Joshua Cheptegei: “This was a good season opener for me: I remember in 2021 before the Olympics I ran here and was disappointed because I came sixth. So, to come here and be 4th is special for me. This race was more like a championship race. I have a lot of endurance, now I need to work more on my speed.”

Mohammed Ahmed: “It felt very, very messy. With me, I have a really long stride and a lot of people have trouble running behind me. It just seemed like the entire race I was getting clipped. I think I did a lot of damage to some people’s shins. It was very strange…It was a hard, hard race and very tactical. I think everybody is good. If you run that race 10 times, you might have 10 different outcomes.”

Joe Klecker: It felt tactical. I looked up at the clock and we were just a touch slower than when I ran 12:54 indoors so I figured I have done this before, I can close well off it. The last 2K must’ve been around 5:05, which I’m satisfied with this early in the year. It’s something when you look at 3K into the race and there are still 10-12 guys around you."

What’s Next:

Several of the same athletes will compete in the men’s 5000m at the Oslo Diamond League on June 15. The full fields have yet to be announced.

Our Takes:

“I think it’s time we start to think of Katir as a medal contender for the world championships 5000m. We’ve known he has the strength side of things with his indoor 3000m personal best of 7:24.68 from February, where he dipped under Daniel Komen’s previous record that stood for 25 years. But even that was overshadowed a bit since Lamecha Girma beat him by .87 seconds. Katir ran the 5000m at the Tokyo Olympics and finished eighth in the final. He opted for the 1500 meters at Worlds last year and it paid off with the bronze medal. He did go back to the 5000m for the European Championships and took silver behind Jakob Ingebrigtsen. It takes a second to realize that Katir is the best European distance runner not named Jakob Ingebrigtsen and has already run times that surpass the best Mo Farah did in his own legendary career.” – Chris Chavez

“With 450m to go, everyone was still in it. Unsurprisingly a tangle in the final lap tripped up Moh Ahmed, Joe Klecker and Andreas Almgren (who sadly fell and DNFed). Kincaid was moving the fastest in the last 100m but had too much ground to make up. Cheptegei never looked comfortable, which has to raise questions about his health and fitness. After a few rocky years, it was the strongest performance in a while from Yomif Kejelcha, who didn't even make Ethiopia's 5000m roster in Eugene. It's going to be an interesting season.” – David Melly

“This was a championship preview of what will like be the battle between Jakob Ingebrigtsen and the field. Someone like Mo Katir who can match Jakob’s 1500 speed might have the best shot later in the season, especially in a similarly crowded race that requires a hard close.

The depth is incredible and it is quite clear sub 13 is no longer the bar to be competitive at the international level. Now that Americans are regularly below that barrier, the question is not only how do you run fast, but how do you close hard enough? There are going to be a few INSANELY good runners that won’t make the U.S. 5000m team. ” – Kyle Merber

"The event has gone to a whole new level. It’s a far more exciting race to watch now because you’ve got the whole field together at the bell. Florence was a good indication that everyone is really fit but after watching a race like that it’s hard to call a clear favorite, especially when it’s still early in the season. Seeing everyone up their game I think Jakob will also. Until the man is beaten, he remains the champ!" – David McCarthy