By Paul Hof-Mahoney
January 25, 2026
While huge swaths of the United States are under historic winter storm warnings, an enticing selection of track’s best and brightest rubbed shoulders today in Boston, setting the track ablaze at the 2026 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. World records from Hobbs Kessler and Josh Hoey highlighted a distance-heavy slate that still managed to feature its fair share of enthralling sprints action. Here’s what we learned at the TRACK:
Rumors Of Hobbs Kessler’s Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
After a frustrating 2025 season where he just missed the U.S. 1500m team and never finished better than seventh across three Diamond League appearances, it was important for Kessler to get his winter campaign off to a strong start. Mission accomplished.
With Cole Hocker’s brand new American record from last night still fresh in the minds of Kessler and Grant Fisher, the pair got out hot. Davis Bove put in the pace job of the century, coming through 1K in 2:23.57 and 1600m in 3:52.96, nearly three seconds faster than Hocker hit that mark. For reference, Bove’s mile PB is just 3:56.38. Fisher took over leading duties with two laps to go and looked perfectly positioned to lock up his third indoor world record… until Kessler decided he wasn’t going to let that happen.
On the back straight, the freshly-mulleted 22-year-old effortlessly slid past Fisher and into the history books. His textbook squeeze over the final 500m was capped off with a 13.02-second final 100m en route to 4:48.79. Yes, the distance isn’t run very often, but Kessler just took more than a second off a Kenenisa Bekele record. That’s pretty good! It’s tough to dive into Kessler’s psyche and say how much this win was really “needed” or not, but a run like that against a competitor like Fisher has to feel like a nice rebound for one of America’s brightest young talents after a year that got away from him.
For what it’s worth, Fisher also dipped under Bekele’s record, running 4:49.48 and getting an incredible marker on the table before what’s set up to be a historic two mile at Millrose next week. Belgium’s Peter Sisk (4:52.41) and Great Britain’s Jake Wightman (4:53.69) also joined the ranks of the 10 fastest men ever over 2000m.
Mac Fleet / @macfleet
No Days Off Keeps Paying Off
Hoey authored another chapter in his assault of the indoor record books today in what might be his most impressive showing yet. Wilson Kipketer’s world record of 1:42.67 was the clear target today and really the only thing Hoey had not yet achieved in the indoor four-lapper. Hoey’s older brother Jaxson brought him through 400m perfectly in 50.21, then all the younger sibling had to do was hang on.
As he neared the line, it was obvious that he’d become the second man ever to break 1:43 indoors, but getting all the way down to the record was still a toss-up. With a strong surge down the home straight, Hoey was able to replicate his record-breaking antics in 1:42.50, securing a second indoor world record less than two miles away from where he set the high-water mark over 600m last month.
At this point, it’s difficult to glean original takeaways from yet another really fast Josh Hoey race. An absence of bad races and an inability to be unfit have become the status quo for the 26-year-old. It would’ve been cool to see him up against the day’s 600m field of Cian McPhillips, Donavan Brazier and Bryce Hoppel, but given that Hoey’s three-lap split was faster than McPhillips’ winning time, it might not have been much of a contest. If a more exciting battle is what you desire, however, let me turn your attention to… next week’s Wanamaker Mile! Hoey will enter that race with the worst seed time, but it’s clear that he’s improved by leaps and bounds since he last raced a mile in December of 2024. The Wanamaker saw the world record go down last February, and with Hoey and Kessler in the mix, along with returning champ Yared Nuguse, it’s bound to produce something special again (although Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s world record of 3:45.14 may be a tough nut to crack).
Folks, She’s Done It Again
Death, taxes, Elle St. Pierre kicking ass after having a baby.
After giving birth to her first son, St. Pierre’s return to action on the track was a thrilling 3000m at the 2024 New Balance Grand Prix, in which she ran one of the fastest times in U.S. history and just got beat to the line by an Aussie. Today, St. Pierre stepped on the track under remarkably similar circumstances, but she flipped the script on not just one, but two Australian greats to reassert herself as one of the best runners in the world.
The front three of this race separated themselves early on, as St. Pierre was joined by both female legs of Australia’s title-winning mixed relay team from the World Cross Country Championships, with Jess Hull leading and Linden Hall sitting on her shoulder. St. Pierre’s first move came with around 550m to go, as she deftly moved around Hull, much to the enjoyment of the home crowd. It seemed for a moment that would prove to be the decisive move, but Hall followed St. Pierre, the former 3000m World Indoor champ, around her fading compatriot, and was stuck tight. As the two approached the bell, Hall, an FSU grad, found an injection of speed to overtake the American on the outside, but not for long.
As the pair came around the turn, it was the mother of two who propelled herself to the front and across the line in 8:26.54. There have only been four other races where an American woman has run faster than that indoors, and two of them were run by St. Pierre in 2024. If there’s one thing to take away from this race, it’s that you never doubt Elle St. Pierre. If there’s a second thing to learn, it’s that it bodes really well for what may lie ahead of Elle St. Pierre in Kujawy Pomorze, home of this year’s World Indoor Championships, if she chooses to take that route.
The Year Of Cam Is Fully Underway
It’s safe to say that the “unforeseen medical reasons” that kept Cam Myers out of the World Cross Country Championships earlier this month have been sorted out. A dominant win over the mile at Washington’s funky purple track in 3:49.81 last week—a facility record and the fastest time ever run in January—was our first sign. But today’s 3000m in Boston was as emphatic of an “I’m actually okay guys!” as you could imagine.
After coming through 2000m in 5:02, the burgeoning Aussie superstar dropped the hammer over the last five laps, eventually putting a gap of more than three seconds on Andrew Coscoran and Graham Blanks. Myers’s winning time of 7:27.57 shaves a few seconds off Ky Robinson’s previous Australian record and moves him to 10th on the all-time indoor list.
Two immediate thoughts that spring from a performance like this:
- Myers ran 7:33.12 in this race last year before blasting a 3:47.48 effort in the Wanamaker Mile six days later, good for the fifth-fastest time in history. Myers is ALSO on the start list for next Sunday’s race, so what could he have in store at The Armory?
- Myers only has two 5000m efforts on his World Athletics profile, with a PB of 13:32.12 coming Down Under on Dec. 20 of last year. He’s clearly shown to be more than just a miler, so could we see him attack a fast 5K this summer?
Mac Fleet / @macfleet
Other Highlights:
- Noah Lyles had one of his most antic-filled entrances, but it was fellow Lance Brauman pupil Jereem Richards that had the last laugh over 300m, edging out his training partner in 32.14 to Lyles’ 32.15.
- World silver medalist Dorcus Ewoi proved her breakthrough race in Tokyo was no fluke with a 4:01.22 win over 1500m, ahead of Sinclaire Johnson in her first race with Hoka. Former Oregon Duck Klaudia Kazimierska came away with a Polish record while Gracie Morris’ 4:02.12 took almost two seconds off her PB.
- Khaleb McRae put a speedbump in the way of Bullis star Quincy Wilson’s hot start to the high school season, as the Alabama product took the men’s 400m crown in 45.38 to Wilson’s 45.96.
- Danielle Williams and Trey Cunningham each downed World champs and pre-race favorites in the 60mH. Williams beat world record holder and two-time World Indoor champion Devynne Charlton to the line in a world-leading 7.87, while Cunningham’s 7.48-second clocking made short work of a field featuring 110mH champion Cordell Tinch, who finished fifth.
- Heptathlon World champ Anna Hall opened her 2026 campaign with a pair of solid showings in the long jump (5.99m for fifth) and 400m (52.77 for second). Hat tips to Monae’ Nichols and Nicole Yeargin for winning each of those events, respectively.
- Dina Asher-Smith and Ackeem Blake collected strong wins in the 60m, going 7.08 and 6.53 on the straightaway.
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Thanks for reading! Head to the CITIUS MAG YouTube Channel for tons of interviews with the biggest stars of the meet, and stay tuned to our socials channels for news and updates in the leadup to the next stop on the World Athletics Indoor Continental Tour Gold: The 118th Millrose Games on Feb. 1.
Paul Hof-Mahoney
Paul is currently a student at the University of Florida (Go Gators) and is incredibly excited to be making his way into the track and field scene. He loves getting the opportunity to showcase the fascinating storylines that build up year-over-year across all events (but especially the throws).
