Name Bob Kempainen Role Olympic athlete | Education Dartmouth College | |
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Keeping good form in distress....and making the Olympic Team
Robert "Bob" Kempainen, MD (born June 18, 1966 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is a retired long-distance runner from the United States, who represented his native country twice at the Summer Olympics, in 1992 (Barcelona, Spain) and in 1996 (Atlanta, United States). He made his marathon debut in 1991 at the Twin Cities Marathon in Minnesota, where he finished 2nd in a time of 2:12:12. In 1992, he qualified for the Olympic Games by finishing third, in a time of 2:12:54, in the Olympic Trials marathon, held in Columbus, Ohio. He finished 2nd at the 1993 New York City Marathon in a time of 2:11:03. His best time for the marathon was 2:08:47 at the 1994 Boston Marathon, where he finished 7th. In 1995, he finished 2nd at the Los Angeles Marathon, in a time of 2:11:59. He was the 1996 Olympic Trials Marathon (held in Charlotte, North Carolina) champion, winning in a time of 2:12:45.
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In other USA distance running championships, Kempainen was also the 1990 US National Cross Country Champion.
Currently, Dr. Kempainen holds a position at Hennepin County Medical Center where he practices as a pulmonologist and critical care physician, he is also the current course director of Human Disease 1, a second year medical school course at the University of Minnesota.