George Beamish 8:20 3k Steeple!

Promising. I think this is actually his best shot for a bronze medal, although still unlikely. He can probably get top 5-8 next year if he continues progressing. I hope he gets down to the 8:15 standard before worlds.

Last years World final would’ve been perfect for the kick of George Beamish. But if Girma makes it fast that’d be less good.

He is FIT.

yoooo chill out on the hype on this guy. dude ran 8:20 losing to a college kid by 3 seconds and now he's suddenly a contender in a world final?? his kick looks good against second tier athletes, in a world final he will be destroyed by the africans. let's see him go under 8:10 then we'll talk.

went from 8:50 (first time EVER racing a steeple) to 8:20 in ~ 2 weeks. has barely run over hurdles and pops an 8:20 in early may. He has one of the best, and most consistent kicks in the world of distance running. He sounds like he has much more left in the tank (per his own words, and just logically having raced only twice and with almost no hurdle technique work). I'm excited for him. He's got a 3:51 and a 13:11 if I remember correct. He has the speed to compete with the best.

I'm not saying he is "a shoe in for a world title" or anything ridiculous like that. George is extremely injury prone and the steeple is legendary for its stress on the body. However, he looks good, is improving (very) well, and seems to have lots left - he just needs to figure out how to use it.

It’s early May. His kick looked good against Mario Garcia Romo last week. In an 8:20-25 race in August he’d be a factor. That’s not hype it’s reality.

I agree, but sort of wish he'd not been so successful. I think he could be a world beater in flat races (maybe he still will), I just worry about him getting hurt in the steeple. By the way, he went from being the 18th fastest New Zealander with his 8:42 to the 2nd fastest of all time (8:14 is the record).

I actually wonder whether the steeple might be a good choice for injury prone athletes. I remember Jager seemed to get injured a lot and switching to the steeple seemed to keep him healthier, though I may be misremembering

That's a good point. I'm probably projecting a bit from my own fear of this race. I can barely watch elites as I hate to see people fall and get hurt.

The training isn't as intense as one would normally associate with a 3k, as you're only running ~65s (~27:00 10k pace) and you don't need to do that much barrier work. It's really a strength event.

looks like he still has a lot of upside once he gets the rhythm down

If he makes further progress and gets in the right race to get the WC standard he could also take down the 39 year old Oceanic record (8:14.05).

Races in August go 8:20-8:25 due to weather, uneven pacing, and rounds. Nothing done in May in that time range is comparable. THAT is reality.