Sowinski was born on December 21, 1989, in
Waukesha, Wisconsin, to Bryan and Jane Sowinski. He has two younger siblings, Andy and Emily. Running for
Waukesha West High School, Erik won the 800m at the 2008 WIAA Wisconsin State Meet. In college, Sowinski competed for the
University of Iowa from 2009 until 2012. He set his school's 800-meter record at 1:45.90 when he placed second at the
2012 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Sowinski accumulated five
All-American titles while at University of Iowa. Three weeks later, he won the
800 metres at the
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, winning in 1:47.09 ahead of a late charge by
Robby Andrews. He signed with
Nike in May, while continuing to work for the running store. In 2014 he repeated as
national indoor champion, which qualified him to represent the United States internationally at the
2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships in
Sopot,
Poland, where he placed 13th. At the 2016
Shanghai Diamond League, Erik Sowinski placed 8th in tactical race. At the 2016 World Indoor Championships, he won a bronze medal. In 2017, he won the gold medal in the
men's 4 × 800 metres relay at the
2017 IAAF World Relays held in Nassau, Bahamas. In 2019, Sowinski was also a part of the pacing effort, along with
Christian Harrison and Harun Abda, which led to
Yomif Kejelcha breaking the Indoor Mile World Record. at the
2018 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In 2020, Sowinski switched sponsors from Nike to Brooks where he competed as a member of the Brooks Beasts while maintaining his residence in Iowa City, IA. He placed fourth at the
USATF Indoor Championships before the outdoor season was cancelled due to COVID-19. In 2022, Sowinski continued his sponsorship with Bell Lap Elite. On February 17, 2022, Erik paced Olympic Champion
Jakob Ingebrigtsen to a new Indoor World Record of 3:30.60. The pacing of other athletes has earned Sowinski praise, with several events requesting his pacing services. ==Achievements==