Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Full name | Dathan James Ritzenhein | ||||||||||||||
Born | Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. | December 30, 1982||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | ||||||||||||||
Weight | 117 lb (53 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||
Sport | Cross country, Track and field, Distance running | ||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Marathon, Half marathon, 10,000 meters, 5000 meters | ||||||||||||||
College team | Colorado Buffaloes | ||||||||||||||
Turned pro | 2004 | ||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
Olympic finals | 2004 10,000 m, DNF 2008 Marathon, 9th 2012 10,000 m, 13th | ||||||||||||||
World finals | 2007 10,000 m, 9th 2009 10,000 m, 6th 2013 10,000 m, 10th | ||||||||||||||
Personal bests | |||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Dathan James Ritzenhein (born December 30, 1982) is a retired American long-distance runner, and current head coach of the On Athletics Club (OAC). He held the American record in the 5,000 metres (12:56.27) from 2009 to 2010, until it was broken by Bernard Lagat.[2] He is a three-time national cross country champion with wins at the USA Cross Country Championships in 2005, 2008 and 2010. Formerly a Nike athlete for the majority of his professional career, Dathan joined the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project team in 2017. In early May 2020, he announced his retirement from competition. He signed with the Swiss shoe brand On shortly thereafter in June 2020 and currently acts as the coach for the OAC in Boulder, Colorado.
Ritzenhein was a standout runner at Rockford High School in Michigan and the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was part of the stellar high school class of 2001 that also produced American high school and overall mile record holder Alan Webb and American half-marathon and marathon record holder Ryan Hall.