Justyn Knight 13:03

Great to hear he continues to make progress.

Agree! What does he need to qualify for worlds?

Top-42 by WA points rankings.

Currently (8/9), 42nd place w/1214 points while Justin ranks 129th w/1131 points.

Two Canadians are ahead of him but neither have the 13:01 Q.

This Belgium meet will boost Justin's ranking considerably, since this 13:03 will replace a 13:43 as one of his 3 races used for ranking purposes. Will find out Wed where he now stands.

However, likely would need another really fast 5000 or 3000 with a high placing by Aug 24th to sniff 42nd place.

Really love to see it, I started following the sport around the time he was at his peak (around 2020-21 iirc), so I didn't understand the hype around him at the time. I'm super happy to see him come around this year though, and he's certainly a massive talent. Kinda reminds me of Brazier's comeback this year. Although Knight hasn't quite reached that level, he could definitely be in 12:5x low shape next year (maybe even by September at the rate he's improving).

Currently (Aug 10) 42nd place is 1216, not 1214.

Regardless - 13:03 is worth ~1199 (plus any placing points based on meet level), which brings Knight up to an average score of 1159 (3 performances). He will not be able to get in on points without running 2 more 5kms in that 13:0X range, as anything that would given him enough points (likely needs 1290+ depending on bonus points) as a single performance would likely be under the 13:01 standard (~1207 points).

Only way he is getting in is by running at the Gold label 3000m in Budapest, where a 7:35 and top3 would get him around 1300 points and boost his aversge to be around the current cut of 1216 and just make it.

But the thing is that he is not on the startlists for it.

Is this the deepest 5k race of the year or something. 30th place was sub 13:15 and like everyone ran either a PB or season’s best

I know he is trying to qualify for worlds, per his Instagram. Thank you to those who posted info about the points and times needed to do so. Seems difficult but not impossible.

worldathletics.org

Road To | World Athletics

Open link

Either of:

- top 42 on the world rankings

- 13:01.00 or faster (he just ran 13:03.21)

If he can run 13:03, getting in a race to run for places and world ranking points may not be the play. Cutting off 2.21 seconds in your next 5000m for a guaranteed entry, rather than scraping for points and places and hoping no one else also jumps up on the list, seems preferable.

I'd love to see him make it, but honestly just getting to 13:03 at this point is a huge success for him. He was out so long, you have to imagine his path back to world finals and medal contention is there if he can just stay healthy.

Commenting to remind people that I am the “Justyn knight will be a global medalist” guy, which was a take I had as soon as I found out he was going to bowerman. I bet people are starting to rethink those downvotes.

That is, IF he stays healthy and he likely won't even make it to this year's world champs and he's not getting any younger so I don't like his odds. I'm just glad he's back at a truly elite level after so long being injured.

Getting to Tokyo will be hard, as there are not many opportunities left. Basically:

- A 3km tomorrow in Budapest. Gold category, so good points, but he is not on the start list

- A 5km category in Finland on Wednesday: Not on the start list, and would have to run mostly alone. It is category D points, so chasing the standard would be more helpful than chasing points

- Lausanne 5km. I'm not sure he has yet done enough to get a place in a Diamond League...

Are there any other 3000/5000 coming up I am missing?

Knight, at least per his insta story, seems on the way to Budapest. Maybe he will appear on the start list last minute.

Seems his strength is very good. He's 12 seconds off his 5000 PR, but his speed isn't where it was. He was a 3:33 guy back in 21, while towards the end of July, he was only at 3:40.

hopefully he can get that pop back. Anybody know how long he's actually been continuously running without setback?

Donovan Brazier and Shelby Houlihan are national champs, and Justyn Knight is running fast. What year is it??

This is so great to see. Have always though Knight was one of the most insanely talented runners out there. Good to see him back in it.

Yep, he's listed in the Budapest 3000 startlist. Among other guys aiming to rack up points. Dogfight.

Or is that the timing of his season? I guess we’ll see in this 3k.

ya. idk, the races are 3 weeks apart, and he's been racing since April 19. progressing from 3:44 to 3:42 to 3:40, over a 3 month period.

The 5000 very well could have been off of a much stronger taper than the 1500, especially given that he was a 13:18 just a week before the 3:40.