Jonas Raess (born 8 March 1994) is a Swiss long-distance runner.[1] He competed in the 5000 metres at the 2020 Olympics.[2] Additionally, he earned a gold medal at the 2019 Universiade. Currently, he holds the national title for the 5000 metres and national records for the indoor and outdoor 3000 metres as well as the indoor 5000 metres.[3][4][5]

Jonas Raess
Raess at the 2019 Corrida Bulloise
Personal information
Born (1994-03-08) 8 March 1994 (age 30)
Home townZürich, Switzerland
Sport
CountrySwitzerland
SportAthletics
Event5000 metres
ClubLC Regensdorf
On Athletics Club Europe
Coached byThomas Dreissigacker
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Switzerland
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2019 Naples 5000 m

Career and background

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Jonas Raess began his professional career much later on, around 2019, once he had completed his education and graduated with a bachelor's degree. The earlier half of his career was plagued by injuries, which caused Swiss Athletics to remove him from its youth team at a certain point. Often, he would spend his time eagerly training and injured himself repeatedly as a result of the intense strain put on his body.[6] Now, he is much careful with his training and has learned to pace himself in-between practice sessions. He knows that he could potentially ruin himself if he pushes too much trying to keep up with his teammates, who are younger and faster than him.[7]

He credits his mother for getting him into running when he was young. He entered into an annual running event for children and that sparked his interest in the sport. He did road races but never ran on a track until 2004. He was invited to join TV Unterstrass and trained at the club under Hansruedi Ilg. Then, he changed to LC Regensdorf where Ruedi Meier coached him.[6] He is also a member of the On Athletics Club that is led by American long-distance runner and head coach Dathan Ritzenhein.[7]

2011

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Raess made his international debut at the 2011 European Youth Olympic Festival in Trabzon, Turkey and finished in 13th place in the 3000 metres.

2023: 3000 metres record

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Raess set a new Swiss record in the 3000 metres on 10 September 2023 at the Hanžeković Memorial in Zagreb, Croatia. Markus Ryffel, the legendary Swiss long-distance runner and Olympic silver medalist in the 5000 metres, held the previous record for 44 years, ever since July 1979. Raess erased almost 6 seconds off Ryffel's time, bringing it down from 7:41.00 to 7:35.12.[6][5][4][3]

Ryffel congratulated Raess on his newest achievement. Raess revealed that “[Ryffel] was one of my first well-wishers. He sent me personal messages. He even sent me a personal congratulatory message via video on social media”. Raess continued to share that Ryffel was happy for him and a big fan.[6]

Raess strives to break Ryffel's other record of 13:07.54 in the 5000 metres from the 1984 Olympics. Raess' last attempt in June 2023 fell short by 6 seconds. He wants to accomplish this goal below the 13 minute barrier.[8][6]

2024

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In late 2024, Raess left U.S.-based coach Dathan Ritzenhein to join On Athletics Club Europe.[9]

Achievements

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Information from his World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

International competitions

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Representing   Switzerland
Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Notes
2011 European Youth Olympic Festival Trabzon, Turkey 13th 3000 m 8:47.56
2012 European Cross Country Championships Szentendre, Hungary 69th U20 Race 20:02
2015 European Cross Country Championships Hyères, France 33rd U23 Race 24:25
2016 European Cross Country Championships Chia, Italy 17th U23 Race 23:37
2017 Universiade Taipei, Taiwan 7th 1500 m 3:45.51
8th 5000 m 14:03.10
European Cross Country Championships Šamorín, Slovakia 29th Senior Race 31:00
2018 European Championships Berlin, Germany 21st 5000 m 14:01.14
2019 Universiade Naples, Italy 1st 5000 m 14:03.10
European Team Championships Super League Bydogoszcz, Poland 6th 3000 m 8:04.93
European Cross Country Championships Lisbon, Portugal 9th Senior Race 30:53
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 25th (h) 5000 m 13:43.52
European Cross Country Championships Dublin, Ireland 17th Senior Race 31:16
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 11th 3000 m 7:47.28
European Championships Munich, Germany 15th 5000 m 13:36.18
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 22nd (h) 5000 m 13:37.84
2024 European Championships Rome, Italy 16th 5000 m 13:31.43
14th 10,000 m 28:17.79
Olympic Games Paris, France 12th (h) 5000 m 13:55.04

National championships

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Notes
2010 Swiss U18 Championships Langenthal 2nd 1500 m 4:07.63
2011 Swiss U18 Championships Frauenfeld 4th 3000 m 9:04.33
2012 Swiss Junior Championships Basel 6th 1500 m 9:04.33
4th 5000 m 15:28.48
2014 Swiss U23 Championships Geneva 4th 1500 m 4:00.87
2015 Swiss Championships Zug 4th 1500 m 3:52.38
Swiss U23 Championships Basel 1st 1500 m 4:04.55
2016 Swiss Championships Geneva 2nd 1500 m 3:58.08
Swiss U23 Championships Langenthal 1st 1500 m 3:53.05
2017 Swiss Championships Zürich 4th 1500 m 3:53.47
1st 5000 m 14:22.88
2018 Swiss Championships Zofingen 1st 5000 m 14:20.12
2019 Swiss Championships Basel 1st 5000 m 14:19.88
2020 Swiss Championships Basel 1st 5000 m 14:02.09
2021 Swiss Championships Langenthal 1st 5000 m 14:01.62
2023 Swiss Championships Bellinzona 1st 5000 m 13:44.00

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jonas Raess at World Athletics
  2. ^ "RAESS Jonas". Olympics.com. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Record suisse du 3000 m pour Jonas Raess à Zagreb | Swiss Athletics" (in French). 10 September 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Raess mit Schweizer Rekord über 3000 m". Blick (in Swiss High German). 10 September 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Athlétisme: Jonas Raess pulvérise le très vieux record de Suisse sur 3000m". RTSSport.ch (in French). 10 September 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e Zeitung, Unterland. "Selbst Ryffel ist von Jonas Raess begeistert". unterlandzeitung.ch (in German). Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  7. ^ a b Schneider, Monica (19 February 2023). "Kopfmensch mit schnellen Beinen – Im Team von Schuhhersteller On lernt er sich selbst überlisten". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  8. ^ Streule, Ralf (11 September 2023). "Lobalu mit Meetingrekord in Zagreb - Diamond-League-Final bleibt wohl verwehrt". St. Galler Tagblatt (in German). Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  9. ^ https://x.com/FloTrack/status/1853627938530378010
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