Oregon adds U.S. distance great Chris Solinsky to its coaching staff

For the third time in his career, Chris Solinsky is joining forces with Oregon track and field coach Jerry Schumacher.

The former American record holder in the 10,000 meters and five-time NCAA champion has been added to the Oregon track and field coaching staff to assist with the distance and cross country squad.

As one of the best American runners of all time, Solinsky was a star pupil under Schumacher both collegiately at Wisconsin and professionally with the Bowerman Track Club. Now he'll coach alongside women's distance coach Shalane Flanagan, also an all-time great American runner, as Schumacher prepares to open his first track and field season as a Duck.

The first weekend of the collegiate indoor season is Jan. 13-14 and Oregon has athletes going to the Cougar Classic in Spokane and the UW Indoor Preview in Seattle.

Solinsky, 38, had been coaching at Florida the past five years, finding recent success with Parker Valby, the runner-up at the 2022 women's NCAA Cross Country Championships and the runner-up in the 5,000 at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

"I'm incredibly excited to have Chris join our team," Schumacher said. "Having coached him for over a decade, I know him to be one of the most driven and passionate athletes I've worked with and his work ethic is second to none. Chris has brought those attributes to coaching and has had tremendous success working with student-athletes at the University of Florida. He will be an awesome addition to our staff."

Before Florida, Solinsky spent three seasons at William & Mary (2014-17) where he was the 2016 Colonial Athletic Association men's cross country coach of the year. He also served as a volunteer assistant at Portland (2012-14) during his time with the Bowerman Track Club.As a professional, Solinsky was a 2009 and 2011 IAAF World Championships qualifier in the 5,000, and on May 1, 2010, at Stanford's Payton Jordan Invitational, he set the American record in the 10,000 with a time of 26 minutes, 59.60 seconds, becoming the first non-African runner to break 27 minutes in the event.

That time now ranks third in American history behind Grant Fisher and Galen Rupp, respectively. Solinsky is also the third-fastest American in the 5,000 with a career-best of 12:55.53. At Wisconsin, Solinsky was a 14-time all-American, a five-time NCAA champion, a four-time Big Ten champion and helped lead the Badgers to the 2005 NCAA cross country and 2007 NCAA indoor team titles. Solinsky was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.

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This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Chris Solinsky to coach Oregon track and field's men's distance squad