Texas Olympic medal-winner has a passion for running

He has memories of racing against his grandfather in Mexico.

By Joy Díaz, Leah Scarpelli & Laura RiceFebruary 8, 2022 1:06 pm, , ,

Leo Manzano grew up in Marble Falls, Texas, where he found his passion for running in middle school. Manzano tells Texas Standard that some of his first memories as a kid was racing with his grandfather in Mexico.

“One of the things about running is that it’s just very liberating,” Manzano says.

Manzano holds a 2012 Olympic silver medal for the 1,500-meter race. He says that one of the best things about medaling at the Olympics was being able to represent both the United States and his Mexican heritage.

Manzano competed in trials in July of 2016 for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; he would have had to finish in the top three in order to make it into the Olympics.

“The gold medal would be incredible, but being back on the podium would also be amazing,” Manzano says.

This story originally aired on May 20, 2016. It has been updated to reflect the fact that some of the details took place in the past, instead of looking ahead to the 2016 Summer Olympics when it was first written.

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