Brian Diemer

American track and field athlete

Brian Diemer
Personal information
BornOctober 10, 1961 (1961-10-10) (age 62)
Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1984 Los Angeles 3000m steeplechase

Brian Lee Diemer (born October 10, 1961, in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is a former American track and field athlete, who mainly competed in the 3000 metre steeplechase during his career. He was high school state champion in the mile while running at South Christian High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1983 after taking third in the 2 mile at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, held in nearby Detroit. He won the outdoor 1983 NCAA 3000m Steeplechase in a time of 8:26.95.

He competed for the United States in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, United States in the 3000 metre steeplechase where he won the bronze medal in a career best time of 8:14.06. He ran in the 1988 Summer Olympics, finishing seventh in his semi final. He made his third Olympic team in 1992, going on to qualify for the final, where he finished seventh (in 8:18.77). He had fine showings at two World Championships in which he participated, finishing fourth in the 1987 World Championships in Athletics (in 8:14.46) and fifth at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics (in 8:17.76). Diemer won four The Athletics Congress (TAC) and U.S. Track and Field (USATF) championships over that time (1988, 1989, 1990 and 1992). In 1989 he received the Glenn Cunningham Award as the outstanding American male distance runner for the year.

He now coaches at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and has coached the Knights to four national championships.

He and his wife, Kerri, have four children: Kelsey, Kaitlin, Mckenzie, and Matthew, and two dogs named Jackson and Quigley, all of whom have followed in his athletic footsteps. Kaitlin competed in the NCAA Division III 2010 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 4x400 meter relay. Mckenzie raced the steeplechase at NCAA Division III 2015 Outdoor Track and Field Championships running the 3rd best seed time in 10:36.

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing the  United States
1983 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 13th (s) 8:23.39
1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles, United States 3rd 8:14.06
1987 World Championships Rome, Italy 4th 8:14.46
1988 Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea 15th (s) 8:23.89
1989 World Cup Barcelona, Spain 4th 8:24.52
1990 Goodwill Games Seattle, United States 1st 8:32.24
1991 World Championships Tokyo, Japan 5th 8:18.29
1992 Olympic Games Barcelona, Spain 7th 8:18.77
1993 World Championships Stuttgart, Germany 31st (h) 9:01.88
1995 Pan American Games Mar del Plata, Argentina 2nd 8:30.58

(#) Indicates overall position achieved in the semis (s) or heats (h).

References

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US National Championship winners in men's steeplechase
1889–1979
Amateur Athletic Union
1980–1992
The Athletics Congress
  • 1980: Doug Brown
  • 1981–87: Henry Marsh
  • 1988–90: Brian Diemer
  • 1991: Mark Croghan
  • 1992: Brian Diemer
1993–present
USA Track & Field
Notes
  • 2 mile steeplechase in 1889–1919, 1921–27, 1929–31, 1953–55 and 1957; 3000 m steeplechase otherwise.
  • The 1920, 1928, 1932, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
  • 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Qualification
1984 United States Olympic trials (track and field)
Men's track
and road athletes
Men's
field athletes
Women's track
and road athletes
Women's
field athletes
Coaches
  • v
  • t
  • e
Qualification
  • 1988 United States Olympic trials (track and field)
Men's track
and road athletes
Men's
field athletes
Women's track
and road athletes
Women's
field athletes
Coaches
  • Stan Huntsman (men's head coach)
  • Dean Hayes (men's assistant coach)
  • Irving "Moon" Mondschein (men's assistant coach)
  • Tom Pagani (men's assistant coach)
  • Russ Rogers (men's assistant coach)
  • Joe Vigil (men's assistant coach)
  • Terry Crawford (women's head coach)
  • Ken Foreman (women's assistant coach)
  • Dave Rodda (women's assistant coach)
  • Fred Thompson (women's assistant coach)
  • v
  • t
  • e
Qualification
  • 1992 United States Olympic trials (track and field)
Men's track
and road athletes
Men's
field athletes
Women's track
and road athletes
Women's
field athletes
Coaches
  • Mel Rosen (men's head coach)
  • Harry Groves (men's assistant coach)
  • Erv Hunt (men's assistant coach)
  • Ed Jacoby (men's assistant coach)
  • Bill Moultrie (men's assistant coach)
  • Fred Samara (men's assistant coach)
  • Barbara Jacket (women's head coach)
  • Dorothy Doolittle (women's assistant coach)
  • Lance Harter (women's assistant coach)
  • Bert Lyle (women's assistant coach)
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  • World Athletics