Prefontaine Classic | U.S. Championship 10,000m Men’s Preview: Athletes, Storylines To Watch
Your guide to Friday night’s US Championship 10,000m men’s race featuring Grant Fisher, Woody Kincaid, Joe Klecker, Lopez Lomong and more.
Your guide to Friday night’s US Championship 10,000m men’s race featuring Grant Fisher, Woody Kincaid, Joe Klecker, Lopez Lomong and more.
Your guide to Friday night’s US Championship 10,000m women’s race featuring Elise Cranny, Karissa Schweizer, Alicia Monson and Weini Kelati.
How to watch the 2022 Birmingham Diamond League meet live from Alexander Stadium in Great Britain on Saturday, May 21.
How to watch the 2022 Trials of Miles Track Night NYC meet live from Icahn Stadium on the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel.
Find out who won and what were some of the biggest performances from the Diamond League 2022 opener in Doha.
The Diamond League opens up its 2022 series with a slew of Olympic rematches and season openers by big stars in Doha.
The jumps and throws at the World Indoor Track and Field Championships will include Ryan Crouser, Yulimar Rojas, Mondo Duplantis and more.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen takes centerstage at the World Indoor Track and Field Championships after breaking the world indoor 1,500m record.
No shortage of stars at the World Indoor Track and Field Championships. Marcell Jacobs vs. Christian Coleman. Ewa Swoboda vs. Marybeth Sant-Price. Shaunae Miller-Uibo vs. Femke Bol.
This week’s slate of track and field action will be better than the Super Bowl. Here’s what and how to watch all the action.
The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Staten Island didn’t disappoint with a slew of national records and world leading times.
We’re still riding the high from the Millrose Games but this upcoming weekend is also a jam-packed one with marquee races taking place in Berlin, Manhattan, Staten Island and Winston-Salem. CITIUS MAG will have boots on the ground at the Dr. Sander Invitational and the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix.
The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix (which is usually held in Boston’s Reggie Lewis Center but has been moved to Staten Island’s Ocean Breeze facility for the second consecutive year) is part of the seven-meet World Athletics Indoor Tour. Athletes are looking to snag some points in their respective disciplines (Women: 400m, 1500m, 60m hurdles, high jump, long jump | Men: 60m, 800m, 3000m/5000m, pole vault, triple jump, shot put) for the $10,000 grand prize and a wild card entry for the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, in March.
Consider this your guide on what to watch for this weekend…
– 100m Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs will race for the first time since winning gold in Tokyo. He will be running the men’s 60m dash. While he’ll likely use this as a rust-buster, he told the AFP that his “objective for the indoor season” is Dwain Chambers‘ 60m European record of 6.42. Jacobs’ personal best is 6.47 from his 2021 European Indoor Championship victory.
– Olympic pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis opened his season with a 6.02m win at the Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe in Germany. He has not been beaten indoors since January 2019.
– Olympic long jump champion Malaika Mihambo will pick up right where she ended her 2021 campaign after a runner-up finish at the ISATF Berlin outdoor meet. She has spent the past few weeks tuning up her speed with a few 60m races but will open her jumps season just a day after turning 28.
– Newbury Park High School (Cali.) is bringing its star boys core of Lex Young and Aaron Sahlman to run the men’s 3000m. Their high school record is also the national record — Lex’s older brother Nico Young ran 7:56.97 at the Millrose Games in 2020 to take down Drew Hunter’s previous 7:59.33 record. At December’s RunningLane XC Championships, Colin Sahlman and Lex Young got under Dathan Ritzenhein’s 14:10.40 cross country 5K best. Ritzenhein’s 8:13.1 is currently No. 8 on the all-time high school boys top 10 indoor list.
– Empire Elite’s Dani Aragon headlines the women’s mile to open her outdoor campaign. Juliette Whittaker is also in the field and is coming off a 4:47.14 victory in the high school girls mile at the Millrose Games.
– Rachel Schneider walked away from this meet in 2018 $12,000 richer, thanks to her victories in the women’s 3000m and mile (40 minutes apart) and then pulled off the Winston-Salem heist again in 2021. She’s entered in both events again this weekend after missing the Millrose Games due to a COVID-19 setback. She will be challenged in both events by her training partner, Elly Henes.
– We got a flash of Ajee’ Wilson’s 800m brilliance at the Armory last weekend. She’s back at it this weekend on the same track where she ran 1:59.26 in 2019. That time still stands as the fastest 800m mark on a flat 200m track.
– Clayton Murphy looks to rebound in the men’s mile after finishing last in the Wanamaker Mile in 4:05.27. He won the 800m at this meet in 2019 and 2020.
We get a slight rematch between Heather MacLean, Cory McGee and Nikki Hiltz from last week’s Wanamaker Mile. MacLean had the best performance last week with her 4:28.05 for seventh place. She won this race at last year’s meet with McGee and fellow New Balance Boston teammate SÃofra Clerigh-Buttner behind her.
We got the chance to watch Hiltz and Josette Norris tune up for this weekend’s race at The Armory on Wednesday. Check out our short workout highlights:
Marta Pérez, Spain’s Olympic 1500m finalist, has the fastest personal best of the field with her 4:00.12 from Tokyo and just ran 4:07.52 at the World Indoor Tour meet in Karlsruhe.
Luis Grijalva’s 7:41.21 personal best was lost behind the crazy finish between Cooper Teare, Cole Hocker, and Geordie Beamish in the Millrose Games men’s 3,000m. He’s running it back against a heavily international contingent that includes Spain’s Adel Mechaal (7:36.57 PB) and British duo Andrew Butchart (7:40.85 PB) and Jake Wightman (7:50.96 PB). Maybe Grijalva gets the slight edge since he doesn’t have to travel as far for the race.
Before Hocker and Teare rip a mile in Chicago next weekend at the Windy City Invitational, Beamish gets to set the bar. His personal best of 3:54.86 is from his win in the International Mile at last year’s Prefontaine Classic. We’ll see if Johnny Gregorek, Hobbs Kessler, Sam Prakel and the rest of the field let him sit in the back again before a kick in the final 200m. Colby Alexander, who is coming off a 3:52.84 personal best for third in the Wanamaker Mile, could be Beamish’s biggest challenger. How he’s still unsponsored is mind-boggling.
Grant Holloway is set to open his season. His last time racing the 60m hurdles was his 7.29 world record in Madrid. This will be the first time Holloway, Devon Allen and Daniel Roberts are in the same race since they went 1-2-3 in the 110m hurdle final at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Allen won the 60m hurdles at the Millrose Games.
The meet closes out its pro action with a possible stab at Karissa Schweizer’s 8:25.70 American record. ̶E̶l̶l̶e̶ ̶P̶u̶r̶r̶i̶e̶r̶ ̶S̶t̶.̶ ̶P̶i̶e̶r̶r̶e̶’̶s̶ ̶p̶e̶r̶s̶o̶n̶a̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶8̶:̶3̶6̶.̶4̶1̶ ̶3̶,̶0̶0̶0̶m̶ ̶s̶p̶l̶i̶t̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶9̶:̶1̶0̶.̶2̶8̶ ̶t̶w̶o̶-̶m̶i̶l̶e̶ ̶A̶m̶e̶r̶i̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶r̶e̶c̶o̶r̶d̶.̶ ̶S̶h̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶l̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶r̶a̶c̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶1̶5̶0̶0̶m̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶l̶o̶n̶g̶e̶r̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶U̶.̶S̶.̶ ̶s̶o̶i̶l̶ ̶s̶i̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶f̶o̶u̶r̶t̶h̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶c̶e̶ ̶f̶i̶n̶i̶s̶h̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶3̶0̶0̶0̶m̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶2̶0̶2̶0̶ ̶U̶.̶S̶.̶ ̶I̶n̶d̶o̶o̶r̶ ̶T̶r̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶F̶i̶e̶l̶d̶ ̶C̶h̶a̶m̶p̶i̶o̶n̶s̶h̶i̶p̶s̶.̶
(UPDATE: On Saturday afternoon, organizers announced Purrier-St. Pierre has pulled out of the meet due to illness.)
After running 4:20.81 for second place in the Wanamaker Mile and moving into No. 3 on the U.S. all-time indoor mile list, Josette Norris has solidified her status as a real contender to make the team for the upcoming World Indoor Championships. Last week’s race at the Armory provided a little bit of clarity on where people’s fitness is at, and she’s in a better spot than a few Olympians.
Bowerman Track Club’s Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, who beat Purrier St. Pierre in the Tokyo Olympics 1,500m final and took fifth, has a 8:38.51 outdoor 3,000m personal best from a year ago. We’ll get our first sign of how the Bowerman Track Club training camp has been treating its athletes in Flagstaff.
Ethiopia’s Mekides Abebe, a fourth place finisher in the steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympics, looks to be making her indoor track debut. Her World Athletics profile shows that she has only ever raced the 3000m steeplechase on the track in her young career. Maybe consider her a dark horse contender due to the unknowns but it’s going to be hard to beat Debues-Stafford.
Date: Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022
Time: The meet goes from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with elite races from noon to 1:30 p.m.
Live Result, Schedule and Entries: You can find live results, start times and entries here.
TV: This meet is not being televised.
Live stream: You can watch the entire webcast on USATF.TV+, which requires a subscription. The noon to 1:30 p.m. portion will also air on Peacock.
Date: Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022
Time: The meet goes from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with elite events starting at 2:00 p.m.
Live Result, Schedule and Entries: You can find live results, start times and entries here.
TV: This meet is not being televised.
Live stream: You can watch online at JDLFastTrack.com, which requires a RunnerSpace +PLUS subscription.
Date: Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022
Tickets: If you’re in the New York City area and want to head to Staten Island, tickets are available here.
Time: The meet runs from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Elite events will begin at noon.
Live Result, Schedule and Entries: You can find live results, start times and entries here.
TV: NBC
Live stream: You can also watch on the NBC Sports App from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. ET.
That’s it from me today. As always, thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this, learned something new, or have any questions or commentary on anything featured in this issue, feel free to hit my inbox by replying or writing to [email protected]
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The 114th Millrose Games will be held on Jan. 29, 2022 and will be broadcast on television and streamed by NBC from 2:30 p.m to 4:30 p.m. ET.
World champion and Olympic silver medalist Hellen Obiri is moving to Boulder to join the On Athletics Club and train under Dathan Ritzenhein.
The 114th Millrose Games will be held on Jan. 29, 2022 and will be broadcast on television and streamed by NBC from 2:30 p.m to 4:30 p.m. ET.
Noah Lyles, Josephus Lyles and Jalen Bacon break down the stacked men’s 60m field at the Millrose Games and how it’s won.
Kirubel Erassa, currently unsponsored, ran the seventh-fastest U.S. half marathon performance just two weeks after having COVID.
A man in Texas was charged with providing performance enhancing drugs to two athletes ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
Shadrack Kipchirchir missed all of the 2021 outdoor season due to a torn calf but returned with a win at USATF cross country championships.
After running 2:10 for the marathon and setting an American record, Parker Stinson is moving on from Dathan Ritzenhein to a new coach.
A brief update on CITIUS MAG’s plans for 2022 with the world championships coming to the United States soon.
Michelle Sammet, who works closely as a communications consultant and content creator with SPIKES & World Athletics, shares her experience with athlete storytelling.
University of Oregon professor Lori Shontz helps unpack the concept of story and why great stories are specific and universal.
Meet the men and women that comprise the inaugural Magic Boost class who are already active in the track & field storytelling space.
Learn more about “A Time and A Place” – a documentary by Stephen Kersh and Ryan Sterner following NAZ Elite’s road to the U.S. Olympic Trials
On Social Sport, Emma Zimmerman shares the stories & thoughts of people who explore the connection between sport and activism in their lives.
Eliud Kipchoge owns Kenenisa Bekele in the marathon so will this long-awaited clash even be close? Can anyone stop Brigid Kosgei?
A look at the biggest news stories in track and field from Tommy Rivs’ battle with lymphoma, World Athletics changing its shoes rules again and more.
Unpacking everything from Michael Norman becoming the first American under 10, 20 and 44; Bowerman Track Club’s third intrasquad meet + more podcasts
An attempt to re-launch a newsletter rounding up the biggest news from the track and field world with commentary and analysis by Chris Chavez
Hundreds of New York City runners gathered at the East River for a protest run against racial injustice and police brutality in America.
Ivy League champion Erin Gregoire ran 2:42 at the Houston Marathon and was not accepted to the U.S. Olympic marathon trials.
A look behind Stephen Kersh’s seventh-place finish in his Western States Endurance Run debut.
“Why do I go to the track every day? Why do I not give up? It’s because I’m hopeful that the new technology in treating cancer and personalizing medicine will work. It’s no secret that my disease and I need a breakthrough. I’ve got to stay alive long enough to see them and maybe it works for me. Maybe one of these clinical trials will work for me. It’s a scary place to be but I don’t think I could live my life if I didn’t have hope someone could figure something out.“ Gabriele Anderson Grunewald to me in 2017
Gabe never lost hope. To me, she was the greatest display of courage, determination and human spirit when someone could be handed the worst of circumstances. I’m among the thousands of people that she’s positively impacted in her incredible 32 years of life. I met her for the first time in Lignano, Italy in the Summer of 2013. I remember sitting down in a hotel lobby for hours with her and Andy Bayer because there was no air conditioning in the rooms and that was the only spot with wifi. A bunch of the athletes gathered there. Gabe was so excited about her upcoming wedding to Justin Grunewald and just brightened the room while we all made the most of a less than ideal situation. There were so many mosquitos. That positivity was just how she was all the time. At the time, she had already battled cancer twice but I had no idea.
She was first diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma (a rare form of cancer in her salivary gland) as a 22-year-old while competing for the University of Minnesota in 2009. She underwent surgery to remove it but cancer returned in her thyroid in 2010. She underwent a thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine treatment before making a full recovery and return to racing in 2011. Then she finished fourth at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 1,500 meters (just one spot shy of making the national team for the Summer Games and the most heartbreaking places to finish).
I was fortunate to be in Monaco with Flotrack when she ran 4:01.48 and was beaming with excitement but she was still looking forward to getting better and faster in her next race. Even in 2017, when cancer returned for the fourth time, we met up in New York and she shared her plan to keep running. No friend has ever been braver through it all.
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She’s crossed one more finish line and is now in heaven. We can all aspire to be #bravelikegabe. Let’s also celebrate every run, every personal best and every victory because she was never one to take life and running for granted.
Please consider making a donation to the Brave Like Gabe Foundation, where proceeds go toward rare cancer research centers including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Meet the photographer responsible for many shots of the NN Running Team, Eliud Kipchoge and the world’s best runners.
Reflecting on my 21-minute personal best from the 2019 Tokyo Marathon.
Read an exclusive excerpt from Scott Fauble and Ben Rosario’s new book ‘Inside A Marathon’
Chris Chavez is joined by Nicole Bush, Pat Price and Kevin Liao to discuss day 3 of the US Championships to recap Shelby Houlihan and Matt Centrowitz’s win.
Chris Chavez and Kevin Liao get together in the stands during the men’s 20K race walk to recap all the day’s action from Day 1 of the USATF Championships.
Mondo Hits New Heights, Minnesota Keeps Fighting, XC is Coming Back?
At the Rome Diamond League meet, Mondo Duplantis broke Sergey Bubka’s long-standing outdoor pole vault world record with a 6.15m clearance.