You have to be staggeringly gullible to even entertain the notion that Jennifer Lopez might have run a 4:49 mile or 1500.
You simply do not need to be in any way, shape, or form “staggeringly gullible” to believe that someone who ran 5:10/2:25 for 15/8 as a 13 year old ran 4:49 at some point later.
If memory serves me correctly there used to be a publication available in the 1980s that was a compilation of the best 100 performances by high school track and field athletes. We used to send away for a copy every year. There might be another old-timer like me that remembers the editor/compiler of the publications (I believe he was a retired HS sports writer for the LA Times?)
You might be thinking of the annual booklet called High School Track. I'm surprised this yearly booklet hasn't been referred to yet. The booklet started in the 1950's, wasn't published a few years in the 60's, then I believe Track and Field News published it from 1969 to 1979 ish, and then Jack Shepard has spearheaded it since 1980. The last edition I have in my library is High School Track 2023, which would have the 2022 results. I guess I need to order a couple years. These books have the top 50 HS marks for each event, among other things. A really good resource.
I looked at the girl's top 50ish list from the possible JLo high school years (1985-1990), I didn't see her name. The 1500's went 4:40 to 4:45 deep, and the 1600/mile (listed as mile) went 5:00 to 5:05 deep. No Jennifer Lopez. In fact, if she ran a 4:49.99 mile, the outdoor ranking for that time for 1985 to 1990 would be 9, 4, 4, 1, 2, 1.
Like someone said, maybe it was a 1500 time. Or ???
That's the booklet! I'm surprised it lasted all the way to 2023. It was our go to source when listing our athletes or relays' national rankings.
She would have been running in the late 80s, and this would have been a national level time then. I guess it possible, not sure if any old New York track fans could verify
This clip shows you my problem with Citius. They rush out to publish something without looking it up or being accurate. If you listen to the clip, it sounds like she's saying 1500 for 4:49.
I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY doubt she ran 4:49 fo the mile in HS. Wouldn't that make her one of the top in the country in HS? She graduated HS in 1987. Does anyone have TFN magazines lying around from 84, 85, 86 or 87?
Track and Field news doesn't appear to have full archives for the 1980s online or at least I couldn't find them.
I found this but didn't check out all of the links:
Now her wikipedia does say she ran track at a "national level" so I guess it's possible. Let's sleuth this out.
I am a current and long time T&FNews subscriber, and I followed NY H.S. track in the late 80s. From '85-'89, a 4:49 would have made her hands down the best miler in the city, top-3 in the state and perhaps top-10 in the nation. The early 80s, girl's mile times were very fast, but in the last 80s, not so much. A 4:49 in late 80s would have put you in Millrose and people would definitely recognize your name. I am pretty sure Jen meant the 1500, which means she was still pretty decent and btw, sometimes kids from some states did refer to the 1500 as the mile.
This clip shows you my problem with Citius. They rush out to publish something without looking it up or being accurate. If you listen to the clip, it sounds like she's saying 1500 for 4:49.
I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY doubt she ran 4:49 fo the mile in HS. Wouldn't that make her one of the top in the country in HS? She graduated HS in 1987. Does anyone have TFN magazines lying around from 84, 85, 86 or 87?
Track and Field news doesn't appear to have full archives for the 1980s online or at least I couldn't find them.
I found this but didn't check out all of the links:
Now her wikipedia does say she ran track at a "national level" so I guess it's possible. Let's sleuth this out.
I am a current and long time T&FNews subscriber, and I followed NY H.S. track in the late 80s. From '85-'89, a 4:49 would have made her hands down the best miler in the city, top-3 in the state and perhaps top-10 in the nation. The early 80s, girl's mile times were very fast, but in the last 80s, not so much. A 4:49 in late 80s would have put you in Millrose and people would definitely recognize your name. I am pretty sure Jen meant the 1500, which means she was still pretty decent and btw, sometimes kids from some states did refer to the 1500 as the mile.
I am a current and long time T&FNews subscriber, and I followed NY H.S. track in the late 80s. From '85-'89, a 4:49 would have made her hands down the best miler in the city, top-3 in the state and perhaps top-10 in the nation. The early 80s, girl's mile times were very fast, but in the last 80s, not so much. A 4:49 in late 80s would have put you in Millrose and people would definitely recognize your name. I am pretty sure Jen meant the 1500, which means she was still pretty decent and btw, sometimes kids from some states did refer to the 1500 as the mile.
Can someone please dig up Axl Roses track record too? I know he ran track or/and cross country in high school. And he ran a lot on stage. Very good stride.
Making that claim when it was so easy to fact check. And he couldn't even claim that his brain was foggy and he was off by a little because it was too recent and he was nowhere close to what he actually ran.
So at the end of the day, no one has yet to answer the most burning question; who had the more impressive high school running career, JLo or Sheryl Crow?