Grant Fisher and Graham Blanks in Lausanne 5K

Who else is on start list?

those 4 are the only people confirmed so far

Noah Lyles is the headline pic on the DL website for both Silesia and Lausanne.

Where's Kenny when you need him?

It should. Fisher has to be in low 12:40 shape right now.

It’s a real shame Jingy is still injured. Having him in this race would be epic

It depends.

The difference, for some, between a 12:36, 12:42, 12:48 and 12:54 is the pace and conditions, not the ability. The ability is already there once you are under a certain threshold. For instance, a 3:32/12:42 guy vs a 3:31/12:54 guy likely means the 12:54 guy cna go faster and the 12:42 guy got into the right race.

On the right day, I think Grant can go 12:38-12:41. I’ve thought that for a few years. Hopefully he proves me right

assuming Graham’s 5K in Eugene was just a bad day, he should be able to shave a bit off his PR too

Grant hasn't been in a fast 5k since February and he probably wants the outdoor record back, so likely the pace will be set for something quick. At BU they went out a bit fast the first 400 (sub 60) and he had to go around lapped runners. With wave lights, a pacer who can get to 3000, and not having to pass people is 12:40 possible?

More important to than an AR will be how Grant and Graham place in the race.

Currently, Nico is 5th on the 3/5 DL standings with 10 points, Graham in 10th with 8 points. Kuma Girma/ETH leads with 20 points. Grant has yet to race a DL this year.

Top-10 on points after the last DL meet in Brussels on 8/22 advance to the Zurich DL final on 8/27-28. Winner gets the DL bye to Tokyo.

So, if you're a fan of US distance racing and would like to see 4 American men toe the 5000 line @ WCs, root like hell for Grant and Graham to place 1-2 or something real close so that one or both score enough points to advance to the Zurich 3000 final -- and win, unlocking the 4th spot for Cooper Teare (5th @ USAs, has the Tokyo Q) or Drew Hunter (4th @ USAs, does not have the Q or top-42 WA ranking points).

Note: if Drew wants to go to Tokyo, then along with hoping a US man (Grant, Nico, Graham) wins the Zurich DL final, he'll need to get into at least one Euro race to get his Q, or place high in a fast race to get his WA points into the top-42. However, don't know if Drew's agent has enough juice to get him a spot along side Grant & Graham in Lausanne. More likely, a couple of fast CT meets where, if he wins, he'll rack up the requisite points. Stay tuned on this.

Silesia & Brussels do not have men's 3000 or 5000 races on their schedules.

So, the Lausanne 5000 is it re: racking up DL points to qualify for the Zurich 3000 final.

Even if Grant wins, seems unlikely his 10 points would place him in the top-10 vs others who will have completed in multiple DLs.

However, with Graham currently 10th in the standings with 8 points, a top-4 placing probably would get him to Zurich. But, the likelihood of Graham winning the DL final seems remote.

Frankly, best option for a 4th US 5000 man in Tokyo appears to be Nico racing Lausanne, finishing high up, advancing to Zurich, then winning the whole thing.

Lausanne isn't a good place for fast races and records on 5,000m because of the altitude.

Aregawi ran 12:40 to beat Cheptegei (12:41) in 2023. Can’t be too slow

worldathletics.org

Aregawi beats Cheptegei in 5000m thriller in Lausanne | REPORTS | World Athletics

Berihu Aregawi runs the sixth-fastest 5000m performance of all time as world leads are set and meeting records fall at the Athletissima Diamond League event

Open link

Graham should make the final with a top 7 or 6 finish. Hes currently in 10th place in the standings and a lot of the guys above him are not running this race.

Also. A win is worth 8 points not 10. I don’t think Grant has a way to run the Zurich championship.

You don't "unlock" a spot for the World Champs. Per World Athletics, the wild card applies to the "Winner of the 2025 Diamond League" and only the winner. It can't be given to someone else. So Cooper or Drew would need to somehow win the final in order to qualify that way.

Winning the whole thing? Has the WC been canceled? In not, that 5000m will effectively be winning the whole thing.

If, say, Fisher wins the DL Final, then he qualifies. USATF's three spots would then go to Young, Blanks, and whoever's next on the list (i.e. Hunter or Teare), since they no longer have to use one of those spots for Fisher.

Grant hasn't raced DL because he chose to race in the "big money" series, and now can't qualify for the final and, turns out, isn't getting paid anyway. Grand Slam Track is the gift that keeps on taking.

They can't set an American record. The race is in Switzerland.