Gout Gout goes sub-20, Cameron Myers joins Timothy Cheruiyot in the history books, Claudia Hollingsworth gets DQd and un-DQd and we wonder why the closing splits were so fast at the Paris Marathon. Plus Jackson Spencer impresses. It's a massive Week That Was.
What was the right call in the Aussie women's 1500 final?
Sawe underwent 25 out-of-competition drug tests in the two months before winning last year's Berlin Marathon. We spoke to Sawe and the AIU's Brett Clothier about the impact Sawe's announcement has had on the sport, and their plans to keep the program going in 2026.
When 7 of the 8 guys in a race run huge PBs, it's fair to ask what made it possible and wonder if it is repeatable. The article says there was "swirling diagonal breeze". Two things can be true at once. 1) Gout Gout is a big talent 2) The race was run in unicorn conditions.
Morris lost the overall race to Morocco's Mohammed El Youssfi by just one second while Hurley finished 3rd in the race won by Ethiopia's Asayech Ayichew in 50:37. *Results
*MB: Cherry Blossom discussion thread
Gout ran 19.67 (+1.7m/s) to set an Australian national record and Erriyon Knighton's 19.69 world U20 record. He had a surprise challenge from Aidan Murphy who set a huge 19.88 PB (previous best was just 20.41) to also break the previous national record. The showdown with Lachlan Kennedy never materialized as Kennedy was a last minute scratch after winning the 100m in 9.96 on Saturday. In distance action, Jess Hull returned from her 1500m fall to win the 5000m in 15:13, Abbey Caldwell beat Claudia Hollingsworth in the 800m (1:58.57 to 1:58.91) and Peter Bol took the 800m in 1:45.60.
Simeon Birnbaum's meet record of 8:34.10 is history thanks to Spencer who did much of the early leading and then had as sensational final 200. In the end, Spencer ran an 8:31.80, with a 56.59 last lap - the only boy under 60. He went 4:20.00 - 4:11.80. Watch the race above - we've cued it to start at the bell. For the 2nd year in a row, 55 boys broke 9:00. Abigail Hennessy won the girls race in 9:50.84.
*MB: Jackson Spencer 8:31.80 with a 56.59 last lap!!!
He returned from his dominant 1500m win on Friday to take the 5000m ahead of Seth O'Donnell (13:12.42) and Morgan McDonald (13:12.43).
*MB: Morgan McDonald takes 3rd in the 5k at Australia Championships
Finally after 42 years, the most controversial mark in the U.S. record books is gone. Sam Mattis launched a 72.45m bomb in Ramona to take down Ben Plucknett’s steroid-tainted record, but given the massive "Ramona wind", should this record have an asterisk* attached to it like Plucknett's?
Cam Myers put on a sick display becoming the 2nd man ever to go sub 3:30 in a race and lead gun to tape. Meanwhile Claudia Hollingsworth had one of the fastest last laps ever in a 1500m but was DQd for taking out Jess Hull. Friday 15 podcast + video of the 1500s.
Simeon Birnbaum is having a breakout NCAA year, finishing 2nd at NCAAs, but he's not interested in being second or even running fast. "No one cares about second or third… go win something."
Hull was taken out from behind by Claudia Hollingsworth. Total chaos as it looked like the 4th best runner ended up as your winner. In the men's 1500, Cam Myers was PHENOMENAL yet again, running 3:29 from the front.
We asked Jonathan Gault to try to find out what many of the top pros are up to.
Richardson, who was charged with misdemeanor fourth-degree assault after shoving boyfriend Christian Coleman at the SeaTac airport, and prosecutors agreed to postpone the case for two years when it would be dismissed as long as she met certain criteria, including "no criminal law violations."
Josh Kerr is chasing Hicham El Guerrouj’s mile world record his way, choosing a packed London Diamond League over a controlled time trial and insisting on “my race, my rules.” Kerr discussed his world record attempt and most recent world title over Cole Hocker on the LetsRun.com podcast.
Johh Kerr swears by power-to-weight training to improve his speed – here’s how and why you should do the same 'My gym coaches have done a really good job of finding where my weaknesses are. I need to create more power. My goal is that my power-to-weight ratio needs to be good.
The meet is moved from May 8th to June 19th "should conditions allow" due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Because of the later date and hot conditions in Qatar, the meet was also moved to the 2019 World Champs stadium which is temperature regulated.
The marathon will still be part of the 2027 and 2029 World Champs, but after that it will be it's own standalone championships with men and women competing in alternate years. Athens is expected to be the first host.
Jane Hedengren's dream freshman campaign continued but we pump the brakes on the hysteria. Plus Jimmy Gressier is back in GREAT form and we try to make sense of Sha'Carri Richardson's big win at the Stawell Gift. And will Gabby Thomas ever break 11.00?
Richardson overcame the 10m handicap to win the famous 120 meter race on grass in Australia, becoming just the third woman to win the race from the scratch position. She edged Australian 19-year-old Charlotte Nielsen by .05. On the men's side, Australian Olufemi Komolafe won (Christian Coleman went out in the semis). *Video of Richardson's win
The order was welcomed by NCAA president Charlie Baker who said they are working on trying to get a bipartisan agreement through Congress that will help with some of the NCAA's issues. The order also states that the NCAA should create policies that prevent schools from cutting scholarships or other opportunities for women's and Olympic sports in order to pay their athletes. Schools that don't follow the executive order could lose federal funding, however it seems unlikely that this order will hold up in court.
Kosgei (30:49.99) also got under Parker Valby's old record of 30:50.43. Jane ran a BIG negative split of something like 15:33-15:13.
*Full Jane Hedengren 10,000 CR race video
It's great to see the major media outlets paying attention the NCAA's lax anti-doping efforts during one of the biggest weekends for NCAA sports.
We were just trying to have some fun but were making social commentary at the same time. If you missed the April 1 homepage, catch up here.
(link fixed) The first was with a +0.8 wind and the second was with a +1.2 wind. He's the 4th man ever to break 10 in the 100 and 44 in the 400. *WA article
Full podcast out today for Supporters Club members. Free to everyone on the weekend.
We must admit it was stellar. *Catch up here
The AIU defended its decision to keep Hodge's ban a secret, saying "announcing her case earlier could have jeopardized the other investigation." Hodge led Georgia to the NCAA title just weeks after her doping ban was ended.
Mantz's statement read, "Unfortunately, my fitness has not progressed well enough for me to be able to race the upcoming Boston Marathon at my best." Mantz had planned on running US and World XC Champs, but got injured back in November and had to pull out and had a long road to recovery, only posting his first workout in mid-February.
Mantz Injury Timeline:
Josh Kerr is going all-in on a 3:42 mile world record attempt. We break down his chances, recap Shelby Houlihan’s 10k win at The TEN, and dive into the bizarre Berlin Half Marathon pacing controversy.
Korir tested positive in three separate out-of-competition tests in Kenya. His results since October have been disqualified, including his third place finish at the 2025 NYC Marathon. He received a one-year reduction in his ban for admitting to the violations.
*MB: BREAKNG NEWS: Albert Korir Gets 5 Year Ban
The FLAGSTAFF COACHING CLINIC will feature Diljeet Taylor, Marius Bakken, and Mike Smith, as well as Greg McMillan and Ben Rosario. Mental performance consultant Shannon Thompson is also scheduled to speak. The clinic, sponsored by Nike and Final Surge, will take place in Flagstaff from July 13-15 with opportunities to meet athletes from the Nike Swoosh Track Club, run on the beautiful Flagstaff trails, and learn from some of the world’s best coaches. Space is limited so sign up today here.
Shelby Houlihan never challenge Alicia Monson's American record after the first mile, but won her 10,000m debut at The TEN in 30:50.10 while Mohamed Abdilaahi broke Germany’s national record (26:56.58) in a tight men’s race.
Hicham El Guerrouj’s 3:43.13 record was set back in 1999 and Kerr is currently 6th on the all-time list with 3:45.34. Kerr is leaving no stone unturned in this attempt with new shoes and speed suit from Brooks designed specifically for him and he's even choosing his own pacers. Talking about running the mile in 222 seconds, Kerr says, "I’m not afraid to tell you my goals. And I’m not afraid to fail. It’s a fast record. There’s a reason it has stood since 1999. ... I actually think, because it has stood for so long, it’s the most important track and field world record to go after right now."
It's the second fastest time of his career (his PB is 3:29.80 from last year) and he dominated the race coming in over 7 seconds ahead of world indoor bronze medalist Adam Spencer. In the women's race, Aussie Claudia Hollingsworth beat world indoor 1500m champ Georgia Hunter Bell 4:01.30 to 4:01.52.
Athletes will have to take a one-time SRY gene screening test which will block transgender and DSD (difference in sexual development) athletes from competing in the women's category. IOC president Kirsty Coventry said, "At the Olympic Games even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe."
We'd love to know a little more about you and how we can improve Letsrun.com.
After a formal request by USATF CEO Max Siegel, World Athletics has agreed to give USATF 7 spots instead of 4 at the World Road Running Championships in September. This will allow the three women led off course during the USATF Half Champs, Jessica McClain, Emma Grace Hurley, and Ednah Kurgat, to race as well as the women who officially earned their spot. As part of the exception, only 4 of the athletes will count in the team scoring and USATF will cover all expenses for the additional entries. On this week's Track Talk podcast, we explained why we think this is a ridiculous decision.
The group of vendors who had threatened to sue GST reached a deal that will see them get paid about 14% to 15% of what they’re owed from GST. However, under this new plan, athletes will only get 70% of what they are owed. (The original plan would have seen athletes get 85% of what they are owed, but vendors only 1.5%.)
She hurt her Achilles training on the treadmill six weeks ago and hasn't recovered in time to race next month.
Lutkenhaus won gold at the age of 17 years, 93 days, younger than any individual men's gold medalist at not just World Indoors, but World Outdoors and the Olympics as well.
Hodgkinson set a championship record of 1:55.30 to win the 800, then ran the fastest split on the 4x400 (50.10) less than an hour later as her training mate Georgia Hunter Bell won gold in the 1500. Plus a look at why the meet was a TOTAL DISASTER for Africa. Africa had won at least one gold in each of the last 19 editions, and at least two golds in every edition since 1995. Yet in Torun, African athletes didn't just fail to win a distance gold; they failed to win a medal -- of any color -- in any event. Hell, Africa didn't even produce a finalist in the men's 1500.
Kerr won his second world indoor title in three years in 7:35.56. Hocker was way back with one lap to go and came on strong, but was too far behind to catch Kerr. He nipped France's Yann Schrub at the line by .01 with 7:35.70 for silver. Yared Nuguse was 5th (7:37.08). Italy's Nadia Battocletti (8:57.64) won a tactical women's final ahead of the USA's Emily Mackay (8:58.12) and Australia's Jessica Hull (8:58.18).
Josh Kerr wins a tactical 3000m showdown over Cole Hocker, Cooper Lutkenhaus runs the fastest World Indoors 800 semifinal since 1997, and Emily Mackay earns silver — we break down all the action from Day 2 in Toruń.
Lutkenhaus, who won his 800m semi comfortably in 1:44.29 -- the fastest time at World Indoors in 29 years -- will try to become the youngest medalist in the history of the World Indoor Championships on Sunday.
Tesfay, who has a half-marathon best of 63:21 (#3 all-time) is the latest star in the group of famed Ethiopian coach Gemedu Dedefo, who has now coached five of the 11 fastest female marathoners in history.
World indoors are this week. The LetsRun.com prediction contest team for Worlds is set. Meet the winners from the USAs contest and some of our other recent contests as well. They highlight the best of LRC.
Since he stopped racing in the middle of the 2025 cross country season for Iowa State, Seth Clevenger has taken DIII by storm. The Rowan University athlete is the DIII leader in three events. But following the release of a video of an alleged EPO order, multiple former teammates told LetsRun.com that Clevenger said he took banned substances in 2025 while at Iowa State and admitted as such to the coaching staff. The situation raises questions about a potential hole in the NCAA’s anti-doping policy. We investigate how a star could allegedly admit to banned drug use and remain eligible to compete.
Your latest American stars share their insights.
Keira D'Amato, the new American record holder in the marathon, was joined by Deena Kastor, who held the record for 15 years.
Sisson was the guest on the LetsRun.com Track Talk podcast after she became the first American to go sub 67 in the half marathon on a record-eligible course. Podcast highlights above. Full pod here.
Woody Kincaid joined us after he broke the American record indoors at 5000. He talks above why he left the Bowerman Track Club. Podcast highlights and link to full podcast here.
Coogan's New Balance Boston team had 3 Olympians in 2021 and 2022 could be the biggest year yet for the program with 2 new additions and the TRACK at New Balance coming on March 1st.
Danny Mackey has taken the Brooks Beasts from an unproven club to the Olympic podium in its first decade.
Dathan Ritzenhein is the first of the top pro coaches to sit down and talk about his club heading into the 2022 campaign.
‒ Sabastian Sawe talking to LetsRun.com about why he and adidas have spent $100,000 over the last two years to drug test him basically all the time to prove one can be the world's best marathoner and clean at the same time.