José Peña (steeplechaser)

José Peña
Peña at the 2016 Olympics
Personal information
Full nameJosé Gregorio Peña Trejo
Born (1987-01-12) 12 January 1987 (age 38)
San Cristóbal, Táchira, Venezuela
Height1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)[1]
Weight52 kg (115 lb)
Sport
Country Venezuela
SportAthletics
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Venezuela
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2011 Guadalajara 3000 m st.
Bolivarian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Sucre 3000 m steeplechase
South American Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Cartagena 3000 m st.
Silver medal – second place 2009 Lima 3000 m st.
Bronze medal – third place 2007 São Paulo 3000 m st.
CAC Championships
Silver medal – second place 2009 Havana 3000 m st.
South American Youth Championships
Gold medal – first place 2004 Guayaquil 2000 m steeplechase
Updated on 21 December 2014
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Peña and the second or maternal family name is Trejo.

José Gregorio Peña Trejo (born 12 January 1987) is a Venezuelan track and field athlete who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. His personal best for the event is 8:20.87 minutes

Biography

Born in San Cristóbal, Táchira, he first established himself on the continental youth scene. His first international outing came at the 2002 South American Youth Championships in Athletics, where he came fourth in the boy's 2000 metres steeplechase race.[2] At the 2004 edition of the competition, he won the steeplechase gold medal and also came fourth in the 1500 metres and fifth in the 3000 metres flat events.[3] Moving up to the junior under-20 ranks, he ran at the 2005 South American Junior Championships in Athletics. There he won the 3000 m steeplechase silver medal behind Peru's Mario Bazán and he also placed eighth in the 1500 m final.[4] He represented Venezuelan on the global stage at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics, but did not progress beyond the steeplechase heats. In November 2006, he was the runner-up at the 2006 South American Games (again to Bazán) and ran a national junior record time of 8:50.88 minutes.[5]

In Peña's first season as a senior athlete, he won the bronze medal in the steeplechase at the 2007 South American Championships in Athletics.[6] He was also the runner-up at the 2007 ALBA Games event. He focused on longer distances in 2008, coming seventh in the South American Cross Country Championships and winning the national title over 5000 metres. At the 2008 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics he came fifth in his specialist steeplechase event.[7]

His focus returned to steeplechasing in the 2009 season. He came second at the 2009 ALBA Games, fifth at the World Military Track and Field Championships, then ran a personal best of 8:36.17 minutes at the 2009 South American Championships in Athletics in Lima – finishing just one second behind the host nation's Mario Bazán who broke the championship record.[8] Two weeks later, he competed at the 2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics and won the silver medal.[9] He won the 2010 Venezuelan steeplechase title, but missed the rest of the track season that year.[7]

At the 2011 South American Championships in Athletics, Peña missed out on a steeplechase medal for the first time, coming in fifth place. A month later, he ran a personal best of 8:34.90 minutes at the 2011 Military World Games and was eighth in the event final. At the end of July he won the title at the 2011 ALBA Games.[7] The 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara saw him achieve his best finish to date, taking the Pan American gold medal ahead of Brazil's Hudson de Souza with a tactical sprint finish.[10] This achievement followed in the footsteps of his compatriot Néstor Nieves, who won the same event in 2003.

Peña served as the flag bearer for Venezuela at the opening ceremony of the 2014 South American Games.[11]

Personal bests

  • 1500 m: 3:44.06 min – United States Eagle Rock, 4 May 2013
  • 3000 m: 7:54.42 min – Austria Linz, 26 August 2013
  • 5000 m: 13:47.25 min – United States Stanford, 29 March 2013
  • 3000 m steeplechase: 8:20.87 min NR – Germany Berlin, 1 September 2013

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Venezuela
2002 South American Youth Championships Asunción, Paraguay 4th 2000 m s'chase 6:27.07
2004 South American Youth Championships Guayaquil, Ecuador 4th 1500 m 3:59.8
5th 3000 m 8:45.8
1st 2000 m s'chase 5:52.2
2005 South American Junior Championships Rosario, Argentina 2nd 3000 m s'chase 9:13.74
2006 World Junior Championships Beijing, China 13th (h) 3000 m s'chase 8:52.36
South American Under-23 Championships /
South American Games 		Buenos Aires, Argentina 8th 5000m 14:34.13
2nd 3000 m s'chase 8:50.88 NJR
2007 ALBA Games Caracas, Venezuela 2nd 3000 m s'chase 8:51.42
South American Championships São Paulo, Brazil 3rd 3000 m s'chase 8:54.43
2008 South American Cross Country Championships Asunción, Paraguay 7th Long course (12 km) 38:47
Ibero-American Championships Iquique, Chile 5th 3000 m s'chase 8:54.80
2009 ALBA Games La Habana, Cuba 2nd 3000 m s'chase 8:44.47
World Military Track & Field Championships Sofia, Bulgaria 5th 3000 m s'chase 8:48.00
South American Championships Lima, Perú 2nd 3000 m s'chase 8:36.17 PB A
Central American and Caribbean Championships La Habana, Cuba 2nd 3000 m s'chase 8:51.03
Bolivarian Games Sucre, Bolivia 3rd 3000 m s'chase 10.04.90 A
2011 South American Championships Buenos Aires, Argentina 5th 3000 m s'chase 8:44.18
Military World Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 8th 3000 m s'chase 8:47.18
ALBA Games Barquisimeto, Venezuela 1st 3000 m s'chase 8:45.25
South American Road Mile Championships Belém, Brazil 6th One mile 4:14
Pan American Games Guadalajara, México 1st 3000 m s'chase 8:48.19 A
2012 Ibero-American Championships Barquisimeto, Venezuela 1st 3000 m s'chase 8:37.67
Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 16th (h) 3000 m s'chase 8:24.06 NR
2013 South American Championships Cartagena, Colombia 7th 1500 m 3:47.63
1st 3000 m s'chase 8:32.01
World Championships Moscow, Russia 16th (h) 3000 m s'chase 8:24.88
Bolivarian Games Trujillo, Perú 1st 3000 m s'chase 8:26.6 (ht)
2014 South American Games Santiago, Chile – 5000 m DNF
1st 3000 m s'chase 8:36.81
Central American and Caribbean Games Xalapa, México 2nd 3000m s'chase 8:45.04 A
2015 Pan American Games Toronto, Canada 7th 3000 m s'chase 8:59.40
2016 Ibero-American Championships Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 5th 3000 m s'chase 8:43.90
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 22nd (h) 3000 m s'chase 8:32.38
2017 South American Championships Asunción, Paraguay 1st 3000 m s'chase 8:45.93
World Championships London, United Kingdom 31st (h) 3000 m s'chase 8:37.15
Bolivarian Games Santa Marta, Colombia 1st 3000 m s'chase 8:39.99
2018 South American Games Cochabamba, Bolivia 4th 3000 m s'chase 9:30.00
Central American and Caribbean Games Barranquilla, Colombia – 3000 m s'chase DNF
2019 South American Championships Lima, Peru 6th 3000 m s'chase 8:57.95
Pan American Games Lima, Peru 9th 3000 m s'chase 9:02.04
2022 Ibero-American Championships La Nucía, Spain 6th 3000 m s'chase 8:46.81
2023 ALBA Games Caracas, Venezuela 1st 3000 m s'chase 9:09.15
Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador, El Salvador – 3000 m s'chase DNF
Pan American Games Santiago, Chile 12th 3000 m s'chase 9:17.90

References

  1. ^ José Peña Archived 26 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine. rio2016.com
  2. ^ 2002 South American Youth Championships Archived 31 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine. World Junior Athletics History. Retrieved on 2 November 2011.
  3. ^ 2004 South American Youth Championships Archived 2 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine. WJAH. Retrieved on 2 November 2011.
  4. ^ 2005 South American Junior Championships Archived 9 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine. WJAH. Retrieved on 2 November 2011.
  5. ^ Biscayart, Eduardo (13 November 2006). Brazil best at South American U-23. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-11-02.
  6. ^ Biscayart, Eduardo (10 June 2007). 14.57 Area Triple Jump Record for Costa as South American Champs finish. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-11-02.
  7. ^ a b c José Gregorio Peña. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2 November 2011.
  8. ^ Biscayart, Eduardo (21 June 2009). Adriano takes seventh South American Discus title – Day 2 report Archived 21 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-11-02.
  9. ^ XXII Campeonato CAC Atletismo 2009 Archived 25 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation. Retrieved on 2 November 2011.
  10. ^ José Peña logró la undécima dorada Archived 5 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish). Últimas Noticias Venezuela (28 October 2011). Retrieved on 2011-11-02.
  11. ^ José Peña. nbcolympics.com
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