Hampton places 8th at Olympic Trials
Pottstown native and 2007 Pottsgrove grad just 5 spots from U.S. team with personal-best 2:12.10 in Atlanta
Jonas Hampton, a Pottstown native and former standout at Hartford University, had an outstanding performance in the marathon at the United States Olympic Team Trials last Saturday in Atlanta. The 2007 Pottsgrove graduate placed eighth in a field of 175 runners with a new personal-best 2:12.10 in the 26.2 mile race.
The 31-year-old Hampton was the top finishing unattached (nonsponsored) runner while averaging a 4:59-minute mile in his second qualification for the U.S. Trials.
He finished just five places out of U.S. team qualification with the top 3 finishers earning a place. The top 3 finishers were Galen Rupp (2:09:20), Jacob Riley (2:10:02) and Abdi Abdirahman (2:10:03).
Hampton, who lives in the Boston suburb of Newtonville, Mass., and works as a civil engineer, qualified for the Olympic Trials after setting a time of 2:14:19 in the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
Hampton has made incredible strides since trying his hand at marathons, winning his first-ever marathon, the 2015 Eversource Marathon in Hartford, Conn., in 2:15.57. The win qualified his for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, where he finished 46th.
At Pottsgrove, Hampton, who is the son of Bernard and Debra Hampton, was a two-time winner of the City Championships and placed third at the PAC Cross Country Championships.
A four-year member of the Hartford track and field and cross country teams from 2007 to 2011, Hampton was a standout distance runner for the Hawks. He set personal bests of 31:45.62 in the 10,000m, 14:52.10 in the 5000m, 8:39.74 in the 3000m and 4:27.36 in the mile. On the cross country course, herecorded personal-best times in the 10k (34:09.25), 8k (26:21.0) and the 5k (15:35.0).