side note: I think Pre+London for Jakob basically means no Monaco for him (there isn’t even a 1500m this year, and he’s likely doing the 5000m in Oslo)
If he’s coming off a mile WR at Pre I don’t see why he wouldn’t try for the 1500 WR in London. He won’t get too many bites at the apple in August.
Definitely no Monaco. We can say with certainty he’s running Oslo, Ostrava, Eugene, London, Silesia, and Zurich. A season opener in Rabat/Rome and another 1500 in Brussels (if Silesia is a near miss in 3:26-low) also seem likely.
July 5th can be really hot in Eugene, especially with that TV window in the mid-afternoon forcing them to run in what could be weather in the 90s or more. If they are serious about a world record, schedule the mile in the late evening, like in Europe.
The crowd dynamic will be interesting. Expecting a packed house. Obviously home crowd for Josh, but I've never come across a crowd that doesn't love Jakob either.
The crowd dynamic will be interesting. Expecting a packed house. Obviously home crowd for Josh, but I've never come across a crowd that doesn't love Jakob either.
I just bought my ticket, it's almost sold out already. Would recommend buying now if potentially going, there are official resales over ticketmaster.
The mile in London is never very fast, for whatever reason.
The main reason is because Jakob rarely runs in the UK. He's skipped the last three DLs in the UK. And as we've seen, no one runs sub-3:30 if Jakob isn't in the race. I've said many times on this board, every 1500 guy in the world right now owes their PB to Jakob (except Tim C). Yes, he's vulnerable in a championship race, but he was right to say that he is the pacemaker
I suspected Kerr would run this one, but I’m pleasantly surprised they had the budget for Jakob and also wanted him to ruin a potential home victory. This should confirm Kerr is out of Pre. I don’t suspect we’ll see Kenyans/Americans in this one, but possibly Aussies, and other Europeans fill it out.
Jakob is such a big draw, and I love that he does not duck anyone nor limit his racing as many others do. He is good for our sport.
2025 known schedule for Jakob:
Bislett: June 11 (mile or 5k)
Ostrava: June 24
Pre: July 5 (mile)
London: July 19 (1500)
It likely won't happen but wouldn't it be great if he went for the steeple WR in Ostrava? He could get 4 WRs in just over a month
The strange thing is that it doesn't sound that unlikely. Why else would he run in Ostrava? I have rarely seen him race outside of Diamond League or championships. I think he feels like he wants to go for a record at a meet that is around the exact date of Ostrava, giving him excellent time to recover from the potential 5k at Bislett, as well as excellent time to recover until Eugene again.
And remember, he actually ran 8:26 in the steeple at age 16, in his very first attempt at the distance. He even competed in the London WC the same year in the event.
A guy that can run 7:17, (who supposedly is EVEN better this year), could run very, very fast in the 3000sc. Enough for a WR, even with perhaps slightly subpar technique? Maybe.
He is also 3x senior Euro xc champion, further evidencing his versatility.
My gut actually says he goes for it. It fits well if he is going for the 5000m WR at Bislett, because he can do some specific work for longer distances in his preparation, before slightly tuning his body for the 1500m/mile afterwards.
The 2025 calendar an outstanding opportunity for chasing records, with the WC being so late in September.
The strange thing is that it doesn't sound that unlikely. Why else would he run in Ostrava? I have rarely seen him race outside of Diamond League or championships. I think he feels like he wants to go for a record at a meet that is around the exact date of Ostrava, giving him excellent time to recover from the potential 5k at Bislett, as well as excellent time to recover until Eugene again.
And remember, he actually ran 8:26 in the steeple at age 16, in his very first attempt at the distance. He even competed in the London WC the same year in the event.
A guy that can run 7:17, (who supposedly is EVEN better this year), could run very, very fast in the 3000sc. Enough for a WR, even with perhaps slightly subpar technique? Maybe.
He is also 3x senior Euro xc champion, further evidencing his versatility.
My gut actually says he goes for it. It fits well if he is going for the 5000m WR at Bislett, because he can do some specific work for longer distances in his preparation, before slightly tuning his body for the 1500m/mile afterwards.
The 2025 calendar an outstanding opportunity for chasing records, with the WC being so late in September.
Other alternatives:
-Do something cheeky like a 2K Steeple World Best attempt
-10,000m debut (feels risky)
-3,000m/2-mile (don’t see where else he’s running these distances).
If he does do the Steeple I hope we have Girma/El Bakkali there.
Tim Cheruiyot was announced as a challenger in LA GST which makes it a near-certainty he will be back in the Bowerman mile after a photo finish vs Jakob in Oslo last year.
EDIT: Never mind he’s doing Miami! Getting ahead of myself
This post was edited 3 minutes after it was posted.
We were talking about if he can break the 5k WR in his first race of the season. He didn't break the 3k WR in his first race of the season.
I am not. I am responding to you claim that "The outdoor 5000m record is harder to break than indoor records." By pointing out his 3k outdoor record is superior to the outdoor 5k record
We know that Hocker and Yared will have the ultimate pacemaker for 1609 meters….can either pull ahead at the line? Probably not, but they will have a chance to be towed to an incredible time.
Neither of them will be running for the win. Jakob and his pacer will gap the field in the first 200. All Nike athletes will be running to fulfill their Nike contracts, as all Americans do every year a few weeks before USA Outdoor Championships. Vanishingly small chance that an American breaks 3:30.
We know that Hocker and Yared will have the ultimate pacemaker for 1609 meters….can either pull ahead at the line? Probably not, but they will have a chance to be towed to an incredible time.
Neither of them will be running for the win. Jakob and his pacer will gap the field in the first 200. All Nike athletes will be running to fulfill their Nike contracts, as all Americans do every year a few weeks before USA Outdoor Championships. Vanishingly small chance that an American breaks 3:30.
I can guarantee there's a zero percent chance an American breaks 3:30 at the Bowerman Mile