By Citius Mag Staff
January 8, 2025
After 18 years of lacin’ ‘em up, John “Johnny” Gregork has announced his retirement from competitive running. Gregorek steps away from the athletic rat race with a diverse mix of accolades including a 3:49.98 indoor mile PB; the fastest ever mile in blue jeans; having represented Team USA at two World Championships; a top-10 finish in the final in 2017; and an undefeated record when racing road miles in Cleveland, Ohio.
You don’t make two World teams and run under 3:50 for the mile without being a phenomenally talented middle distance runner. And yet whenever major American championships rolled around and the conversation invariably turned to the matter of who will make the World/Olympic team, only real diehards or Gregorek family members tended to include Johnny in their top three. He’d wind up getting a bullet-point mention in the “other names to watch” preview. He was the perennial long shot.
That’s hardly a knock on Gregorek. Nor is this a faux-outrage argument that the track and field community has underappreciated one of the sport’s more beloved milers. It’s actually what made Johnny such an exciting athlete to keep tabs on. He was never a lock to make the team, but you could never count him out, either. In an event where the gulf between the favorites and the also-rans can be huge, Johnny was a legitimate dark horse threat for much of the last decade.
Kevin Morris / @KevMoFoto
Whenever Gregorek was in contact with the leaders down the home stretch, your eyes instinctively darted back to him a few times, just to see if this was one of those days when he would perfectly time his lethal kick. A podium finish was never a given, but it was always a possibility. And rooting for the guy in that position is a lot more appealing to the countless former milers in any given Hayward Field meet than, say, the inevitability of a Matthew Centrowitz in his prime. The mid-packers often become the fan favorites for a reason.
In an event as electric as the men’s 1500m, during an era where American men have twice struck Olympic gold, that might come across as a bold claim. And it is! Just look at jersey sales for any professional sport: you’re going to see the top-scorers, the dynasty-builders, the inarguable GOATs at the top of the heap. It’s less common to walk down the street and see a middle aged dude repping the jersey of a rock solid but blocking-focused tight end, or a Sixth-Man of the Year candidate, or a sturdy relief pitcher.
But it’s those athletes who make the sporting world go round. After all, heavy favorites need to lose sometimes to keep things interesting, and what’s a more compelling story than the steady performer who has a heroic day when it matters most? You need a viable “middle class” in sports. The athletes who, on the right day, are capable of ascending into the uppermost echelon, but whose entry is never a given.
From 2016 to 2024, Johnny G. made six of eight U.S. finals. He was always right there, mixing it up. Few athletes are fortunate to enjoy a career that’s marked by such longevity, consistency, and high-end performance. So as we bid farewell to one of the sport’s certified Good Guys, let’s hope that many more middle-distance aspirants are following in his footsteps.
Citius Mag Staff
