After a fall early in the race, BYU track and field alumnus Clayton Young finished ninth in the marathon at the 2025 World Athletics Tokyo Championships Monday.
Young, the sole American within the top 35, finished his season’s best 2:10:43, after taking a tumble during the first 10k of the race.
Way to go for it 👏
— CITIUS MAG (@CitiusMag) September 15, 2025
As close to the finish line as 40km, Clayton Young 🇺🇸 was in the mix for a medal in the #WorldAthleticsChamps marathon. Ultimately it wasn’t quite meant to be over the final two miles but Young still picked up a ninth place finish in 2:10:43, his second… pic.twitter.com/wvaL9LAU1P
"Finishing in the top 10 at this world championship further cements Clayton as one of the world’s most consistent marathoners," said BYU track and field coach Ed Eyestone. "Clayton had a very sound and tactical race. He put himself in the lead pack with the best runners in the world and stuck there despite being tripped and falling hard just after 10k. He bounced right back up and reattached to the leaders. I am very proud of the hard work Clayton put in preparing for the heat and humidity of Tokyo."
BYU continues to have representation all over the globe and continues to set a high standard like Young.
In an interview with a popular running Youtube channel Citius, Young spoke about his disappointment with the race continuing to set his high standard for himself.
Young painted the picture of what happened with the tumble, mentioning that he had written something on his water bottle at that point in the race.
He referenced The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hymn, “How Firm a Foundation” and how that brought him comfort after falling down.
“When I took the fall around the 15K, I had written on one of my bottles, 'Fear not I am with thee.' That is a hymn that I love," he said. "Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed. For I am thy God and still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, I’ll cause thee to stand. Upheld by my righteous omnipotent hand.”
When asked about Clayton’s story and performance, Ryan Waite, assistant coach for the BYU men’s cross country team said, “Clayton’s performance is the kind that I want every one of our athletes to watch, learn from, and emulate. So often in our sport, and even in our lives, things don’t go perfectly. When that happens we have a choice to give up or dust ourselves off and make the best of things.”
Waite continued: “Clayton gave himself a chance, worked his way back to the lead, and did something incredible. I was really proud of him as a friend and a person that day. He exemplifies what I want to be in my own life.”
Give it up for these men 👏👏👏@_Clayton_Young_ finishes as the top American in ninth in 2:10:43.@reedfisch runs 2:15:17 for 28th place and CJ Albertson runs 2:19:25 for 40th place. #WorldAthleticsChamps
— DyeStat (@DyeStat) September 15, 2025
📸: @lhanndowns for DyeStat pic.twitter.com/k2LIz08eGW
Young mentioned his plans for the rest of the year, and that everything depends on how he recovers from the “nasty spill” that he took during the race.
“I already got a pretty big bump on my knee and you know the plan is to bounce back. But we'll see how I recover. It feels okay [now]. It felt pretty tight.” said Young.
Young’s future plans for the rest of the year feels to be determined and will all depend on the injury management for Young and his team and the confidence that he feels with his body going into the end-of-the-year races.