does German's 4:00.29/8:34.23 rank?

Was German's California State Meet performance the best ever?

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Yes, no one has ever done that before

Anthony C says:

I say yes because know one has come less than a half seconed from a National record in the 1600 which was Alan Webb's and still goes out to do anothe race. Most people would never think about running another racer after that but German is differnt and runs hard every time and still ran down his National that day. recored that day in the 3200.

TrackEd says:

well i cant say that fernandez is the best runner at a mile but if you think about it fernandez is 19 and alan webb is 25, alan did his best mile in 3:56 and fernandez did it in 4 min flat but, he has also broken records made by 25 year olds athlets so clearly he is the best high school runner aive and it's gonna be hard to find another runner like him.=)

Pat says:

personally ran against German weekly in my league and dont believe anything compares to him running as fast as he did. he has done what even alan webb hasn't. german did not want the one mile record or two break four minutes as his main goal he wanted the two mile and he took it. I believe he has the chance to be a future Olympian and win gold.

german fan says:

OH YES!

Samuel says:

sometimes

No, others were still more impressive

rob says:

it was the best double 1600/3200 ever or in the top 2. But i dont think that it was the best ever i would have to say that, that would be Alan Webbs 3:53 mile smashing legend Jim Ryans record. and Jeff Nelsons 8:36 because that is a full 2 miles and not a 3200 meter run.

jesse says:

second only to Jim Ryun

AJ HOINSKI says:

the 3 53 by alan is as if not more impressive.....kick ass though OSU is lucky to have him

qwiknix86 says:

Webb's mile is still a tad better, but if German were to run against pros . . .

GoDucks! says:

Rupp's hs 5k pr is the best. German's double was great too tho.

 
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German Fernandez in high school 

Rewriting the record books

"Running is a sport I have to do. I love soccer, but now that I know I'm pretty good at running, it's my sport now." --German Fernandez

German ran cross country and track for Riverbank High School, near Sacramento, California, where he was coached by Bruce Edwards. Prior to getting serious about running, he was an avid soccer and basketball player. He ran his first race in 8th grade, and trained for the first time as a freshman in high school.

He excelled quickly in running, clocking 4:22.95 for 1600m as a freshman at the Sac-Joaquin Masters meet, just missing a spot at the CIF State Championships. He came back his sophomore year and surprised everyone by winning the Sierra Invitational by 43 seconds in 16:01 and the 2.25 mile Artichoke Invitational in a course record 11:20 (beating Yosef Ghebray's time of 11:24, run when Ghebray was a senior). He went on to win the California D4 state meet over Chad Hall to claim his first state championship.

German began having injury troubles shortly after this, and did not run for much of his junior year. He finally came back his senior year with a vengeance, though. He blasted a 14:42 as the runaway winner of the Seeded Boys Race at the Stanford Invitational in late September, tore through the autumn undefeated, and recorded a 15:03 course record on the challenging Willow Hill layout to lead his Riverbank team to the win at the Sac Joaquin Division IV Sectional Finals.

He then won the CIF State meet in 14:24 to crush Olympian Marc Davis' Woodward Park course record of 14:38. He followed that by winning the Footlocker West Regionals meet at Mt. SAC in a time of 14:53. He then finished 3rd at the Footlocker National Championship meet, behind champion Michael Fout and runner-up Chris Derrick.

In February of 2008, German won the USA 8k Junior Cross Country championships in a time of 24:18, earning him a chance to run at the World Cross Country Championships. He finished 25th at the meet in a time of 24:15 and was the first American to cross the line.

In track, German continued his stellar running. He ran numerous impressive doubles, including a 4:05.57/9:00.10 and a 4:07/8:45.08. But his best performance on the track was surely his California State Meet double where he ran 4:00.29/8:34.23 by himself. It is already regarded as the greatest 1600/3200 double in the history of high school track. The performance earned him athlete of the week honors from the USATF. (Read Rich Gonzales' review.)

German broke Jeff Nelson's 29-year old 2-mile record at the Nike Nationals meet on June 20th, clocking 8:34.40. He also broke the national high school 3,000 meter record, crossing that line in 7:59.82. For his record-breaking performances, Gatorade and USA Today named German Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

Sources: DyeStat, Wikipedia

Video: German smashes Marc Davis' CA state meet record in cross country 

And Marc Davis was good!

But what's with the dive?

Runtime: 4:24
3967 views
10 Comments:

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New Quick Poll: NOW what's German's greatest high school performance? 

Talk about a great senior year!

I closed the other poll where we had 83 respondents and 81 of them voted for German's double as his most impressive performance. Well, duh. But now it gets interesting. Which was better, his double or his two-mile? Or is it still one of his cross country races?

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German at World XC

Video: German smashes Hall's 1600m record at the CA state meet 

Part 1 of his epic double.

His splits: 29, 59, 2:00.49, 2:59.10, 4:00.29!

Runtime: 4:30
4157 views
10 Comments:

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Video: German smashes Ritz's 3200m record at the CA state meet 

Gotta love YouTube!

His splits: 1:04, 2:09, 3:14, 4:18, 5:23, 6:27, 7:32, 8:34.23!

Runtime: 9:39
16558 views
10 Comments:

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Quick Poll: Which part of the double was more impressive, the 1600 or the 3200? 

Don't underestimate that 1600m performance!

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German's best performances 

Record-breaking runs

"I want to stay healthy this year and run some PRs." --German Fernandez, prior to his senior track season

Championships

2005 California State D4 cross country
2007 California State D4 cross country (14:24 CR)
2008 USA 8k Junior Cross Country (24:18)
2008 California State track 1600m (4:00.29 MR)
2008 California State track 3200m (8:34.23 NR)
2008 Nike Nationals 2-mile (8:34.40 NR)

Personal Bests

4:00.29 - 1600m - Cerritos (2008)
7:59.83 - 3000m - Greensboro (2008)
8:34.23 - 3200m - Cerritos (2008)
8:34.40 - 2-miles - Greensboro (2008)

Sources: FlashResults

Interviews with German 

Get the shimmy from the man himself

News and Views about German from the Blogosphere! 

What others are saying about German Fernandez!

QPR U18 ( 3 ) – Peterborough United U18 ( 2 )
Following a good run down the left, Antonio German crossed from the bye-line for Terry Smith to hit home from 6 yards. Vanterpool came on for Fernandez, the visitors pulled one back and our final substitution was Perring replacing ...
Considering German Fernandez and his Amazing Double at the CIF ...
As I was enjoying the run by German Fernandez last night on Flotrack, I finished editing a piece by Kirby Lee for a photo gallery on Caltrack.com and in our summer Athletes Only. Just a quite note on German. The day after his historic ...
German Fernandez: Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of ...
California record-setter named nation's top high school performer.
German Fernandez breaks two-mile record
German Fernandez runs record two-mile time of 8 minutes, 34.40 seconds.

Other great distance running lenses by buraian 

Because the world needs to know!

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What do you think about German Fernandez? 

Or his double...or this lens...

Share your stories, sightings, thoughts, rants, raves...

TrackEd

I also love soccer and track too i have been insired by you i started making 7:30 miles and now 2 months later im hitting 5:58 keep working hard but we us WESTERN H.S. have a runner with a best time of 4:11

Posted July 31, 2008

TrackEd

I also love soccer and track too i have been insired by you i started making 7:30 miles and now 2 months later im hitting 5:58 keep working hard but we us WESTERN H.S. have a runner with a best time of 4:11

Posted July 31, 2008

Anayeli

You are so good in running I love soccer too I play at Panorama H.S. You impress me with the way you brake records as in the track meet in Cerritos college. But you always can do better. You are confident in what you do. Don't let everyone else strike your dreams!!!

Posted June 16, 2008

Darion Fleming

I hope to run against him one day in the Olympics, I got three good years until I break 4 in the 1600m, hope to see him in 6.

Posted June 10, 2008

AJ HOINSKI

He might end up being the best distance runner America has ever had......hopefully he stays healthy

Posted June 06, 2008

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