Mainers Guide to Olympic Track & Field Trials

Hometown: North Yarmouth

Second Olympic Trials was 12th in 10k & 6th in the 5k in 2012, True will compete in the 10k final on 7/1 @ 6:15pm,  He also plans to compete in the 5k, the first round goes on 7/4 @5:02pm

Ben True, the former Greely HS & Dartmouth College standout will look to make his first Olympic team, he will compete in both the 10k & 5k runs. He has publicly stated that he would prefer to run the 5k, but thinks his training may have been better suited for success at the 10k.

True battled Lyme disease symptoms at the last Olympic Trials in 2012 has taken his running career to the next level since then. The Saucony sponsored True now has personal bests of 13:02.74 in the 5k, which made him the 9th fastest US runner ever at the distance. He also has a 27:41.17 mark in the 10k.

Ben is no stranger to success, he placed 6th in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 2013, leading the US team to a silver medal. He just missed making the 2013 Worlds team in the 5k & 10k as he placed 4th place in both events at the US Championships.

In 2015 True found more success starting with a US road 5k record in the BAA 5k where he clocked a 13:22. AT the 2015 US Outdoor Track & Field Championship True finished second place in both the 5k & 10k, making the World Championship team for the first time. He would go on to place 6th in the 5k at the World Championships as he ran 13:54.07 just once place back of Galen Rupp.

Ben has raced sparingly in 2016 as he dealt with some injury issues during his winter buildup. Originally he planned on running a the NY half marathon but had to drop those plans. So far this spring, True opened with a 13:12.67 for 5k at the Prefontaine Classic, and last time out ran a personal best 3:36.05 for the 1500m at the adidas Boost Boston Games, the time is the US leader in 2016.

With his speed at an all-time best True stands the best chance of any Mainer to punch their ticket to Rio. 

2016 Bests