Every Monday, we’ll be putting together a round-up of the weekend winners and those who need improvement. It’s a simple five up and five down style. Without further ado, let’s get to this week’s rankings:

Needs improvement

5. Standard tracks

The adidas Boost Boston Games’ Sunday events were run on a straight, 200+ meter track on Charles Street smack dab in the city. And Wayde Van Niekerk did not disappoint in the 200. It wasn’t that his time was especially earth-shattering (19.84). It’s how easy he made it look. And it’s a shade faster than the fastest legitimate time run in the world this year. Your move, normal tracks.

4. Yohan Blake

On the same straight, urban track that Van Nierkerk dominated, former 9.69-100-meter-man Yohan Blake got buried in the 150. It wasn’t just that he lost. He didn’t exactly take his walloping in stride, and sort of threw a fit after the race.

3. Marathon Investigation dot com

Marathoninvestigation.com provides an often valuable resource to the running community: namely, outing cheaters at major road races. Does the man behind the site appear sometimes vindictive and in it more for the notoriety than for the purity of the sport? Some folks might say yes. But few can argue that cheating is bad, and so what he does can be good. Yet this week he penned a lengthy defense of what he does (fine) in which he dragged in a bunch of tangential examples of what he views as societal hypocrisy (kinda lost us there). If you feel you provide a valuable service, let it speak for itself. And if you feel it needs defending, defend just the service.

2. Dr. Jeffrey Brown

Much-maligned Texas doctor Jeffrey Brown has long since hitched his cart to the Nike Oregon Project horse by prescribing several of the group’s athletes thyroid medication. His name appears in countless references to the group’s ongoing USADA investigation documentation. His name is already tarnished to many, but it took another hit this week when ProPublica reported that he allegedly altered medical documents pertaining to then-client and NOP assistant Steve Magness. We didn’t write the book on fraudulent medical procedures, but we know that’s not a good look.

1. Asbel Kiprop’s Twitter

Following an–ahem–rough race at Pre, Asbel Kiprop tweeted something comparing his sub-four mile from that day to Roger Bannister’s historic cracking of the barrier. It was hilarious, and we’d have no problem with Kiprop’s Twitter had he left it up, despite the controversy it elicited. No, we say next time Kiprop flies off the handle, hand the man his phone and make sure whatever he types out stays up!

Winners

5. Harriette Thompson

She’s survived cancer twice. She’s the oldest woman to run a marathon. On Sunday, she became the oldest woman to run a half marathon.

SHE DID IT!!
Harriette Thompson, a two-time cancer survivor, is now the oldest woman to run a half-marathon. https://t.co/fEWb3gJHXP pic.twitter.com/7Jqea4WY73

— NBC 7 San Diego (@nbcsandiego) June 4, 2017

4. Adidas Boston Boost Games

It was a very sad moment when New York City lost its Diamond League meet but the sportswear company didn’t let its East Coast fans down and decided to host a meet at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville and then a street meet next to the Boston Common. Last year introduced the concept and the second year was very entertaining.

On Friday: Ethiopia’s Muktar Edris just fell short of breaking 13 minutes for 5,000m but took the win in 13:01. Charlene Lipsey won the women’s 800 in 1:59.57. The BAA middle distance runners defended their turf with Chris O’Hare’s 3:39.31 and Emily Lipari’s 4:12.32 victories in the men’s and women’s 1.500m. The Dream Mile races were also highly entertaining with 14-year-old Lexy Halladay upsetting a very loaded field and then American Fork’s Parick Parker finally beating teammate and rival Casey Clinger. Parker clocked a personal best of 4:03.99.

On Saturday: Tori Bowie set a world best with her 16.30 for 150m. Shaunae Miller did the same in the straight-200m as she won in 21.76. As we previously mentioned, Olympic champion and world record holder Wayde Van Niekerk did Wayde van Niekerk things. Kalon Barnes, a Baylor recruit, won the boy’s Dream 100 in 10.34 and Symone Mason, a Miami recruit, won the girl’s Dream 100m in 11.61.

 

3. Reed Brown

The Texas high school senior ran 3:59.30 at the Festival of Miles in St. Louis to become the 10th member of the U.S. sub-four minute mile club. It’s the fourth-fastest time by a high schooler in history. It’s starting to become an annual tradition where a high schooler runs under four minutes for the mile. We’re getting spoiled.

2. Sydney McLaughlin

The Union Catholic senior and 2016 Olympian doesn’t have much to prove next year at Kentucky, especially with her stellar high school season. She had herself quite the weekend by running a New Jersey state record of 22.88 for the 200m, breaking her own world junior record for the 400m hurdles in 54.03 and dashing to a 51.88 for 400m.

She’s just doing what she’s told.

https://twitter.com/GoSydGo/status/871077050454507520

Camille Herron

You don’t hear a whole lot about the Comrades Marathon, the world’s largest and oldest ultra-marathon race, as much as previous years but Camille Herron did the dang thing on Sunday. She became the first American woman since Anne Trason won in 1997. The race is 56-miles and Herron reportedly lost track of the finish line but was able to jog over for the win in 6:27:35. That’s one hell of a run.