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Oregon Twilight
Every week we seem to be eulogising about the athletes of the NCAA. Sorry, not sorry, this week is no different. Again, Cole Hocker and Cooper Teare lined up in a race together. The hitherto undefeated duo were stand-out favourites. Such is their class this season, that most people over-looked the talent of Yared Nuguse, the Notre Dame athlete and reigning 1500m NCAA champion. Whilst Sam Tanner and Elliot Kipsang were also absent.
On this occasion, however, Nuguse decided to upset the Duck’s party, dipping at the line to win in a stunning 3:35.96. One hundredth of a second ahead of NCAA mile record holder, Cooper Teare. With 50m to go, Cooper Teare looked like he had done enough to seal another season victory, however, at the death, Nuguse just squeezed past Teare to take the win. Cooper’s Oregon Ducks teammate, Cole Hocker missing out in third. The question many people will now ask is who is the favourite for the nationals? If Cooper runs a tactical race, he’s got the stamina to run a quick pace and then kick from 400m out to punish his competitors. If it’s slow and he leads from the gun, the precedent suggests that Hocker and Nuguse have the closing speed to take the victory.
Meanwhile, Britain’s George Mills ran in his season opener in the 800m. Running an encouraging 1:48.92, taking second place from Luis Peralta (1:48.82).
Yared Nuguse’s 1500m NCAA Record
Only a week after accelerating past Cooper Teare in the final 20 metres to win by 1 hundredth of a second in the Oregon Twighlight, Yared Nuguse, affectionately known as ‘The Goose’, ran, solo, a stunningly quick 3:34.68 to beat the previous NCAA record set by Britain’s Josh Kerr (3:35.01).
Although there were other competitors in his race, although you’d never have known given how far ahead he was, his intent was clear from the start. Opening up in a 41.46 first 300, his remaining laps were all comfortably under 58 seconds (57.44, 57.83, 57.95) and not only did he earn the NCAA record but also the Olympic Qualifying Time.
We mentioned above about the national championships coming up soon and surely, there wil be few people willing to bet against Nuguse; he’s clearly the fastest miler in the NCAA right now. For me, the smart money is still Cole Hocker though, he always pulls it out of the bag - maybe like Thor with Mjolnir, Hocker’s long, flowing locks give him superhero powers for when it really counts.
Golden Games
It wasn’t just the collegiate who stole the headlines this week, however. Many of the biggest professional athletes in US Track and Field competed at the Golden Games in Mt SAC this week. To much, frankly unnecessary controversy, much of the attention centred on Seattle Seahawk’s wide receiver, DK Metcalf, who was set to run in the 100m competition. Inevitably, this led to the uneducated suggesting that he could challenge for the gold medal - this was never, ever, ever, going to happen. However, many regular track and field fans were nonetheless interested to see how he could perform. Pre-meet, many experts were suggesting that anything sub-10.5 would be a good performance. To the delight of many, he performed really well, running a 10.37. Although he placed last in his heat and was some way behind the winner of his heat, he outperformed many people’s expectations and deserves credit. Ignore the haters, more eyes on our brilliant sport, even if it means paying NFL superstars to to take part is, in the long-term, a benefit to all pro-athletes and aspiring pro athletes alike.
We’ve written a full review article which you should definitely read at www.trackstaa.com but some of the key standout performances were, firstly, Sha’Carri Richardson’s utter demolition of the field in the 100m final. The final 30m, it honestly looks like she ran over one of those zoomie square things you used to try and drive over on Mario Kart; her top-speed is frightening and it was this pace that led the other athletes trailing in her wake. She finished in 10.77, in a 1.2 m/s headwind.
Jemma Reekie took the win in the 800m (1:58.27) pushing her compatriots Laura Muir (1:58.46) and Adelle Tracey (1:59.50) into 2nd and 4th respectively.
Ollie Hoare and Justyn Knight ran like possessed men in the 1500m which went out for some time at world record pace. Australian, Hoare, taking the victory in a speedy 3:33.19 with many other athletes running personal and seasons bests. In the 800m, despite the disappointment of Donavan Brazier not running, Bryce Hoppel won the 800m in 1:44.94, proving again that he’s likely to be a real strong contender in the Olympics in July, with the US Team having a strong claim for 2 medals in the Olympics.
Check out our full weekly review article which contains the full details of all the races this week and written by our brilliant intern Ned Potter, here.
Norweigan Distance Running
Our infatuation for the Ingebrigsten’s is well-known, but ever since Karoline Grovdal’s 5km road world record last week, that actually wasn’t a record because the course was short, a few more people have started taking more notice of Norweigan distance running.
I’m not sure if there is something in the air or the water, or maybe it’s just that Viking blood, but whatever it is, there are some people running very quickly in Norway right now. This week, it was the turn of the young guns. First up, fifteen year old, Andreas Halvorsen who ran 8:16 for the 3000m, beating Jakob Ingebrigsten’s age-group record by a full 7 seconds.
Perhaps more impressively however, was THIRTEEN year old Sondre Strande Omland who ran the 5k age-group world record in a breathtaking time of 15:16. In perhaps the understatement of the week, his Instagram caption after running this seemingly impossible time was “got tested today…”
Brooks release a new shoe from the future
The latest off Brooks’ Running’s Blue Line Lab, Brooks’ innovation department, is the Aurura BL. Usually, it’s pretty hard to get excited about new Brooks shoes - they rarely make you tingle in the best places, like some of the Nike shoes do. Maybe, just maybe, things are about to change.
Firstly, it’s got a de-coupled heel-unit (a what?) and a design that just looks more akin to a shoe for running on the moon than running on the road. There’s been a few reviews out there so far about it andwhat’s clear is that it’s got a lot of cushion and seems wide and stable, but it doesn’t look particularly speedy. @therunningshoeguru said, “Game changer? Could be - after the first run, these shoes feel great! Light, cushioned and energised, but also feel like a great everyday shoe.”
The midsole is two separate pieces, a slab of foam in the heel and a separate one in the mid/forefoot and the separate heel and midsole is designed to assist with the natural movement of the shoe. The foam itself, the Loft v3, is apparently Brooks’ softest foam yet and is nitrogen-infused - see I told you, this is like some Star Wars sh*t.
Okay, so hold on to your wallets because it’s price starting point is £180 or $200. Yikes! An expensive trainer. A trainer that for that price, you’re going to want to use everyday. That said, big-up to Brooks for breaking out of their kind of ‘middle-aged Dad with white socks and sandals’ vibe and making something different.
Whilst we’re on Brooks, they released a statement this week saying that professional athletes would be permitted to race in competitor’s spikes after they weren’t yet ready to bring a spike good enough to the pro market.
Superstars announced for Gateshead Diamond League
This week has also seen the announcement from the WANDA Diamond League that Jakob Ingebrigsten would be competing in the 1500m at the Muller Grand Prix event in Gateshead on Sunday 23rd May. Ahead of the race, the European record holder said, “I had a great time racing in Glasgow a couple of years ago and I’ve also run a few times at the Olympic Stadium in London, so I’m hoping for another good experience...in Gateshead next week. I’ve been training hard lately but I enjoy testing myself in competition and this meeting will be a good race to see where I am in the run-up to the Olympics.”
He’s not going to have it all his own way, however, with British athletes, Elliot Giles, European indoor 800m champion, George Mills, the British 1500m champion, Piers Copeland and Archie Davies looking to spoil the party. Meanwhile, the Ozzies are coming in-force from down-under too, with Stewy McSweyn, Australian record holder (3:30.51), Ollie Hoare, Matt Ramsden and Ryan Gregson set to race in a frankly outrageously talented line-up.
The women’s race is stacked too with the reigning European Champion and British record holder (3:55.22), Laura Muir returning to the UK to race. She’ll be up against Eilish McColgan, Adelle Tracey, Holly Archer and Melissa Courtney-Bryant.
The women’s 100m is like a who’s who of the world’s greatest sprinters. Fresh off her victory at the Golden Games, Sha’Carri Richardson will race a stellar line-up including Dina-Asher Smith, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Elaine Thompson-Herah.
The man who was Born To Fly, pole-vault world record holder Mondo Duplantis will also be competing in a stacked pole-vault field which includes Sam Kendrick and Piotr Lisek.
British Men’s Team for 10,000m Cup announced
This week British Athletics also announced their team for the European 10,000m Cup which doubles up as the British Olympic 10,000m Trials. With Marc Scott and Sam Atkin having already run the necessary time, they’ll be racing to win or come in the top 3 whilst I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here star (I understand he’s ran in the Olympics previously too), Sir Mo Farah, will be looking first and foremost to run the necessary time of 27:46 (which should be a walk in the park for him) and then to win the race. Newcomer, Jake Smith, only a few weeks after running the Olympic QT for the marathon, as a pacemaker, will be looking to cause an upset and run a huge PB. If his training sessions are anything to go by, then he’s going to be a huge danger. His recent session, shared on Instagram, was 12 times 1 kilometre off 1 minute rest at an average pace of 2:41 per kilometre. Frightening.
BMC Trafford Grand Prix
It wasn’t all about the stars and stripes this week because, here in the sunny England (it wasn’t sunny, it rained, the whole time), some of the finest athletes in the land lined up for the British Miler’s Club Grand Prix in Trafford, Manchester. The first stand-out performance was from 19 year old European Indoor 800m gold medallist, Keely Hodgkinson, who ran in the mixed 400m event, placing second and finishing in a personal best 53.73, quick enough to earn her a place at the European U20s.
The men’s 800m A final had received a lot of attention prior to the meet due to the calibre of athlete involved with most eyes focussed on the triumvirate of Archie Davis who ran a 1:47 the previous week, Alex Botteril and Ben Pattison. Botteril led at the halfway point, passing through 400m in 51s, but he was unable to shake Davies and Pattison and in the final straight, they both took the outside line to overtake Botteril and Max Wharton, with Davies winning in 1:46.65 and Pattison taking 2nd in 1:46.77
After spectators saw Ethan Hussey finsh third in the 1500m A race in 3:43.17 to claim the Euro U23 standard, attention quickly turned to the 5000m A races. In the women’s race, Jenny Nesbitt comfortably took the win in 15:40.10 with Beth Kidger second in 15:53.60, both top 10 UK performances this year. The men’s 5000m A race was arguably the most anticipated event of the night with, with the pacer instructed to run excitingly quick 65 second laps. The favourite, Tom Mortimer, shook off the chasing pack after around 8 laps and ran the remaining 1800m solo to finish in an incredible 13:39.79.
5k Crocs World Record
Forget Yared Nuguse, or Sha’Carri Richardson, our vote for the performance of the week goes to Benjamin Pachev who, at the Portland Twilight, ran the fastest 5000m time ever in a pair of Crocs. The dude behind him, who placed second will have to get on the phone to Tim Hutchings, because he’s clearly got faulty super-spikes!
Sound Running Track Meet
The Return of the King; Matthew Centrowitz is back. That’s the big news from the Sound Running event this week which saw the reigning Olympic 1500m champion cruise to victory in a stacked field. Mo Ahmed and Eric Avila decided to have a little cuddle on the floor just after the gun but that didn’t stop Centrowitz who positioned himself well, near the front of the pack throughout the race. Centro moved up the gears in the last 200m to ease away from the field, crossing the line, arms outstretched in a time of 3:35. Jake Heywood and the supremely talented, Marc Scott, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Later on and undeterred from his little fall in the 1500m, Mo Ahmed returned in the 5000m to win, just ahead of Andy Butchart, in a time of 13:18. Sam Parsons and Josh Kerr both ran 13:23, particularly impressive from Kerr as a 1500m runner.
The day before saw some fast 10,000m races too, shout-out to Conner Mantz, who seems to get a mention in this newsletter a lot, running 27:41.16.
In the men’s 100m, sprint superstar Trayvon Brommell took the win a fast time of 9.92 while Laura Muir won the women’s 800m in 1:58.71 ahead of Ellie Wilson. Finally the women’s 5000m was won, unsurprisingly, by Sifan Hassan in what was essentially a solo run, crossing the line in 14:35.
Titus Ekiru runs 5th fastest marathon time ever
And, finally, Titus Ekiru literally jumped for joy - right through the finishing tape after he ran the 5th fastest marathon time ever of 2:02:57 in the Milano Marathon, Italy this week.
He joins a small but elite group of athletes to have ever run under 2:03. Out of nowhere, the Olympic marathon suddenly looks very competitive with favourite Eliud Kipchoge likely to be challenged by, Kenenisa Bekele, Shura Kitata, Lelisa Desisa and now Titus Ekiru.