Drew Hunter

Andrew James Hunter (born September 5, 1997) is an American middle distance runner from Purcellville, Virginia, who competes professionally for Adidas on the running group Tinman Elite. He set the national indoor mile record for high school boys in 2016.^[3] He was named Gatorade National Cross-Country Runner of the Year in 2016.^[4] He committed to the University of Oregon on November 12, 2015^[5] but instead decided to pursue a professional career by signing a 10-year contract with Adidas on July 8, 2016.^[6]

Drew Hunter

Drew Hunter in 2019
Personal information
Born	(1997-09-05) September 5, 1997 (age 27) Loudoun County, Virginia, United States
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	141 lb (64 kg)
Sport
Sport	Track, cross country
Event(s)	1500 meters, mile
Club	Adidas Tinman Elite
Turned pro	2016
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking	16th U20[1]
Personal best(s)	800m: 1:48.57[2] 1500m: 3:34.80[2] Mile: 3:54.80[2] 3000m: 7:39.85[2] 5000m: 13:08.57[2]
Updated on May 20, 2024

Running career

High school

Hunter attended Loudoun Valley High School.^[7] He won the High School Boys 3000-meter race as a sophomore at the Penn Relays Carnival in 2014.^[8] He went on to set the national sophomore class record in the 3000 metres event at 8:16.31. In the fall of 2014, Hunter placed 4th at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships. Hunter won the New Balance National Indoor two-mile national title in a time of 8:48.22.^[9] He started his outdoor season with a 4:07 victory at the Penn Relays, becoming the first high school athlete since Olympian Matt Centrowitz to own both the high school boys 3k and mile Penn Relays titles.^[8] Hunter achieved a season best of 4:02.36 at the Adidas Dream Mile at the Adidas Grand Prix.^[10] He broke Grant Fisher’s meet record at the Brooks PR 2-mile championship, where he set a personal best of 8:42.51 in the event.^[11] He ended his 2015 track season with a 2nd-place finish behind collegian Blake Haney in the junior boys 1500m at the USATF Outdoor Championships, closing the last 400 meters of that race in 53.10 seconds.^[12] Hunter set a personal best of 14:20 in the 5000 meters at the Third Battle Invitational. He set a course record of 14:26 at the Foot Locker South regional meet before winning his first Foot Locker National title in 14:55.7.^[7] In his indoor debut, Hunter broke the high school boys national indoor 3k record with a time of 7:59.33 at the Camel City Elite meet in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.^[13] He followed up that performance with another national record in the high school boys indoor mile, running 3:58.25 at the Armory Track and Field Invitational.^[14] In so doing, he became the 8th High School Athlete to break 4 minutes in the mile and the second high school athlete to break 4 indoors. Two weeks later, Hunter broke his own record, clocking 3:57.81 in the mile at the Millrose Games. Hunter's 2016 outdoor season was also successful. He ran a 4:00.73 split in the 1600m to bring the Loudoun Valley boys the win in the DMR at the Penn Relays in 10:00.01.^[15] He returned to his best event, again breaking 4 minutes, running 3:58.86 at the Pre Classic.

Professional

In July 2016 Hunter signed a 10 year contract for Adidas.^[16] On August 5, 2016, he placed 6th overall in the men's mile race at the 2016 Sir Walter Miler, finishing in 3:57.15.^[17] It was his first race since graduating from high school. On February 11, 2017, Hunter participated in the NYRR Millrose Games Wanamaker Mile, where he placed seventh in 3:56.80. On February 23, 2019, Hunter won the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships two mile with a meet record time of 8:25.29.^[18] After suffering a series of injuries starting with a ruptured plantar fascia at the 2019 U.S. Track & Field Championships, Hunter did not compete in the 2020 USA Olympic Track & Field Trials. However, he returned to form later that year, winning the USA Road 5k Championships on November 6, 2021, in a time of 13:53. Hunter was also notable in the Loudoun Valley and Stone Bridge Highschool Track Programs, having great influences on all of those in the programs.

Personal life

Hunter is the fourth of nine children in his family. Five of his siblings are adopted; two from Haiti and three from China. His father and mother are both also runners. His father, Marc Hunter, was a national-class distance runner for Cleveland State University, owner of a personal best of 13:36 for 5000 meters.^[19] His mother, Joan Hunter ran at West Virginia University and has won multiple masters indoor national titles.^[20] Marc and Joan coached Alan Webb during his freshman year at South Lakes High School in Reston, Virginia.^[21] Hunter is currently^[when?] completing his undergraduate degree at University of Colorado Boulder.^{[citation needed]}

With his wife, Hunter has two daughters: Ella and Rose.^[20]

Race results table

Year	Championship Record	Event	Venue	Place	Time
2024	USA Cross Country Championships	10 km	Richmond, Virginia	9th	29:38
2023	USA Outdoor Championships	1500 m	Hayward Field	8th	3:36.51
	USA Indoor Championships		Albuquerque convention center	10th	3:49.35
2022	USA Outdoor Championships		Hayward Field	H3 7th	3:39.55
	USA Indoor Championships	3000 m	The Podium	5th	7:49.87
2019	USA Outdoor Championships	5000 metres	Des Moines, Iowa	5th	13:29.19
2019	USA Indoor Championships	2 mile run	Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex	1st	8:25.29[22]
2019	USA Cross Country Championships	10 km	Apalachee Regional Park	9th	29:37
2018	IAAF Continental Cup	1500 m	Městský stadion (Ostrava)	7th	3:43.95[23]
2018	USA Outdoor Championships		Drake Stadium	6th	3:43.97[24]
2017	USA Outdoor Championships		Hornet Stadium (Sacramento)	11th	3:46.37[25]
2015	USA Junior Outdoor Championships		Hayward Field	2nd	3:58.48[26]

References

1. "U20 OUTDOOR 2016 1500 METRES MEN". December 10, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
2. "Andrew HUNTER- Athlete Profile". IAAF.
3. Crouse, Lindsay (20 February 2016). "A Quick Turnaround as Drew Hunter Breaks High School Mile Mark". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
4. Emert, Jacob (2016-02-24). "Loudoun Valley's Drew Hunter named Gatorade National Cross-Country Runner of the Year". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
5. "Drew Hunter, nation's top-rated distance runner, commits and signs with Oregon Ducks". OregonLive.com. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
6. Chavez, Chris (2016-07-08). "High School Star Drew Hunter Turns Professional, Signs with adidas". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
7. "Loudoun Valley's Drew Hunter named Gatorade National Cross-Country Runner of the Year". Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
8. "Virginia runner Andrew Hunter wins mile and pulls off rare career double at Penn Relays". USA Today High School Sports. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
9. Stevenson, Jimmy. "Champ Boys 2mile Section 2, Hunter & Thomet 8:48 - 2015 NBIN | New Balance Nationals Indoor". MileSplit United States. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
10. "Adidas Grand Prix - Adidas Dream Mile - Boys". MileSplit United States. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
11. "Brooks PR 2015 Boy's 2 Mile (Hunter Takes down Fisher 8:42.51 #9 All-Time!)". FloTrack. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
12. "Blake Haney Takes Down Andrew Hunter & Grant Fisher to Win USA Jr. 1500 Title - LetsRun.com". LetsRun.com. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
13. Young, Dennis. "Drew Hunter Runs 7:59 3K For New National Record!". MileSplit United States. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
14. "Hunter's 3:58.25 mile breaks indoor HS record". ESPN.com. 7 February 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
15. Zahn, Jennifer. "FloTrack's Best Kicks of 2016: Drew Hunter Wins Penn Relays DMR By A Hair!". FloTrack. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
16. Chavez, Chris (July 8, 2016). "High school star runner Drew Hunter turns professional, signs with adidas". Sports Illustrated.
17. "Sir Walter Miler Results - Meredith College". August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
18. "United States Track and Field". usatf.org. Archived from the original on 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
19. "2012 Legends Meet" (PDF). Maplewood High School. October 6, 2012. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
20. "Meet The Elementary School PE Teacher Who Is The Mastermind Behind America's Greatest Prep Distance Runner". LetsRun.com. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
21. Chavez, Chris (6 February 2016). "Drew Hunter breaks Alan Webb's indoor mile record". si.com. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
22. "2019 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships". USATF. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
23. "2018 IAAF Continental Cup Results - OSTRAVA, CZECH REPUBLIC 08 SEP 2018 - 09 SEP 2018". Retrieved October 10, 2018.
24. "2018 USATF Outdoor Championships Results - 6/21/2018 to 6/24/2018 Drake Stadium". Retrieved October 10, 2018.
25. "2017 USATF Championships Results - 6/22/2017 to 6/25/2017 Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, Calif". Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
26. "USATF Junior Championships Full Results - 6/25/2015 to 6/28/2015 Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon". Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2018.