Craig Virgin

While attending the University of Illinois, he won nine Big Ten Conference championships, nine All American awards as well as the 1975 NCAA Cross Country championship. He was a three-time Olympic qualifier at 10,000 meters, and the only American male to qualify three times in the event until Galen Rupp (2008, 2012, 2016).{{cite web |title=Galen Rupp |url=https://nikeoregonproject.com/pages/galen-rupp |website=Nike Oregon Project |access-date=14 July 2018}} He was a seven-time American record holder in road and track events, including a 27:39.4 in the 10,000 meters in 1979 (breaking Prefontaine's American record) and a 27:29.16 in 1980 that was the second fastest 10,000 meters in history at the time.

Virgin enjoyed success in cross country, road racing, and track. He was the winner of the 1979 Falmouth Road Race in a course record 32:20, was the two-time winner (1980 & 1981) of the 12 km Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco, was a three-time winner of the 10K Peachtree Road Race (1979–1981) in Atlanta, and twice ran the fastest American 10 km road efforts (on point to point courses) with a 28:06 2nd place at the 1981 Crescent City Classic in New Orleans and later a 28:04 win at Peachtree that year. He enjoyed success in the few marathons he ran, his fastest time coming in a 2nd-place finish in the 1981 Boston Marathon (2:10:26). On the track he was a three-time national champion in the 10,000 meters at the U.S. National Track & Field Championships (1978, 1979, and 1982) and the winner of the 1980 Olympic Trials 10,000 meters. In cross country he was a nine-time member of the U.S. squad at the World Cross Country Championships. His biggest international accomplishment was being the first (and still the only) American man to win the IAAF World Cross Country Championships; which he did twice, in 1980 and 1981. He retired from competitive racing in 1992. In 2001, he was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame, and in 2011 inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame. Also in 2011, he was inducted into the National USA Track & Field Hall of Fame, after being selected in 2010. Virgin deferred his induction for one year so he could be inducted at the USATF General Meeting that was held in St. Louis in 2011. Most recently in 2020, inducted into the [http://nationalhighschooltrackandfieldhof.org/ National High School Track & Field Hall of Fame]. During his professional career he ran for the Saint Louis Track Club.

Olympic success eluded Virgin. He was eliminated in the 10,000-metre heats at both the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics and the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics (see, for example, Matti Hannus, ed., "Montreal Olympic Book" / Montreal Olympiakirja, Helsinki: "Runner" / Juoksija magazine, 1976; "The Big Olympic Book" / Suuri Olympiateos, volume 4, published in Finland in 1984). In 1980, ten days before the Olympics began, he ran the second fastest 10,000 meter race in history, but due to the U.S. boycott was not allowed to participate in the games. He did receive one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes.{{cite book |last1=Caroccioli |first1=Tom |last2=Caroccioli |first2=Jerry |title=Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games |year=2008 |publisher=New Chapter Press |location=Highland Park, IL |isbn=978-0942257403 |pages=243–253}}

In 1992, Virgin was the Democratic candidate for a seat in the Illinois Senate against incumbent Republican Senator Frank Watson. Watson was victorious.{{cite journal |last=Steinbacher-Kemp |first=Bill |title=Republicans push for majority in Senate, House |journal=Illinois Issues |publisher=Sangamon State University |volume=18 |issue=10 |pages=27–31 |access-date=February 17, 2020 |url=https://www.lib.niu.edu/1992/ii921027.html}}

After the 2019 Chicago Public Schools Strike, Virgin came out against the Illinois High School Association's decision to bar runners from Chicago Public Schools from competing at the 2019 state championship.{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Rich |title=IHSA trying to keep CPS runners out of state championship |date=November 7, 2019 |newspaper=Capitol Fax |access-date=November 7, 2019 |url=https://capitolfax.com/2019/11/07/ihsa-trying-to-keep-cps-runners-out-of-state-championship/}}

• World Fit

;Hall of Fame

• [http://wikirun.com/RRCA_Hall_of_Fame RRCA American Long Distance Running Hall of Fame] 1984
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101104095651/http://www.distancerunning.com/inductees/2001/virgin.html National Distance Running Hall of Fame] 2001
• [http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=247 National USA Track & Field Hall of Fame] 2011
• [http://www.stlouissportshalloffame.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=91&Itemid=320 St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame] 2011
• [http://fightingillini.com/news/2017/2/22/general-university-of-illinois-names-inaugural-athletics-hall-of-fame-class.aspx?path=general University of Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame] 2017
• [http://nationalhighschooltrackandfieldhof.org/ National High School Track & Field Hall of Fame] 2020

;General

• [http://www.craigvirgin.com/ Official website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070112034434/http://www.activeness.net/2006/03/going-distance-catching-up-with-craig.html http://www.activeness.WOAGnet/2006/03/going-distance-catching-up-with-craig.html]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100312094949/http://www.illpreptf.com/2010/03/history-repeats-itself-records-are-made-to-be-broken-just-ask-craig-virgin/ History Repeats Itself...Records are made to be broken, just ask Craig Virgin]
• http://www.garycohenrunning.com/Interviews/Virgin.aspx

;Specific

{{Reflist}}

• [http://craigvirgin.com Official site]
• {{USATF Hall of Fame}}
• {{World Athletics}}
• {{Olympics.com profile}}
• {{Olympedia}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-ach|aw}}

{{s-bef|before=Craig Brigham}}

{{s-ttl|title=Track & Field News High School Boys Athlete of the Year |years= 1973 }}

{{s-aft|after=Willie Smith}}

{{s-end}}

{{2001 National Distance Running Hall of Fame inductees}}

{{Footer IAAF World Cross Champions Men}}

{{Footer US NC 10000m Men}}

{{Footer USA Track & Field 1976 Summer Olympics}}

{{Footer USA Track & Field 1984 Summer Olympics}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Virgin, Craig}}

Category:1955 births

Category:Living people

Category:Sportspeople from Belleville, Illinois

Category:Track and field athletes from Illinois

Category:American male marathon runners

Category:Olympic track and field athletes for the United States

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics

Category:World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners

Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's track and field athletes

Category:People from Lebanon, Illinois

Category:Sportspeople from St. Clair County, Illinois

Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's cross country runners

Category:20th-century American sportsmen