Fast Women: Can Faith Kipyegon break the 31-year-old 3,000m world record?
Gracie Morris wins Sir Walter Miler.
Issue 367
Beatrice Chebet and Faith Kipyegon will swap events (kind of) this week
The entries for Saturday’s Silesia Diamond League meet in Poland are out, and the meet should feature some excellent middle distance races. First, I’m intrigued to see what Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet, the world record holder in the 5,000m and 10,000m, can do in the 1500m, which is not an event she runs often. Her PR is currently 4:06.09, from 2023, but she ran that at altitude, in Kenya.
The 1500m field also includes Ethiopians Gudaf Tsegay, Diribe Welteji, Freweyni Hailu, and Birke Haylom, as well as Great Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell. It will be exciting to see how Americans Nikki Hiltz and Heather MacLean fare in such a fast field. I’ll also be keeping an eye on two recent NCAA alums—Ireland’s Sophie O’Sullivan and Poland’s Klaudia Kazimierska.
Faith Kipyegon will be racing for the first time since she broke her own 1500m world record at the Prefontaine Classic. She’s entered in the 3,000m, a distance she hasn’t raced since 2022. Her PR, 8:23.55, dates all the way back to 2014. Back in May, when Chebet ran the second-fastest 3,000m ever, I wrote about the suspicious circumstances under which China’s Wang Junxia set the world record of 8:06.11 in 1993.
Can Kipyegon take down the record on Saturday? That would be a tall order, but she’s one of two women I could imagine pulling it off (Chebet is the other), and it looks like she’ll have the help of one of her favorite pacers, Sage Hurta-Klecker. If Kipyegon goes out near world record pace, it will be interesting to see if anyone goes with her. Australia’s Jessica Hull and Georgia Griffith, and Ethiopia’s Likina Amebaw, have the next fastest PRs in the field. Ella Donaghu is the only other American in the race.
After much delay, Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson will be opening her season with an 800m. The 23-year-old hasn’t raced since winning the event at the Paris Olympic Games. She originally intended to begin racing in February, but she has repeatedly delayed her return after suffering a hamstring injury. Her fastest competitor is Botswana’s Oratile Nowe, who ran 1:57.49 in June. Raevyn Rogers is in the field as well, and I’ll be interested to see what she can do with the second half of her season.
In the U.S., the meet will air on FloTrack. The 800m, the first women’s middle-distance event, goes off at 9:52 a.m. ET.
A two-win weekend for Gracie Morris
When Gracie Morris, 23, left TCU a little over a year ago, she had a 1500m PR of 4:10.35, and though she ran nearly that quickly at NCAAs, she narrowly missed making the final. Since then, she has kept getting better. Her first big post-collegiate result came when she ran 4:21 to place fifth at the Fifth Avenue Mile, and in October, she announced she had signed with Puma Elite.
This year, she finished third at the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships, and she has lowered her 1500m PR to 4:04.05. On Friday night in Raleigh, North Carolina, she ran away from a quality field to win Sir Walter Miler in 4:23.74, another PR. She was followed closely by Rachel McArthur, who took second in 4:23.98. The top five all PRed, with Angel Piccirillo finishing third (4:25.13), Christina Aragon fourth (4:25.30), and Lindsey Butler fifth (4:25.85).
In her last race before she begins college at NC State, Sadie Engelhardt finished seventh in 4:27.14, which moved her to second on the U.S. high school all-time list, behind Jane Hedengren.
The top nine runners collectively broke the record for the most U.S. women under 4:30 in a single race. Butler was the lone athlete in the field to break 4:30 for the first time.
Less than 24 hours after her win, Morris traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, and won the Guardian Mile, a road mile, in 4:30.03. After earning $1,850 for her Sir Walter win on Friday, she earned $5,000 in Cleveland on Saturday. (Sir Walter Miler results | Sir Walter replay | Guardian Mile results | Low-quality Guardian Mile footage)
Nikki Hiltz opens up about undergoing gender-affirming surgery
Nikki Hiltz shared last week that one month after returning home from the Olympics last year, they got top surgery. And while I long for a day when this is not news, having a president who is determined to strip trans people of their rights has made this a particularly scary time to be trans in the U.S. Last week, The New Yorker published a visual story about a mother and her trans teen, who moved to Mexico because they felt the U.S. was no longer a safe place for them to be. And they are not alone.
I don’t think of professional track & field as a sport with many activists. There are some notable exceptions, but the most common modus operandi is to put one’s head down, shut out anything that might detract from performance, and avoid speaking up about controversial topics. And this is understandable in an age when certain media outlets are all too eager to turn just about everything into breaking news and twist the words of anyone who is remotely high profile.
But that makes me all the more grateful when an athlete like Hiltz chooses to go the opposite route and be particularly outspoken. I can only imagine the level of verbal abuse they’ve had to endure online in choosing to put themself out there, but it’s clear from the comments on their post and others they’ve shared in their stories how powerful it is for other trans people to have Hiltz as a role model. And they’ve been extremely patient about educating cis people who might not fully understand but are open-minded.
Hiltz discussed their surgery in more detail on the Ali on the Run Show last week. They had to take a month off from running post-surgery and they said they were prepared for their 2025 season to take a hit as a result, but they’ve been pleasantly surprised by how quickly they’ve been able to return. Hiltz also confirmed that USATF began sex testing athletes who compete in the women’s category during team processing at the USATF Outdoor Championships.
What Hiltz has done on the track over the past three years has been fantastic, but the trailblazing they’ve done off the track has made their accomplishments all the more incredible.
Other News and Links
The NACAC Championships begin on Friday in the Bahamas and the start lists are available here. Nia Akins and Meghan Hunter will represent the U.S. in the 800m, Emily Mackay and Dani Jones will run the 1500m, Krissy Gear will run the steeplechase, Bailey Hertenstein is entered in the 5,000m, and Taylor Roe is entered in the 10,000m. Roe’s entry must be a move to secure her spot at the world championships. Her closest competitor is more than two minutes slower and there are only four entrants, so the race shouldn’t be too taxing.
I appreciated this Betsy Saina update from Nadia Neophytou. Saina is living in Tennessee at the moment and she had knee surgery last December. Getting pregnant with her second child, who is due in September, has helped quell her urge to rush back to running. She experienced extreme nausea during her first trimester, but she’s doing better and is able to run now.
If you can access it, this Telegraph article about M11 Track Club coach Jenny Meadows included some interesting details. Meadows said that after the Olympics, 20 athletes who competed at the Games reached out about joining their team, but they accepted only three.
Last week, Project RED-S released an educational video about REDs that includes Elise Cranny, Carrie Ellwood, and others.
Will the athletes coming off the collegiate season be ready to run their best at the world championships next month? This question comes up leading up to every championship, because the NCAA season begins so early in the year, and this year, worlds is on the later side. On the I’ll Have Another podcast last week, Lexy Halladay-Lowry said that for her, the end goal was always to have her season last into September, and she has structured her training accordingly. In an interview with her hometown paper, Maggi Congdon said, “I was not expecting [to make the team], so we’ll have to figure out that stuff. It’s nice to have a decent amount of time because I have just been racing for so long, it’s good for me to have a little bit of a reset and have time to get ready for September.”
Life stops for no one, including an athlete trying to be at their best for the U.S. Championships. Courtney Wayment posted about losing her grandmother while she was racing in Europe in June, as well as her dog’s chemo treatments to help keep her going through the rest of Wayment’s track season. And Josette Andrews’ cat passed away while she was at USAs making her first world championships team outdoors. Most of us are struggling with something, and that includes the U.S.’s best.
It’s easy to share one’s story when things are going well, but Allie Ostrander has become a popular YouTuber partially because she’s been willing to share the lows, too. In her latest video, she addressed her decision to withdraw from the steeplechase final at the USATF Outdoor Championships and asked people to refrain from weighing in if they disagree with her decision.
I appreciated learning a little more about Sarah Calvert, who pulled off an upset to win the British 1500m title. But the headline about stunning Laura Muir feel a little disingenuous when Muir is still on her way back after injury.
The final episode of Breaking4, featuring Faith Kipyegon, came out on July 29 and I finally got around to watching it last week. The 39-minute episode includes behind-the-scenes footage leading up to her sub-4:00 mile attempt that features both Kipyegon and her pacers. I continue to have mixed feelings about the whole event, but if I had no other context, didn’t know much about the sport, and stumbled across the series, I’m sure I would be inspired. If you already have a Prime Video subscription, it’s worth a watch. If you don’t, I’m glad it exists, but I wouldn’t say it’s worth subscribing for.
The Sports Examiner reported that NBC/Peacock’s coverage of the USATF Outdoor Championships drew 1.1 viewers on Saturday and 1.3 million on Sunday. The article points out that track does not do as well when it’s not on NBC. Grand Slam Track averaged 239,000 viewers for its six dates on the CW, which is similar to how NCAA T&F does on ESPN. (I watched Grand Slam on Peacock, and it’s not clear if those numbers are included here.) But if you attach the word Olympic to track & field, interest skyrockets. The 2024 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials attracted an average of 4.5 million viewers on its eight days of coverage.
I’m a little slow to this news, but at the Beer Mile World Classic in Lisbon a little over two weeks ago, Elizabeth Laseter won her third-straight title in a championship record of 5:56. You can read more about the race here and watch it here. Laseter will now set her sights on the Chicago Marathon, where her beverage stops along the way will likely be a little more traditional.
The AIU announced last week that they’ve provisionally suspended Kenya’s Judy Jelagat Kemboi, 26, for testing positive for hydrochlorothiazide, the same diuretic/masking agent Ruth Chepngetich tested positive for. Kemboi has run 1:05:43 in the half marathon and 30:29 for 10K and is currently ranked seventh in the world for road running.
Last month, the Times Standard reported that two former Cal Poly Humboldt runners had accused their former coach, Jamey Harris, of inappropriate behavior. The school has since placed Harris on leave, and former coach Scott Pesch has returned to the program in an interim capacity.
Additional Results
At Belgium’s IFAM Oordegem, Uganda’s Joy Cheptoyek won the 5,000m in a personal best of 14:40.27, and Australia’s Lauren Ryan finished close behind in a big PR of 14:40.39. Savannah Shaw, who finished 18th in a PR of 15:28.28, led the four Americans in the field. Spain’s Marina Martinez Ortuño won a close 1500m in 4:03.33, and Taryn Rawlings led the Americans with a PR of 4:04.61. Spain’s Rocio Arroyo Soria won the 800m in 1:59.17, and Olivia Baker was the top American, running 1:59.92 for third. France’s Flavie Renouard won the steeplechase in 9:17.27, and Sarah Tait took second in a Scottish record of 9:18.66. (Results)
Emily Sisson ran 24:57 to win Ireland’s Streets of Galway 8K. “I was originally hoping to go a little bit faster but it was actually quite windy so I’m really pleased with that!” she wrote in an Instagram story. (Results)
After doing a pre-race workout, Erika Kemp won the Bobby Doyle Summer Classic 5 Miler in Narragansett, Rhode Island, in 25:31. (Results)
Slovakia’s Gabriela Gajanová won the 800m at the P-T-S Meeting in 1:58.53. Italy’s Ludovica Cavalli won the 1500m in 4:05.01. (Results)
Cuba’s Daily Cooper Gaspar won the 800m at Poland’s Memorial Zbigniewa Ludwichowskiego in 1:59.73. (Results)
Great Britain’s Innes FitzGerald won the 5,000m at the European U20 Championships, running 15:09.04, and three days later, she earned her second gold with an 8:46.39 championship record in the 3,000m. (Results)
At Thursday’s Oregon Track Club All Comers Meet, Poland’s Klaudia Kazimierska, who now runs for the Swoosh TC, dominated the 800m, running a personal best of 2:00.01. (Results)
France’s Maeliss Trapeau won the 800m at La Classique d'athlétisme de Montréal in 2:01.63, finishing 0.01 seconds ahead of Taiya Shelby. (Results)
Running in a mixed-gender heat, Jenn Randall won the West Chester Mile in 4:31.91. (Results)
Kenya’s Joyline Chepngeno and Caroline Kimutai, both of the Salomon-sponsored Milimani Runners, went 1-2 at Sierre-Zinal, running 2:54:49.0 and 2:55:31.5. The 31K race includes more than 7,000 feet of climbing and runs from Sierre to Zinal, Switzerland. Kimutai, who was making her debut at the event, got out to an early lead, but Chepngeno, the defending champion, ran her down. It’s happening slowly, but it’s great to see Kenyan athletes starting to have more of a presence at races like this one. Kenya and Ethiopia have many of the best runners in the world, so it’s odd that there’s this adjacent sport where they barely have a presence. (One major factor: It’s a sport where athletes get their income more from sponsorships than prize money, so the shoe companies have more say in who gets the opportunities.) Katie Schide, who tends to excel at the longer distances, finished third in 2:58:30.5. I am trying to figure out the appropriate analogy here. Is this like Faith Kipyegon being competitive in a 400m? I appreciated the quality of the camerawork on the broadcast, which was available in the U.S. on both FloTrack and HBO Max. Watching the coverage, I could actually imagine trail running becoming a popular spectator sport. (Results | The first 54 minutes of the race are available here.)
Podcast Highlights
I enjoyed getting an update from Kate Grace on the Fast People podcast. She had some good thoughts on the post-Olympic letdown and it was interesting to learn more about her next career and hear some of her advice for pro runners (which can also benefit the rest of us).
Also from Nikki Hiltz’s appearance on the Ali on the Run Show, I appreciated their coach Juli Benson’s advice about “being an actor,” and letting things roll off one’s back while racing. I can think of several instances at USAs where other athletes might have benefitted from that advice. In addition to this week’s race in Silesia, Hiltz confirmed that they also plan to race the Brussels Diamond League meet on August 22nd, and hopefully their performances will be enough to earn them a spot in the Diamond League final at the end of the month.
Sage Hurta-Klecker discussed making the world championships team in the 800m on the Citius Mag podcast. She said that when she fell past the finish line, she initially feared that she had broken her nose. And still hadn’t recovered from the fall when she was pulled aside to do the post-race interview with NBC.
Keira D’Amato made a couple of podcast appearances last week. On the Ali on the Run Show, she discussed setting the American masters record in the 10,000m at USAs. (I appreciated the line, “It doesn’t feel like a masters record if you don’t feel like you strained something.”) On Alexi Pappas’ podcast Mentor Buffet, D’Amato passed along advice from her former coach, Scott Raczko, about not letting someone else’s good day take away from her good day. And she opened up about struggles in her personal life.
I mentioned this episode above, but it was interesting to hear Lexy Halladay-Lowry briefly touch on the additional pressure that young athletes are now dealing with because of NIL deals on I’ll Have Another. She acknowledged that it’s nice to have a little income, but also said, “Now there’s so much pressure either to get an NIL for all these college athletes, when I don’t know if that should be the focus. I can see it even with my teammates. Because of the NILs coming in, if you want a professional contract…that is a step to that and the stress and pressure I’ve seen with that, just in my corner, that’s a tough place to be.”
I appreciated having a chance to hear from South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodiso on the BBC’s Sportsworld podcast. Sekgodiso, 23, won the 800m at the world indoor championships in March and has been consistently running 1:57s outdoors. She joins the episode around the 6:00 mark.
In 2017, Emily Richards ran 2:00.62 in the 800m, and a sub-2:00 performance seemed like it was only a matter of time. But it ended up taking eight more years. On D3 Glory Days, Richards, 30, discussed breaking 2:00 for the first time, at the USATF Outdoor Championships.
Additional Episodes: Grayson Murphy on The Fueling Forward Podcast | Colleen Quigley on Keeping Track | Rachel Entrekin on The Trail Network Podcast | Jenny Simpson on 321 Go! | Kara Goucher on Life Time Talks | Great Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell on Podium Athletics | Australia’s Lisa Weightman on Women’s Running Collective (She comes on around the 8:30 mark.)
This was a bit of a quieter week in running because so many national championships took place the week before. But things will really ramp back up this week. Thanks so much to all of you who help keep this newsletter going with your support via Venmo and Patreon. None of this would be possible without you.
I hope you all have the best week possible.
Alison
I like the Faith Kipyegon - Katie Schide analogy 😅 I think the big thing there (which was missed on the coverage) is that she ran & broke the Hardrock 100 mile course record only 4 weeks ago. Also, the full race is now available (& they do a good job showing Katie move up towards the end)! https://youtu.be/3jSswh_oj7I?si=4VaiT0WdabOjmr8M
I ran the Guardian Mile this weekend and my wife and I (former North Carolinians) had the chance to watch Gracie Morris dominate the elite race…less than 24 hours after winning Sir Walter Miler. She’s delightful and she’s DEFINITELY someone to watch! (Also, fun fact: her twin brother was second in the men’s elite race in Cleveland!)