Meet the 2021 Competitors: Joey Berriatua

Joey Berriatua | Men’s Elite Mile

Social Media: Instagram | Twitter | Venmo

Sponsor: adidas Tinman Elite
College: Santa Clara
Mile PR: 4:00.76

My last name (which few are capable of pronouncing) is Basque- my great grandfather was an orphan raised by the nuns at the church in a town called Berriatua- about an hour west of San Sebastián along the northern coast of Spain, and was named after the town.
I went to the same high school that Tom Brady, Barry Bonds, Lynn Swann, and David Bakhtiari attended, to name a few notables (Serra High School – Go Padres!)
My favorite nickname I’ve had is Joey Wet Shoes (get it? Steeple? Anyone?) from my neighbor and good friend at Santa Clara. He still calls me that.
If I could go to the Olympics in a sport other than running it would be ping pong (just ask Geordie Beamish)
Every Jurassic Park/ World is in my top 10 favorite movies- when I was a kid I wanted to be an paleontologist.

What’s something people should add to their Netflix (or any streaming service) or Podcast queue? One Punch Man has to be one of my top 5 favorite shows (on Hulu)
What’s your favorite training shoe right now (or ever)? The adidas solarboosts haven’t failed me yet
If you have to go fast food, what’s your go-to? If I’m on the west coast, we’re going to In-n-Out. Anywhere else Chipotle
Do you have any connections to Raleigh or North Carolina? My teammate Sam Parsons went to NC State, so hopefully I can come and help clean up whatever mess he made
The sport of Track & Field would be more exciting (or better) if… More people subscribed to The Lap Count (I gotchu Merber)