SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Former Augustana University cross country and track and field student-athlete, Paul Yak, will compete at the Gold Coast Marathon in Gold Coast, Australia on Saturday, July 2, with hopes of qualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
 
Yak will attempt to qualify in the marathon for Rio 2016 representing his home country of South Sudan. Yak and his family emigrated from Sudan to the United States in 2001 and settled in Storm Lake, Iowa where Yak was a standout athlete.
 
During his time at Augustana, Yak was a three-time NSIC Cross Country Athlete of the Year winning three straight conference meets from 2011-2013. Yak went on to earn All-America honors his sophomore and senior seasons with two top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championship meet. Yak placed 11th at the NCAA Championship with a 10K time of 31:33.50. As a senior in 2013, Yak earned USTFCCCA Central Region Athlete of the Year honors before placing sixth at the NCAA Championship with a time of 30:20.2.
 
On the track and field circuit, Yak was a five-time All-NSIC honoree who was named the NSIC's Newcomer of the Year during the 2011 indoor season. Yak earned All-America honors during his senior outdoor season in 2015 finishing seventh in the country in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:33.77.
 
Yak will run in the Gold Coast Marathon at 4:20 p.m. (CT) on Saturday, July 2.