Colin MF Sahlman!!! 1:44

How could you watch him take that field to the absolute woodshed, & think he will never break 1:44???!!!

****He ran a sub 48 open 400m a few weeks ago**** What NCAA AAs are doing that???? A special, special talent.

Plus as someone mentioned on another thread he looks like he's matured/filled out, baby fat is gone & looks stronger. Some kids mature late like that. Sky is the limit, omg. I think he & Cooper L. will be battling for titles & setting records for years.

NCAA #2 at the 3000 at the moment I think. Langon ran 7:34.

Also Colin did just run a mile on Friday, and he came in fourth (3:55). His teammate was in the race and finished just ahead of him, but I don’t think Colin was pacing, they were pretty separated throughout the race. Very strange honestly

He beat a 1:42.04 guy (Attaoui), a 1:42.16 guy (Brazier), a 1:42.27 guy (Pattison), and a 1:41.67 guy (Hoppel). His last 200 was more than half a second faster than every other runner in the race.

Maybe he is peaking and this is as fast as he will run all year. Or maybe he is just getting started and will run 1:42 this year.

But beyond 2026-27, the 800 clearly won't be his best event.

Sahlman's combination of raw speed and endurance reminds me a lot of Bernard Lagat. He is on my list to make the US Olympic 1500 team in 2028 in the 1500. And he will eventually be a potent threat in the 5000 as well.

I think he will break 3:30 this year and I believe he is capable of running 3:25 someday.

I think he’s a Hobbs Kessler/Jake Wightman type runner. They’ve run mid 7:30’s/1:43 and run under 3:30. Colin’s run yesterday shows he can run 1:43 outdoors, especially in a time-trial set up for him. Sub 3:30 just depends on when he gets in a fast enough race.

I don't think we are seeing peaking from him at this time. I think we are just starting to see the brilliance he can demonstrate after a period of consistent injury free training. Combine that with what looks to be him getting his mental game sorted and we are now seeing these types of results. He is back to racing, not being scared of the clock and splits and putting himself fully out there to test his limits.

Best range ever?? I can’t think of anyone else who could be 16th at NCAA cross (28:51 for 10k on grass!) and then run 47.9 in the open 400 in a ~6 week span. Truly ridiculous; I bet he could run 2:15 for the 1k right now, who knows what his best event is right now haha

How are you able to confidently state that the 800 won't be his best event in the future after witnessing the guy run 1:44 in lane 2 for nearly the entire race 2 days after running 3:55 (a significantly worse mark)?

Could his specialty be the 1500 or even 5k? Sure, but saying that the 800 is clearly not his best event is ludicrous after he just ran the equivalent of a 1:43 low indoors (had he been lane 1).

He’s ran pretty poorly at the last couple NCAA track championships. I hope he can finally put it together and get a title this year.

They doubted Newbury Park, they doubted NAU, they doubted Sahlman. But our guy has arrived wow. I don’t even know what he’s gonna do outdoors the 1500m at USA’s is annoying with the depth and can become random.The 800m top 3 spot feels a little more open with an aging Brazier and Hoppel. He’s in a weird spot. At NCAA‘s he should focus on the 1500m

Just catching up right now with the Millrose Games, but I couldn’t even find the 800m race wtf. Saw a phone recording of the race on somebody’s TV on YouTube Shorts. It’s 2026 man, why does NBC Sports troll us like this every time cutting races or not posting all of them?

No doubt, Bernard Lagat has aged remarkably. But I don't think he's making the 2028 team.

he thrives in pro races because the pace is fast. his problem is slow tactical NCAA races, and I say that as a compliment. I remember last years NCAA 1500 preliminary where they were practically jogging and fast guys like him and Liam Murphy looked totally lost. races like that are a waste of his time and talent - like putting a Ferrari on a go kart track.

wouldn't surprise me if he doesn't even make the finals of the NCAA 1500 then goes on to win a Diamond League race a few weeks later.

I would just like to point out he ran 1:44.80 outdoors last year. So this is a great result but it really shouldn't be that surprising.

The other guys he was racing against looked very bad. Especially Brazier and Hoppel.

1:44 indoors is a much better result though. Indoors is like .75 to 1 second slower than outdoors for an 800m (at their speeds). This run shows us he can run under 1:44 outdoors. That’s huge for a sub 7:40 3k guy.

If he can get into simultaneous 7:28/1:43 shape that’s 3:26-3:27 in a perfect time trial 1500m. Of course getting there is the hard part, but still he’s showing very high level potential.

For reference, he’s now run better in cross and much better in the 800m that Washington’s NCAA championship trio of Green, Waskom, Houser

He is the only guy from Newbury I can truly root for. I used to root for Nico more.

Did I miss something or did you? Does Nico not count? Even the twins aren't doing too bad.

Just wait. He will run A LOT faster than 3:55 in the mile.

I still say his best event will be the 5K. His 7:36 3000m converts to what over 5000m? Sub 13:05? The skeptics can argue that one to the end, but he's not even focusing on that distance and that's where he's at just playing around. You make the excellent point that he is fast. Well so is everyone else in a championship race with trials in the 800m and many are faster than him. One simple mistake or misfortune with luck and it's over in an 800 championship race. I would rather see him in a 5000m final where he is the bully the last 600. How many of those guys have 1:43 speed? That's what determines those races as they are in most cases not time trials. He could have some decisions to make.

Never said it was surprising, though I suppose I didn't expect he'd be in this shape this early in the season and after a poor mile performance.

1:42 shape, outdoors