Other notable athletes who ran personal bests at age 19 include Chebet (14:46) and Gidey (14:45). Let's enjoy what we are witnessing here with Jane. It is remarkable.
But Chebet and Gidey didn't train nearly as seriously as Jane at 19. And I'm still unconvinced Jane will ever run faster than 14:10 with her physique, just too tall to be efficient.
Watching her increase pace steadily and sprint last 400 just makes me think we are looking at the modern day female version of a young Jim Ryun. So confident, focused and efficient with even better form. She'll be getting stronger over the next couple years. She's not a flash in the pan. Think Secretariat. She hasn't seen her best days by a long shot. That other girl clipping at her heels, even passing her and probably getting in her way just made her crank it up.
This post was edited 2 minutes after it was posted.
Now, expectations are reset: 15 minutes is not a "barrier" for college athletes. Case in point: Riley Chamberlain finished second in 14:58. I hope we never see another USATF championship won in 15+.
Dumb take. Birke Haylom (14:24) and Aleshign Baweke (14:25) are the same age as Jane. If they can run that fast, why shouldn't the USA be able to produce someone the same age who grew up at altitude and whose father was a D1 All-American runner who can run 14:44 while clean?
Hedengren’s teammates live at altitude, and trained using the same philosophies as her, yet the fastest ran 10:20. Hedengren’s only advantage over other NCAA runners is having incredible talent.
One of the explanations for East Africans doing so well in distance running is they grow up at altitude and they live in a running culture. Jane grew up at altitude in a running culture. And she had incredible talent passed down from her parents.
Talent + growing up at altitude + running culture got Jane to where she's at today.
Now, expectations are reset: 15 minutes is not a "barrier" for college athletes. Case in point: Riley Chamberlain finished second in 14:58. I hope we never see another USATF championship won in 15+.
Yah, with the advent of super shoes, the 15-minute barrier is now equivalent to 15:15 or so. It's looking like we'll see a good 7 or 8 collegiate women run under 15 this season.
By the time NCAA outdoor is over, I’m guessing we’ll see these women sub-15: Jane Hedengren Riley Chamberlain Doris Lemngole Grace Hartman Sophia Kennedy Amy Bunnage Jenna Hutchins Mary Bonner Dalton Hilda Olemomoi Pamela Kosgei One of the Oregon women
I can see Angelina Napoleon running sub-14:50 if she focuses on it, but maybe not until 2027’s outdoor season.
Come now. Without Valby there is no Hedengren. Valby showed what you could get away with and destroyed the no doping in college taboo, and Jane and her connections ran with it. Unless we are still going with a genetic anomaly that strangely manifested itself when she turned 18. Brave new world. And not worth following.
It started at NC State with Tuohy after her teammate turned pro and instantly improved and her teammate's boyfriend went from NAU to 4th at the World final. Funny how they can't seem to do that any more.
Touhy got her big jump after "training" with them that summer. Funny how she can't seem to do it any more either.
So you’re saying that Mike Smith is a dirty coach? Smith still coaches Grijalva, no?
I have studied it and I've followed the sport since the 70's. I was a big fan of the great Peg Neppel-Darrah before she unexceptionally died of cancer, and my following of the sport is not looking back at old T&F magazines, but followed in real time. Given what I have seen over the course of "decades", I am 100% confident in my observation and it will be proven correct.
14:44 5000M indoor. Blows away NCAA outdoor/indoor records by . . . a lot. 8 seconds. Instantly the GOAT of NCAA women’s distance runners. [correction: “Parker Valby”]
GOAT NCAA Women's Distance Runners, She is off to a Great Start, But she just lost to another College Girl (Okay A Great Runner who is A College Girl Doris Lemingole) Lets Enjoy seeing Her NCAA Career
Watching her increase pace steadily and sprint last 400 just makes me think we are looking at the modern day female version of a young Jim Ryun. So confident, focused and efficient with even better form. She'll be getting stronger over the next couple years. She's not a flash in the pan. Think Secretariat. She hasn't seen her best days by a long shot. That other girl clipping at her heels, even passing her and probably getting in her way just made her crank it up.
A 67 second last lap makes you think of Jim Ryun? Ryun’s 800/1500m range and Hedengren’s 5/10, don’t even overlap.
Not sure if anybody said this, but I'm pretty sure that her 2 mile split in this 5k was faster than her 2 mile at Arcadia. Incredible improvement, I wonder if she could ever run low 14s or even break 14?
I forgot how much of a cesspool the comments can be on this site. The doping thing is just ridiculous, as are the anti-Mormon slurs. What is wrong with you people?
