The 2016 Summer Olympics held in the beautiful Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was a huge accomplishment for Team USA. The United States ranked first in medals out of all the nations competing, and it was their third most successful medal count in their Olympic history. 

One of the bright spots for Team USA was a marathoner with an iconic mustache.

He had finished in third place a few months prior to the Olympics game back in February during the US Olympic Marathon Trials in Los Angeles, California to earn a spot on the 2016 US Olympic Team.

The same man who just recently at the 2018 New York City Marathon, the second-fastest race in its history, finished sixth overall as the first American to cross the finish line while battling through a grueling hamstring injury.                                            

His name is Jared Ward.

Jared headed to Rio de Janeiro with aspirations to help Team USA compete amongst the best athletes from countries all over the world and on the biggest stage.

In his Olympic debut, he beat out many of the best runners in the world and finished sixth overall in the marathon, running a personal best time of 2:11:30.

This was an incredible accomplishment for the Utah native, and ended with fellow Americans in attendance chanting in unison, “Wardy, Wardy, Wardy!”

The former BYU All-American’s Olympic debut etched his name into Olympic History, finishing top-six as a world-class Olympic marathoner. He is now preparing in hopes of making a run in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and bringing home a medal.

Lofton Bean

Check out the article in Sports Illustrated on how Jared Ward was able to overcome an injury to finish sixth overall at the 2018 New York City Marathon.