Clayton Murphy will represent the United States
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
On August 12, Clayton Murphy from New Paris, Ohio, will begin his quest for gold at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro when he competes in the 800m race.
Coming off a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games, Murphy said he’ll need to bring the work ethic he learned on the farm with him to Brazil.
Clayton Murphy's gold-medal run at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Prior to becoming a world-class athlete, Murphy showed and sold pigs at local fairs.
“We raise show animals on the family farm,” Clayton’s father, Mark, an agronomist, told Runners World in July. “Clayton loved to show the pigs. And I can tell you, he is just as good a pig salesman as he is a runner.”
“Running is a process and a lot of things I learned on the farm carries over now,” he told Dayton Daily News.
He said as an individual athlete, much of his training is done by himself – which is an environment he’s familiar with.
“I’ve been doing all that since I was a kid on the farm,” he said. “You have to get up early, do your chores and do them again after school before your parents get home from work.”
Clayton’s gold medal aspirations have invoked a strong sense of community and local pride.
Clayton Murphy.
Getty
Mark said many people have introduced themselves and told him they’d be watching the Olympics to cheer Clayton on.
Mark, his wife Melinda, and more of Clayton’s supporters will be able to cheer him on in person as they head to Rio next week.