Sam Parsons competes in Doha, Qatar, among the world’s best in one of the 5,000m semifinals.
Newark, Del., native Sam Parsons, son of CRR George Parsons and CRR Christina Parsons, has had quite a running year in 2019, capped off by his competing (for Germany) in the World Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Doha, Qatar.
Competing in the 5,000m race as the German national 3,000m champion (he has dual citizenship), Parsons did not qualify for the final, but he managed to run the 24th best time (13:38.53) at this distance in the semifinals among the world’s elite middle-distance runners, finishing 13th in the second semi, just 13 seconds off of a qualifying time.
With regard to the younger Parsons’ experience at the World Championships, his father noted, “He was [just] happy to be here.” About his son’s finishing 24th overall in an attempt to qualify for the finals, the proud elder Parsons said, “I’ll take it!”
Sam Parsons makes eye contact with a rather surprised Ethiopian competitor at the World Championships in Doha.
On Sept. 8, as a run-up to his trip to Doha, Parsons ran a personal best road mile in the prestigious and nationally televised Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City. He led the professional field at the half-mile post (by a wide margin) and collected a $1,000 bonus for having done so, as he had done in 2018 in the same race. Though other runners caught and passed him later in the race, placing him 10th overall, he ran a 3:55.0, smashing his previous best by nearly three seconds and trailing the winner by less than four seconds.
Parsons’ other notable personal bests this calendar year include:
- 1,500m: 3:37.46 (Portland, Ore., Track Festival, June 9, 2019)
- 3,000m: 7:44 (IAAF Diamond League, Lucern, July 9, 2019)
- 5,000m: 13:22 (Payton Jordan Invitational, Palo Alto, May 2, 2019)
Parsons runs for the Boulder, Colo.–based Tinman Elite professional running team. Prior to a successful collegiate running career at North Carolina State, he ran cross country and track in high school locally for The Tatnall School.
I guess you know you’ve hit “the big time” when you’re quoted in the New York Times in an article related to running. Well, that just happened recently to one of our own in the NYT’s July 10 issue. Even though the article was about an elite runner named Kyle Merber, CRR Sam Parsons, a fellow running professional, weighed in on how Merber has helped many running communities, like the Boulder, Colo.–based Tinman Elite club for which Parsons runs.
Prof. and CRR George Parsons has been awarded a named professorship. He is now the Unidel E. I. duPont Professor of Marine Studies.
