Casey Clinger
American long-distance runner (born 1998)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Casey Clinger (born 9 October 1998) is an American long-distance and cross country runner. In 2025, he set the American road national record over 25km.[1]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 October 1998 |
| Alma mater | Brigham Young University |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event(s) | Long distance running, Cross country running |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal bests | 1500m: 3:38.16 30 (Clovis, 2021) Mile: 3:57.13 (Boston, 2023) 3000m: 7:41.05 (Seattle, 2025) 5000m: 13:13.46 (Virginia Beach, 2025) 10,000m: 27:11.00 (San Juan Capistrano, 2025) Road 5km 13:34 (Indianapolis, 2025) 20km: 58:05 (New Haven, 2025) 25km: 1:12:17 (Grand Rapids, 2025) NR Half marathon: 59:34 (Houston, 2026) Marathon: 2:08:43 (Tokyo, 2026) |
Early life
Born to Steve and Tiffany, his father Steve competed in high school football, basketball and the discus throw in athletics. His mother Tiffany was a ballerina and accepted a ballet scholarship to Brigham Young University. Clinger attended American Fork High School in Utah prior to attending BYU himself. He graduated from high school with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.[2]
Career
As a high schooler, Clinger set the fastest time recorded at the Utah state cross country championships, a record which stood until broken by Jackson Spencer in 2025.[3] He was an eight-time state champion in cross-country and track. He won back to back titles at Nike Cross Nationals in 2015 and 2016. In 2016, he was named Gatorade National Athlete of the Year for cross-country.[2]
Clinger had his debut racing for Brigham Young University as a freshman in 2017 and ran that year at the 2017 NCAA Division I cross country championships, was BYU's top finisher, helping the team finish third in the team standings.[2][4]
Clinger helped the BYU Cougars win the team event at the 2024 NCAA Division I cross country championships, placing sixth overall in the individual race.[5] Clinger finished fifth over 10,000 metres at the 2024 US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon in June 2024.[6]
In March 2025, competing at The Ten in California, Clinger ran a personal best of 27:11.00 in the 10,000m to move to fifth on the all-time NCAA list and set a new BYU school record, previously held by his head coach, Ed Eyestone.[6][7] That month, Clinger placed fourth over 5000 metres at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach in a personal best 13:13.46.[8]
Clinger turned professional in April 2025, signing with Brooks Running.[6] In his second professional race, competing on the roads in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Ellwood won the USATF 25 km Championships title and set a new American record for the distance, bettering the American record, set previously by Diego Estrada, by 52 seconds with a time of 1:12:17.[9][10] Clinger placed sixth in the 10,000m at the 2025 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.[11]
Clinger made his marathon debut at the 2025 Chicago Marathon, placing 25th overall in 2:16:05.[12][13] On 11 January 2026, Clinger ran 59:34 at the Houston Half Marathon.[14] On 1 March, at the 2026 Tokyo Marathon, Clinger ran a new personal best of 2:08:43.[15]