American long-distance runner Clayton Young, 30, who stands at 1.83 m (6 feet 0.047 inches) is an Asics competitor. He competed in collegiate track and field for Brigham Young University, where he won the 10,000 meters in the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
In the 2023 Chicago Marathon, he finished ninth in 2:08:00, a career best. Young qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris after placing second in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
Clayton Young Is Qualified For 2024 Paris Olympics
Two runners who previously competed for Brigham Young University, Conner Mantz and Clayton Young, have earned spots to race in the marathon event at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
At the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Marathon Trials in Orlando, Florida on February 3rd, Mantz and Young finished first and second respectively to claim the two guaranteed Olympic team berths for Paris.
Mantz completed the 26.2 mile marathon in 2 hours 9 minutes 5 seconds, just one second ahead of Young. After crossing the finish line, the two friends shook hands and hugged.
For Young, his second-place finish comes after having knee surgery just one year earlier in 2023.
“That underdog mentality did me well,” “If you had me out of your top three, I’m in it now. Let’s go to Paris. Let’s make this happen. I know we are sending the best team.”
Young said
Young credited their coach at BYU, Ed Eyestone, as well as Olympic runner Jared Ward and teammate Sam Chelenga, for helping prepare them to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Eyestone previously ran the Olympic marathon for the United States at the 1988 Seoul Games and 1992 Barcelona Games. Ward represented the U.S. in the 2016 Rio Olympics, placing 6th overall. Ward also competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Trials but chose not to run in the 2024 Trials.
While running for Brigham Young University, Conner Mantz won two national championship titles. In October, before the Olympic Trials, Mantz competed in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. He finished in sixth place overall but was the top American runner. His time of 2 hours, 7 minutes, 47 seconds tied him for the fourth-fastest marathon ever run by an American man.
Clayton Young’s Early Years in Utah
Clayton Young was born on September 14, 1993, in Clovis, California. He currently lives in Provo, Utah. He is 6 feet tall and weighs 140 pounds.
His parents are Kyle Young and Kelly Young. He has five siblings named Kendy, Eva, Austin, Autumn, and Ty. Clayton has been married to Ashley Young for 7 years. They have two daughters – Jenna who is 3 years old, and Lacey who is 5 years old.
He completed high school in elementary school in Yakima, Washington. Clayton Young works as a mechanical engineer at the company Stryker. His hobbies include riding motorcycles, skiing, water skiing, and quartet singing.
Clayton Young is a family man
Clayton Young has been married to his wife Ashley Young for 7 years. He is a family man, the couple have two children, 5-year-old Lucy and 3-year-old Jenna.
When he’s not in the sports field like training, racing, or working, he spends time with his wife and their two daughters. Fans often see Clayton celebrate the victory with his family.
Clayton began his running career when he was in elementary school
Clayton Young began running long distances after joining a mileage club when he was in elementary school. The universities of Colorado and Weber State wanted him to run for their teams.
He started competitive distance running in elementary school in Yakima, Washington after joining a mileage club there. After his family moved to Utah, he ran cross-country for the excellent program at American Fork High School. He was named an all-state runner three times in cross-country and ten times in track and field events. His high school cross-country teams won three Utah state championship titles.
Clayton attended American Fork High School in American Fork, Utah. In 2011, he was named an All-American at the Nike Cross Nationals meet. In 2010, he won the individual championship at the Utah 5A Cross Country State Meet. His high school coach was Timo Mostert.
After finishing high school, Clayton took a two-year break from competitive running to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Raleigh, North Carolina area, where he spoke Spanish.
Even though he put running aside to focus on his mission, Clayton was able to lose the extra weight he had gained and became a stronger and faster runner. While running for Brigham Young University, his personal best times were 13:31 for 5000 meters and 28:18 for 10,000 meters on the track.
On October 8, 2018, the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named Clayton Young the National Athlete of the Week.
Further National Championships
In 2019, he won the men’s 10,000-meter national championship at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas. He also placed sixth in the 5000 meters at that meet. Clayton is one of many athletes coached by Ed Eyestone and his staff. Young became the first BYU track and field national champion in the 10,000 meters since Eyestone won that event in 1985. He also competed in the 5000 meters at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto, California, where he placed 18th with 1096 points.
Also Read: Paris Olympics Marathon Team USA Runner Conner Mantz Wife Kylie, Age, and Height
In 2020, after using up his eligibility at BYU in June 2019, Clayton Young turned professional by signing a contract with the Asics company. He made his marathon debut at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta, running a time of 2 hours, 29 minutes, 46 seconds.
Clayton Professional Career
In 2021, Clayton Young ran his second marathon at the Chicago Marathon. He started at a pace to finish around 2 hours 12 minutes, going through the halfway point in 1 hour 6 minutes 11 seconds. However, in the final few kilometers, he slowed down a bit. Still, he set a new personal best time of 2 hours 16 minutes 7 seconds, which was 13 minutes faster than his previous best. That same year, he won the U.S. 15km Road Running Championships in Jacksonville, Florida, scoring 1080 points.
In 2022, Clayton competed in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, placing 18th overall by scoring 1130 points in that marathon event.
He go through knee surgery in February 2023. However, just 7 months later at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, he not only hit the Olympic qualifying standard time of 2 hours 8 minutes 10 seconds but also ran the 7th-fastest marathon ever by an American man with his time of 2:08:00 for 7th place overall. In 2023, he also won national titles at the 8km and 20km U.S. Road Running Championships.
In 2024, Clayton Young entered the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials with the second-fastest qualifying time of 2:08 from the 2023 Chicago Marathon. At the Trials, he was able to stay with the lead pack as several of the pre-race favorites fell behind. By mile 19, the lead pack was just three runners: Zach Panning, Young, and his training partner Conner Mantz. Around mile 22, Panning dropped off the pace, leaving Young and Mantz as the two leaders.
The two training partners celebrated together over the final few miles, knowing they had all but secured spots on the U.S. Olympic team. At the finish line, Young allowed Mantz to take the win. But both men earned places to represent the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with Young clocking 2:09:06 for his second-fastest marathon ever behind Mantz’s winning 2:09:05.
