Olympic runner David Torrence considered representing Peru since graduating from Cal in 2008.
But the complicated process of switching countries kept him in a U.S. jersey until this year.
Torrence, 30, made the change after winning a silver medal for the United States in the 5,000 meters at the Pan-American Games last summer.
The Peruvian Olympic committee president approached Torrence after learning that his mother is a native of his South American country.
“I didn’t expect it to happen this year,” Torrence said while taking a break from altitude training in Flagstaff, Arizona.
But after clearing all the international hurdles Torrence will compete at the Rio Games in the 5,000 meters. He’s elated because of the impact he can make for his mother’s country.
Torrence, who trained in Berkeley for 11 years, wants to help Peru develop a track and field program. The soccer-crazed country doesn’t have much of an Olympic tradition having last won a medal in any sport in 1992. It sent a steeplechaser and four marathoners to the 2012 London Games.
“I do run for personal pride but I also run to inspire and showcase an amazing sport,” he said.
Had Torrence been blocked from changing countries his chances of qualifying for the U.S. team would have been tough. It would not have stopped Torrence from continuing.
“I love this sport,” he said. “Track encapsulates every part of what it means to be an athlete. It is so competitive on top of that. It’s a primal thing. I’m so competitive by nature, I can’t imagine doing anything else as long as my body holds up.”
Torrence, who earned a degree in ethnic studies, grew up in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. His mother Bianca reared him and his sister with her Peruvian relatives after her husband died when David was 6. The kids spent their free time at their grandmother’s home a mile away.
“It was Little Peru there,” Torrence said. “It was like being in another country.”
Contact Elliott Almond at 408-920-5865. Follow Elliott Almond on Twitter at Twitter.com/ElliottAlmond.