By David Fleet
dfleet@mihomepaper.com
Eugene —Just four years ago, Cooper Teare finished less than one second short of making the U.S. Olympic Team for the 2020 games in Tokyo.
Now, at 24 years old, the University of Oregon standout is on the cusp once again.
Teare will compete in the Paris Olympics trials in both the 1,500 and 5,000 meter races at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The event will be on NBC June 21-30.
Cooper Teare is the son of Dave and Charlene Teare of Alameda, Calif. Dave is a former resident of Ortonville and a 1980 graduate of Brandon High School.
“Cooper has run the Olympic standard time in both the 1,500 and 5,000 meter races,” said Dave Teare. “Very few people have met the standard, so the odds of him making the USA Olympic team in one or both of these events is very real this time.”
On June 26, 2021 Teare, then a senior distance runner for the University of Oregon, was edged out by .095 of a second of making the U.S. Olympic team to compete in Toyko in the men’s 5,000 meters on the final day of the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials at his home school’s Hayward Field.
Paul Chelimo, a 2016 Olympics silver medalist, won the race with a time of 13:26.82, followed by Grant Fisher 13:27.01 and Woody Kincaid at 13:27.13
Teare finished fourth with a time of 13:28.08.
The U.S. Olympic team requires track and field athletes to run, throw or jump faster than the Olympic A standard time in their selected event. After that, athletes must finish in the top three at the US Trials comprising the top American male and female track and field stars.
While Teare is qualified to run both the 1,500 meter and 5,000 meter races at the Olympic Trials, the 1,500 meter race is up first leaving the 5,000 as a fallback option if he is not in the top three in the first race.
On May 18, 2024 Teare snagged the 5k standard at the United States American Track & Field LA Grand Prix in Los Angeles, finishing in ninth place at 12:54.72.
Teare’s running career has been stellar.
In 2020, Teare completed his stint at the University of Oregon and signed a multi-year professional running contract with Nike.
In his very first professional race he finished second and set an indoor American record in the 3k at the Millrose Games in New York City. His effort of 7:39:50 easily broke his previous best at the distance by more than 6 seconds.
Cooper was a two time All-American in cross country and three time All American in track while at Oregon. He left the Oregon program as one of the most successful runners in that school’s storied running history. He is the current NCAA record holder in the indoor mile as well as the mile leg runner of the Duck’s world record in the Distance Medley Relay. He was also the 2018 National High School Distance Runner of the Year in 2018.