she ran 4:05.1 in May 2025 in a low key open at her home track - she would go much faster in a proper race but only did 1 last season. would expect a low/sub 4 from her during the indoor season (or 3:56 if she runs in boston)
shame her worst race of the season was at the worlds but she was absolutely cooked by then with way to many hard races - like a solo 15:09 at the euro juniors, completely pointless when she won by 50secs then doing the 3km in 8:45 against an equally mediocer field. she wont make the same mistakes again
I didn’t realize that she went to Tokyo. How did she get there? I know she had an issue with flying.
that was fake news forced on her by pushy parents. when she became 18 she grew some balls and could make her own decisions.
she flew to world juniors in Peru last year and now flies everywhere
The idea that FitzGerald was pulled to that 5k time is ridiculous. I was at that meet, and you can go back and watch it. Her pack was well off the lead group. She had people to work with like Megan Keith and Hannah Nuttall (who actually did draft for 4600m) but did her share of work off the front of the pack.
The big potential upside for FitzGerald is if and when she starts training at altitude for prolonged periods. If she's serious about running, she will need to follow the Georgie Mills route and move her life to altitude (Hedengren has lived and rained at altitude her whole life, right? I don't know her story). Innes can't fulfil her potential as a distance runner while living in Devon so she has a choice to make once she finishes uni. If she stays in Britain, then Hedengren will likely surpass her at some point.
These two teenagers compare very well to each other. Both are extremely talented, front runners. It will be interesting to see if either of them develop a strong finish, as that will intimately determine how successful they will be as seniors, competing against the best east Africans.
I'm not sure when they might line up against each other. Jane will be tied into the college races and schedule, while Innes can run Diamond League and European races against great competition.
Good luck to both!
They will be capable of better finishes as their fitness improves, but both will have to gap the East Africans to win medals.
Oh joy. Another British doper. The way it works is that we know every top East African runner is doping, shamelessly and with no self-respect. But only slightly behind them are the pathetic British athletes. Americans are now playing the same game, just not quite as brazenly.
Jane simply has not had the opportunity for international competition. For Americans that normally comes after college. We will need to wait 1-2 years to then see how they compare head to head.
Innes FitzGerald has run the fastest ever parkrun by a British female. We are less than twenty four hours into 2026, but the year has already begun with a bang. Innes FitzGerald has run the fastest ever parkrun by a British f...
Well, I happen to think that she ran too hard at regionals and in training for it, and suffered a bit from that. She also would have gone faster had Doris taken the pace a bit faster the whole way instead of just hammering at the end. It is not infrequent that NCAA athletes run significantly better a week or two after a bit of a down performance at nationals because sometimes they need the extra rest. In any case, if you compare a solo 14:44 indoors to a 14:39 chasing in a big field with significant drafting, the former is at least equivalent and probably better, and at virtually the same age.
Really hate how the title of this thread is worded
why can’t they both just be mega talents and have bright careers no matter what? What’s the point of comparing when they haven’t even raced yet? Once they do fair game but speculation in distance match ups never really seems to come to fruition
Silly statement. If runners are not compared, there is no perspective. Jane is great because she ran faster than any collegiate in history. We are comparing her time to that of thousands of previous ncaa runners. If she lived on an island of 10 people and ran the same time, those 10 people don't know if her time is slow or fast if they have no outside contact.
The idea that FitzGerald was pulled to that 5k time is ridiculous. I was at that meet, and you can go back and watch it. Her pack was well off the lead group. She had people to work with like Megan Keith and Hannah Nuttall (who actually did draft for 4600m) but did her share of work off the front of the pack.
The big potential upside for FitzGerald is if and when she starts training at altitude for prolonged periods. If she's serious about running, she will need to follow the Georgie Mills route and move her life to altitude (Hedengren has lived and rained at altitude her whole life, right? I don't know her story). Innes can't fulfil her potential as a distance runner while living in Devon so she has a choice to make once she finishes uni. If she stays in Britain, then Hedengren will likely surpass her at some point.
The point about Fitzgerald having practically zero altitude training is a very good one. She could improve by leaps if she can manage to live and train at altitude. It’s actually even more impressive that she’s done what she’s done so far all without that huge altitude advantage. Looking forward to seeing what she can do in the future. However, it’s as someone else noted - really also all about finishing speed..And hoping both these young ladies don’t get robbed (like so many others) of international medals because of rampant doping.
And Alemayo is supposed to have been just barely 16 when she ran 14:39 in 2024. Where are the years of results prior to that to show her progression? She just doesn't look that age at all to me.
