Background
Clayton is the son of Mark and Melinda Murphy and raised in New Paris, Ohio.
Clayton is the son of Mark and Melinda Murphy and raised in New Paris, Ohio.
Clayton is the son of Mark and Melinda Murphy and raised in New Paris, Ohio. He attended Tri-Village High School and began to take part in track and field and cross country running while there. Murphy broke the state record in the 1600 Meter Run at the 2013 state track meet in Columbus in 4:11.72.
He was the gold medalist in the 800-meter run at the 2015 Pan American Games. He runs collegiately for the Akron Zips. High school Collegiate He enrolled at the University of Akron in late 2013 and began to train with the Akron Zips college track team
He is coached by the head distance coach, Lee Labadie, who is a sub 4 minute miler and a former runner for the University of Illinois.
He ran 3:44.53 minutes for the distance that year while winning at the Mountain. SAC Relays. = 2015 He opened the following academic year (2015) with a fourth-place finish at the MAC Cross Country Championships, then followed this with a 800 m/mile double at the MAC Indoor meet.
In February he ran a personal best and school record of 4:00.39 minutes for the indoor mile run. On his national debut at the 2015 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships he claimed third place in the 800 m with a new best time of 1:47.06 minutes.
Clayton earned a silver medal in the 800 meters at the 2015 North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships 2015 NACAC Championships were a regional track and field competition held at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica in San Jose, Costa Rica from August 7-9, 2015.
Murphy finished 12th in 2015 World Championships in Athletics – Men"s 800 metres. National and international competitions At the end of the college season he entered the 2015 United States of America Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He ran personal records in each round and ended the competition in fourth place with a time of 1:45.59 minutes This earned him selection for the American squad for the Pan American Games.
In his international debut – also his first time abroad – he surprised by winning the gold medal some four hundredths ahead of Colombia"s Rafith Rodríguez, taking the lead in the final stretch.
Murphy"s roommate Ryan Martin was also a medalist in the event. 800-meter run – 1:45.59 (2015) 1500-meter run – 3:40.69 (2015) 3000-meter run – 8:18.44 (2016) 5000-meter run – 14:15.61 (2015) 800-meter run indoors – 1:46.13 (2016) Mile run indoors – 3:57.11 (2016).