RC Stevens' Simeon Birnbaum embraces 'villain' role, wants to make running exciting again

Simeon Birnbaum was tired of the noise.

Leading up to the Nike Outdoor Nationals High School “Dream” Mile, which took place June 18, the race was promoted all over social media as “Heroes vs Villains.” His competitors, Stanford commits Lex and Leo Young, were touted as the heroes while Birnbaum and Connor Burns, both Oregon commits, played the villains.

And the recent Rapid City Stevens graduate played his part to perfection. After rallying past Leo Young in the final 100 meters of the race, he turned to shush everyone right before he crossed the finish line. Birnbaum finished first with a 4:02.22 time.

“Even though I was undefeated and I’d run faster than Leo, the majority of people were saying I probably wasn’t going to beat them,” Birnbaum said in a phone conversation. “I wasn’t too happy about that … (The shush) was also just like quieting people saying I couldn’t do it.”

That wasn’t the first time his celebrations have caught the public’s eye. In this year’s state tournament, Birnbaum flailed his arms out like a bird as he won the 800-meter race.

Birnbaum said there’s no real reason for his celebrations, it’s just something to break up the monotony of competing in race after race. His teammates wanted him to do the celebration at the state tournament, so he did. It was that simple for him. After the race, he was told if he taunted like that again, he’d be disqualified.

Rapid City Stevens track and field distance coach Jesse Coy thinks there's more to it than that. He said Birnbaum sees the bigger picture and wants to make track and field exciting to a larger audience.

"This younger generation of runners are great at marketing, and there was somewhat of a faux rivalry created heading into the Nike meet and obviously it generated attention and got eyes on distance running," Coy said.  "Everyone is talking about it."

Birnbaum said he knows some people get mad about his celebrations and think he’s cocky, but he doesn’t care. And he won’t stop trying to make running fun because other people are upset.

“I'm not going to change what I'm doing just to make people who can't handle anything happy,” he said.

“The first week after meeting him and watching him run, I made a comment to one of the assistant coaches that this kid was like a young Galen Rupp.”

Coy didn't get to work with Birnbaum until his sophomore year because his freshman season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coy said he remembers in one of his first workouts with the team, Birnbaum ran a 4:30 mile and was well ahead of their best runners at that time.

“I remember the first week after meeting him and watching him run, I made a comment to one of the assistant coaches that this kid was like a young Galen Rupp,” Coy said.

Rupp was an Olympic medalist, so Coy saw Birnbaum's potential early.

The distance coach said Birnbaum’s sophomore year was pretty normal by most standards. He won the state championship, but his times weren’t earth-shattering. Birnbaum showcased his potential at that state championship when he closed the last lap of the 1600-meter race in 57 seconds.

“(That) was probably the first time I was really blown away,” Coy said. “For the high school level, that’s elite closing speed and he was only 15 at the time.”

His junior year was when he made it to the national stage. He broke 4 minutes in the mile race at the Brooks PR meet, making him the youngest sub-four miler in the US at 16 years old.

“I own SD Records”

Birnbaum's Instagram bio lists some of his greatest accomplishments on the track.

"Sub 4 Miler. 3200 hs federation national record holder. I own SD Records. Future Oregon (Duck)."

No lies detected there. Birnbaum broke half-century-old state records in the 800 and 1600-meter runs this year and he holds the national mark in the 3200.

Asked why he feels the need to list out his accomplishments in his bio, he keeps it short and sweet.

“I don’t know,” he said while laughing. “I just own the records.”

“I think what motivates Simeon is being the best, like literally ‘the best’”

For the next stage of his career, Birnbaum will move to Eugene, Oregon to compete against top-level competition for the Oregon Ducks.

He said he's excited to adjust to life in a new environment and get to training. He’s also hoping to fight for a spot in the 2024 Olympics, he said. A big part of that dream? Avoiding injury.

“I think if I do that, I’ll be successful in anything I do,” he said.

Coy said he is just excited to see him get to train with some of the world’s best coaches. He believes he still has a lot of room to grow before hitting his ceiling.

“What motivates Simeon is being the best. Like literally, ‘the best.'” Coy said. “(He) isn’t just trying to be the best on his team or state, but wants to be one of the best in the world.”

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: RC Stevens track star Simeon Birnbaum embraces 'villain' role