Leo Manzano is an Olympic silver medalist. Repeat that, Leo Manzano is the 2012 Olympic silver medalist. So, out of all the milers in the world, on the right day, in an Olympic final, Leo Manzano put it all on the line and delivered.
Leo Manzano, Sacramento, June 2014, photo by PhotoRun.net
That is something special. An Olympic medal is one of those things that you just can forget.
Move now to 2014. Leo Manzano is having one of his best seasons in years. He won the Pre International Mile on May 31. He won the USA Outdoor title on June 28. A week later, Leo runs 1:46.32 for the 800 meters. And in Glasgow, on July 12, Leo Manzano ran 3:34.40. After that race, we interviewed Leo for this piece. He told us how happy he was, with his training, his life, his coaching and sponsor relationships. He knew he would run faster.
Well move to a week later, on July 18, in Monaco. At the Meeting Herculis, Leo Manzano runs 3:30.98, his fastest EVER. Leo and I chatted after the race, and he noted, ” with three more races, I think I can run really fast.” As in really fast meaning under 3:30.
Well, Leo Manzano will spend the next several weeks back in the US, much of the time with his new coach, John Hayes. Manzano will train over the next month as the Commonwealth Games and European Games, back to back, give US athletes little chances to race at the elite level again until August 20 or so.
Here is our interview with Leo Manzano, who is having an epic year. We can not wait to see how fast Leo Manzano can race in August!
