Damn, Grijalva's better than I thought

Why is Guatemala banned from the Olympics? I don’t think they have declared war on any of their neighbors

To much corruption or interference with their Olympic committee or something similar

Ok? I think we can agree that most championship-style races aren't meant to produce fast times. It's usually a matter of holding on until the final lap and then go ballistic. You'd think Mo Farah would be one of the fastest 5K runners of all time but, his Lifetime best was slower than Grijalva's.

Seemed like Kincaid and Klecker should have been a few seconds faster too. Kincaid ran all over the place and used too much energy for the first half. Klecker got tripped on the last lap and had to hurdle

YEAH! IMO, I think Kincaid and Klecker could pose a threat to Grant's 12:46.96 (More Woody than Klecker) but, It's wild to think that Kincaid is turning 31 and still making these younger guys sweat.

You’re missing 8minpace’s point, which is that placing 4th in a global championships requires incredible ability. It shouldn’t surprise you when someone coming off a strong World/Olympic performance runs a fast time, because that is the kind of fitness required to be competitive at the highest level. You simply can’t “hold on until the final lap and then go ballistic” unless the pace leading up to that final lap is well within your ability.

Farah being slower on paper than Grijalva is irrelevant. He was good for mid/low 12:40s if he ever went for it. The proof is in his championship record.

Did anyone else catch when the announcer said he was representing Guam?

Yeah but the 2022 race in Eugene was not faster than 13:09. Plus, in the Diamond League race less than Two months later when Grant ran 12:46. He could've gone under 13 but didn't + his 27:43 10,000m at JSerra. That's where I was basing my assumptions on

Luis in the Grant race (12:46 one) I think went out crazy fast for 3k. This one fell into place for him. I kinda wonder if it had been a drag race (7:40 first 3k) how different it might’ve been. You could see that Kipkorir and Aregawi (amongst some others) were visibly uncomfortable with the style of race it was.

It would be great if he could get US citizenship which would make his travel schedule and life overall here much easier, but I imagine continuing to represent Guatemala on the world stage could be a great experience for him and the nation and maybe even inspire athletes there (although Luis was basically brought up as an American).

Yes, but I’m pretty numb to the frequent gaffes by track announcers by now.

I agree you will need to be 12:50-capable to make the US team. But I don't know if I believe in Teare to do it. Grijalva has shown himself to be significantly more competitive than Teare the last two years. At worlds, he was 4th in the 5k last year, while Cooper wasn't even in the 1500 final. This indoor, he ran 3:53 looking like he was out for a jog in the park, then 7:33 to narrowly lose to Josh Kerr (3:29 Olympic medalist). He is looking like a guy that will be in the medal conversation, while Teare has a good chance of being left at home.

So you are ignoring the fact that he can't run in the Olympics?

Yeah man, Grijalva could be the next big thing for Hispanics. He's a humble guy so I doubt he'll give off too much personality but, man...Hope he drops below 12:50 by the end of the year.

Coop dominated Luis in highschool too.

I would agree that Cooper had a better high school resume than Luis, but "dominated" is probably a stretch. Remember that Woodbridge race where Luis beat Cooper 13:58 to 13:59? Up until Newbury Park came and changed the game in California HS cross country, that 2016 Woodbridge race was one of the most exciting Californian xc races in recent memory. We didn't get to see them race head to head as often as I wish looking back, as Cooper went to a private school and was often in small school division races, while Luis raced in the large public schools division. They also chose to do separate events at CIF finals their senior year, IIRC.

In any case, the fact that they were going head to head in exciting races at the high school and college levels and are now continuing that at the global stage only ~6 years later is something I can really appreciate.

Well, people will get their standard in time trial events but come team selection races, it will come down to who can kick, so it may not be sub 13 to get on the team.

I tried to google whether there had been any resolution to this story, but I wasn't able to find anything. I can only find articles from late 2022 talking about the beginning of the ban, but I can't find an update from recent months.

Ray Flynn is Luis' agent; surely his team is keeping up with whether there's any chance Guatemalans will be able to compete in Budapest. I wish a running journalist would ask Flynn or Luis for an update. I know it's not a fun topic of conversation for a post-race interview, but as a fan I've definitely been hoping for an update or resolution since I first heard about the ban. It would be significant news if a 12:52 guy who was one spot out of the medals last year was unable to compete at Worlds due to his NOC serving a ban.