Who will be the next person to beat Jakob in the 3000 or 5000?

Sheikh Yaboutii wrote:

Too lazy to check exactly how many races in a row he has won in these two events but the win streak must be pretty big now.

He seems to be levels above the east africans - so much so that he made the 5000m WR holder in Cheptegei flee for the 10000m in the olympics. Aregawi gave him a scare but as good as he is he is inferior in all aspects to Jakob.

As for other westerners, there's always Nuguse, Hocker, Fisher, Kerr et al. but they always seem to duck him when the championship races come around. Fisher is quality and has certainly improved, but one can't forget that the last time he raced Jakob in the 3000 the latter broke the WR and the former finished DFL.

So what about the up and comers? Could Laros be the one? He's claimed a couple of Jakob's age records and recently ran 7:29, indicating sub-13 shape for the 5k (Jakob ran 13:02 at his fastest before turning 20).

John Wesley Harding wrote:

Sheikh Yaboutii wrote:

Too lazy to check exactly how many races in a row he has won in these two events but the win streak must be pretty big now.

He seems to be levels above the east africans - so much so that he made the 5000m WR holder in Cheptegei flee for the 10000m in the olympics. Aregawi gave him a scare but as good as he is he is inferior in all aspects to Jakob.

As for other westerners, there's always Nuguse, Hocker, Fisher, Kerr et al. but they always seem to duck him when the championship races come around. Fisher is quality and has certainly improved, but one can't forget that the last time he raced Jakob in the 3000 the latter broke the WR and the former finished DFL.

So what about the up and comers? Could Laros be the one? He's claimed a couple of Jakob's age records and recently ran 7:29, indicating sub-13 shape for the 5k (Jakob ran 13:02 at his fastest before turning 20).

Not exactly relevant to your question, but do you remember those two 13:02s Jakob ran at 18/19? They weren’t time trials.

Video:m.youtube.com/watch?v=ECOt5rMHrHo&pp=y...

Video:m.youtube.com/watch?v=8CpFewYp2dU&t=86...

^It’s weird now watching Jakob crater as badly as he did at the end of that WC 5k btw, but obviously he was just a kid then.

He was likely in ~12:55 shape before his 19th birthday.

Sheikh Yaboutii wrote:

Too lazy to check exactly how many races in a row he has won in these two events but the win streak must be pretty big now.

He seems to be levels above the east africans - so much so that he made the 5000m WR holder in Cheptegei flee for the 10000m in the olympics. Aregawi gave him a scare but as good as he is he is inferior in all aspects to Jakob.

As for other westerners, there's always Nuguse, Hocker, Fisher, Kerr et al. but they always seem to duck him when the championship races come around. Fisher is quality and has certainly improved, but one can't forget that the last time he raced Jakob in the 3000 the latter broke the WR and the former finished DFL.

So what about the up and comers? Could Laros be the one? He's claimed a couple of Jakob's age records and recently ran 7:29, indicating sub-13 shape for the 5k (Jakob ran 13:02 at his fastest before turning 20).

Sheikh Yaboutii wrote:

Too lazy to check exactly how many races in a row he has won in these two events but the win streak must be pretty big now.

He seems to be levels above the east africans - so much so that he made the 5000m WR holder in Cheptegei flee for the 10000m in the olympics. Aregawi gave him a scare but as good as he is he is inferior in all aspects to Jakob.

As for other westerners, there's always Nuguse, Hocker, Fisher, Kerr et al. but they always seem to duck him when the championship races come around. Fisher is quality and has certainly improved, but one can't forget that the last time he raced Jakob in the 3000 the latter broke the WR and the former finished DFL.

So what about the up and comers? Could Laros be the one? He's claimed a couple of Jakob's age records and recently ran 7:29, indicating sub-13 shape for the 5k (Jakob ran 13:02 at his fastest before turning 20).

LilFiz99 wrote:

Grant Fisher or an Ethiopian (World Athletics ranks 6 in the top 10) in the 5000. Fisher looks like one of the best runners to ever run for the USA right now and Biniam Mehary finished 6th at the Olympics as a 17 year old. Fisher seems more likely to take shots at beating him outside of championships but Mehary could definitely be a name to watch for the 2028 Olympics when he'll be more physically mature.

The 3000 is right in his sweet spot but Ethan Strand is a name to watch. Yes, he turns 23 this year but once he turns pro he'll be committing a lot more time to training. He also PRed in the 8K and 10K on grass before PRing in the 3000, mile, 1500, and 5K indoors. I could see Strand circling the Indoor Worlds 3000 for 2027 on his calendar as a test before the Olympic outdoor season.

Honorable mention: Cole Hocker. I just don't know how much emphasis he'll put on the 3000 or 5000 at world championship races. Especially with Grant Fisher, Cooper Teare, Graham Blanks, Parker Wolfe, and Nico Young all eying that race. If he decided not to run the 1500m at USATFs/Olympic Trials then he would be a favorite to qualify but I could see more of those guys likely chasing just the 3,000 or 5,000. Especially adding in Rocky Hansen, maybe Ethan Strand, probably Casey Clinger at trials out of the current college ranks. I think Hocker is much more comfortably in the qualifying position for the 1500. As good as Jakob is, the USATF system makes it a lot harder to qualify in multiple events by requiring you to earn the spots at one meet against a talent pool where 7 guys had the Olympic 1500 standard and 7 had the 5000 standard. So Cole has to play that game even if he has the world lead in both events.

LilFiz99 wrote:

Grant Fisher or an Ethiopian (World Athletics ranks 6 in the top 10) in the 5000. Fisher looks like one of the best runners to ever run for the USA right now and Biniam Mehary finished 6th at the Olympics as a 17 year old. Fisher seems more likely to take shots at beating him outside of championships but Mehary could definitely be a name to watch for the 2028 Olympics when he'll be more physically mature.

The 3000 is right in his sweet spot but Ethan Strand is a name to watch. Yes, he turns 23 this year but once he turns pro he'll be committing a lot more time to training. He also PRed in the 8K and 10K on grass before PRing in the 3000, mile, 1500, and 5K indoors. I could see Strand circling the Indoor Worlds 3000 for 2027 on his calendar as a test before the Olympic outdoor season.

Honorable mention: Cole Hocker. I just don't know how much emphasis he'll put on the 3000 or 5000 at world championship races. Especially with Grant Fisher, Cooper Teare, Graham Blanks, Parker Wolfe, and Nico Young all eying that race. If he decided not to run the 1500m at USATFs/Olympic Trials then he would be a favorite to qualify but I could see more of those guys likely chasing just the 3,000 or 5,000. Especially adding in Rocky Hansen, maybe Ethan Strand, probably Casey Clinger at trials out of the current college ranks. I think Hocker is much more comfortably in the qualifying position for the 1500. As good as Jakob is, the USATF system makes it a lot harder to qualify in multiple events by requiring you to earn the spots at one meet against a talent pool where 7 guys had the Olympic 1500 standard and 7 had the 5000 standard. So Cole has to play that game even if he has the world lead in both events.