It was fun while it lasted.
To celebrate the memories and milestones:
2018:
- 3:52 bowerman mile as a 17 year old, shattering Alan Webb's famous 3:53 high school mile
2019:
- 3:51 bowerman mile at stanford, blowing past top us talent like Grant Fisher
- 13:02 5000m world championships, famous fall at the finish line. 5th, but 19 years old
2020:
- the year olympics was supposed to take place. in retrospect, it was good that covid postponed until the next year. it's unlikely jakob would have won gold if it was in 2020
- Impossible Games in June 2020 was a unique event where Jakob ran a 2,000m race in Oslo against a virtual Kenyan team running in Nairobi
- ran 3:28 for the first time at monaco, as a 19 year old. exciting times, because it showed that a world record was possible if growth continued at the same rate.
2021:
- the pop off year. 20 yr old jakob wins gold at 1500m in tokyo. special moment between him and cheruiyot, swapping bracelets after. it was also the fastest 1500m race ever in a championship, and dramatic shift from 2016 rio where fast pace trumped slow tactics. pivotal moment where every athlete now has to be able to run sub 3:30 in a championship race on demand to win
- 12:48 5000m. jakob pops off in a diamond league race, running this time in a hard race (not time trial)
2022:
- won the 5000m world championship for the first time, first attempt. it was a blistering hot race, with water stations on the backstretch.
- fell short to jake wightman in the 1500m world finals, but nevertheless clinched the silver
2023:
- 2 mile world record that shocked the world: 7:54 at 22 years old. the previous world record was 7:58 by daniel komen, the only man at the time to run sub 8 for 2 miles. many thought this record (along with 3000m) would be IMPOSSIBLE to break. but jakob showed that if he could WR by 4 seconds, the elusive 7:20 3000m could be taken too. still many critics said he could not do sub 7:20
- 1500m european record: 3:27 in silesia. year after year, improvements in 1500m are being made. 22 years old.
- defended the 5000m world championship title. fell short in 1500m, but claimed silver again.
it seems that fast races are not guaranteed like in tokyo, since everyone will pace off of jakob and outkick in the final 200m. new tactics need to be made.
- another world record: 2000m in 4:43. goes 1 second under el guerrouj world record of 4:44. this is optimistic news that jakob can get the mile world record in the future.
- 3:43 mile at bowerman 2023. ran a world-shocking race with nuguse also clinching 3:43 behind him, effectively pacing the field to new PBs. less than 24 hours later, wins the 3000m in 7:23. at this point, 50% of people believe he can go sub 7:20 in 2024, and 50% still remain skeptical. regardless, 2023 jakob at bowerman showed incredible fitness by running both 3:43 mile and 7:23 3000m in the same 24-hour window.
2024:
- 3:26 for the first time, in monaco, at age 23. jakob is on track to break the world record in 2025 if this pattern continues. 4th fastest man in history.
- fell short in the olympic 1500m, but ran a brave race. ran fast and honest from the start, setting the pace for everyone to have the new fastest championship race ever, besting the tokyo 2021 race.
- easily won the 5000m olympics. separation from the rest of the field in the final lap, showing complete dominance in the homestretch.
- 7:17 3000m world record. by far the hardest, most impressive world record jakob has ran thus far. many thought the 7:20 barrier would be impossible to break, but jakob not only did it but went 3 seconds under. age 23. 7:17 will likely not be broken again for decades.