SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, California – Sam Atkin, former Warrior Cross Country and Track and Field standout and current assistant coach, became the fourth-fastest British runner ever in the 10,000 meters on Saturday night when he hit the Olympic standard with a time of 27:26.58. His time shattered his previous personal-best by three minutes and earned him fourth place in the event at The Track Meet. To make the event even more special, Atkin did it all while wearing his old LC State jersey.
Atkin, who runs for Great Britain, produced one of the most impressive performances of the meet, placing fourth with his Olympic standard time one day after running a personal-best 13:18.57 to finish fourth in the men's elite 5,000m.
"Honestly, right now I am lost for words," Atkin said. "I'm just so thankful for Coach (Mike) Collins, the Collins family, my family and support from friends and teammates. It just makes it that much more special to do it in my college jersey."
"Excitingly he was wearing his LC singlet brandishing Warrior blue on the national and world scene," Mike Collins said. "As his coach, I am extremely excited for him and look forward to even more great things to come."
Atkin was a nine-time NAIA All-American in track and field and won four individual national titles at LC State, with two in the indoor 3,000m and two in the outdoor 5,000m. He earned All-American status in cross country when he finished as the National Runner-Up in 2013. He was recently elected to the Warrior Athletics Hall of Fame and will be inducted in the spring of 2022.
THE TRACK MEET RESULTS