Every so often, a young runner bursts onto the scene not just with talent, but with a presence that makes you believe you're watching the next big star take shape in real time. Niels Laros is that runner right now. At just 20 years old, the Dutch phenom has gone from a precocious prospect to Diamond League champion and now being the name on everyone's lips as the favorite for the World Championships in the 1500m in Tokyo.

He's rattled off consistent victories this summer. He put together a historic 800m and 5000m double at the European U23 Championships, he had an epic Bowerman mile victory over Yared Nuguse that we haven't forgotten, and most recently, a Diamond League title in Zurich where he unleashed yet another sizzling final 100m in 12.5 seconds to clock a 3:29.20 – a Dutch national record and personal best.

Again and again, Laros has shown the defining quality of today's 1500m champions: the ability to close off a fast pace. His final 100m stacks up against anything that we've seen from Josh Kerr or Cole Hocker that they've produced in their gold medal runs.

But Laros's story isn't just about times and trophies; it's about timing and arriving in peak form as the global landscape in the 1500m shifts. With Jakob Ingebrigtsen sidelined by injury and his rivals Cole Hocker and Josh Kerr searching for their best in 2025, Laros has positioned himself right now as the man to beat. We talk about his rise, the confidence that comes with winning big races, and what it means to carry the weight of expectations heading into Tokyo.

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Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠

Guest: Niels Laros | @niels.laros on Instagram

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr on Instagram⁠⁠⁠

Mentioned in this episode…

- Paris Olympics men’s 1500m final

- Zurich Diamond League men’s 1500m

- Brussels Diamond League men’s 1500m

- Prefontaine Classic Bowerman Mile

The following interview excerpt has been edited lightly for length and clarity.

Why he chose the 1500m and 5000m double for the World Championships:

Our main goal is the 1500m and I think my chances are the highest there. So that's what we wanted to focus on. Looking at the 800m, it overlaps with the 1500m. I think the 800m heats are before the 1500m final. We didn't want to do that [so that we could have] full focus on the 1500m. Then the 5K, it's after the 1500m. We did quite some 5K work at the start of the season and my ranking is good enough now. We just decided to sign up as well and see how we feel towards that part of the championship. It's also always fun to race more. I think it's a nice experience to race a different distance as well at a major championship. I’m looking forward to that.

What stuck out to him about his 1500m win at the Brussels Diamond League:

I think how I executed that race went really well. I started not so fast, so I was in the back for the first 200m. Then I really just kept the same pace, moved to the front, and just found a really good position where I could relax…

In Zurich, I was thinking all the time in the race, ‘What should I do now? I'm not in the position I want to be in.’ But in Brussels, from 300 meters into the race until basically the finish, I was in the spot I wanted to be in. I could just focus on being as relaxed as possible and execute.

In that way, it was an easy race because I didn't have to make a lot of moves. It was great. I felt really good throughout the race. Especially after it slowed down a bit after 800m, I was going into the last lap with a good feeling and confidence that I could win this one.

Breaking down his 1500m win at the Zurich Diamond League shortly after Brussels:

There was traffic in Brussels. I just held my spot for most of the race. I didn't pass anybody until the last 150 meters. By that point, I had made my way to the front. In Zurich, I was looking for position all the time. It was quite busy at the front. I of course wanted to have a good spot going into the final lap, so I was navigating through a lot, but then at the 300m or 200m mark, I found myself in a good spot. I just thought of how Brussels went and knew I could bring it home.

Reflections from winning the Bowerman Mile:

We knew the race would be fast, but there was such a big gap between Nuguse and Hobbs and then the rest of us. It just happened in the race. It was hard to do anything about it. At that point, I wasn't as confident as I am now. I was not thinking, ‘I'm only going for the win’ and that's it. So with one lap to go, I made a good move to the front and was just thinking about, ‘Let's go for this podium position. Let's try to get third place.’ Then, I was just feeling better and better going into the last lap. With maybe 150 meters to go, I was like, ‘I can still get second here. Let's go for it.’ Then I actually passed him at maybe 80 or 70 meters to go. Then I was like, ‘I can still win! It's still possible!’ Then for the last 50 meters, I can't remember my thoughts, but I was just thinking about, ‘It's still possible, let's go for it.’

How winning the Bowerman Mile shifted his mindset:

[Winning the Bowerman Mile] definitely surprised me. But because of that race, races like Brussels and Zurich didn't surprise me as much. Of course, I wouldn't call it a surprise, but it's nice to confirm. I'm just confirming that my shape is there and that I belong. at the top.

Reflections from finishing 6th in the 1500m at the Paris Olympics:

I think I executed the race pretty well. I started out in the back, which if I wanted to have contention for gold or maybe another medal, I shouldn't have done. But that was the way we wanted to go in that race. Seeing it was that fast of a race, it didn't hurt to go into the race like that. With every gap there was, I moved into that. Then going into the last lap, these guys were just a step ahead of the rest and they made the gap. With the circumstances with how I went into the championship, I can be really proud of what I showed there.

Confidence heading into the World Championships’ 1500m if it’s a fast race:

I'm pretty confident to be honest. I feel like I've got a good range of abilities to be able to perform well in any kind of race – slow race, medium race like the last two races. I think in a fast race, I could also be pretty good. If I can run 3:29 like last week, then of course it should be possible to run a bit faster. I'm really curious to see what kind of race it will be in Tokyo, but whatever race it will be, I'm confident in my ability to be able to handle that.

The training philosophy of his coach, Tomasz Lewandowski:

I think it's a big mix of everything together, which I think results in us having a good range of abilities. Of course, we do our threshold work in the winter and then in the Summer, we go towards VO2 and some specific track work. I would say it's a nice mix of the best things out there.

How his training background varies from Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s:

It's been really different. I think when he was younger, he and his dad were always like, 'I'm going to be a professional. We're going to train like this and we're going to do it like this.’ I don't know what age he mentioned, but from maybe 12, he was already a professional athlete or something like that. This has been the complete opposite for me. I was still playing football. I was doing athletics, but I was doing everything – like high jump, long jump, shot put, whatever. I was just doing this for fun.

Of course, I wanted to be a professional athlete; that’s the dream of almost every kid who starts to do a sport. But with the years going past, I quit football. Maybe until I was 14, I was still doing every other event in track and field. I always knew I was a good runner compared to kids my age, but my parents just said, ‘Take it easy, just enjoy it.’ That's what I did.

Focusing on process vs. outcome goals:

I think it's more the process we speak about. I think at this point, it goes without saying that we want to go for at least a medal and maybe even the gold medal [at the World Championships]. We don't really speak about that; it's just about being at my best level in the final. I would call that our goal. Whatever result is connected to that depends on so many factors and that's why we don't really speak about, ‘We want to be first there,’ but more about the whole process.

Thoughts on being viewed as the 1500m favorite for the World Championships:

I don't really mind it. I think it's a good thing because it means I've shown potential. I've shown that I'm going to be up there. The past week also confirmed for myself that I now have the confidence of, ‘I'm up there, I can fight for it.’ What the media says is irrelevant for me. I just set my own goals, my own targets, and that's it basically.

Listen to the full episode with Niels Laros on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your shows.