Rome Diamond League Live Recap
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Archived Homepage For June 09, 2025
Archived Homepage For June 09, 2025

Quote Of The Day

“Tales of rags-to-riches-to-tragedy are not uncommon in sport, but Kenya’s poverty, its concentration of talent, and endemic corruption mean the forces pushing back on those who have 'made it' are exceptionally strong...Ultimately [Kiptum's coach] couldn’t prevent his protégé, or himself, from falling victim to the curse of Eldoret...Kiptum’s death was the latest in a series of high-profile tragedies to afflict Kenyan athletics. At least four other elite runners have died in car accidents over the past decade. Sammy Wanjiru, a marathon runner, died in a drunken fall from a balcony in 2011, three years after setting the Olympic record in Beijing. Since 2021 six runners have been murdered in Kenya, including four women who were killed by their partners following financial disputes. One of them, Rebecca Cheptegei, an Olympian from neighbouring Uganda, was burnt alive by her estranged partner last September, after a quarrel over property.”

‒Excerpt from an excellent feature by Jonathan W. Rosen for The Economist entitled "The curse of Kenya's long distance runners" on how many of Kenya's athletes struggle even if they actually make it to the top of the pro ranks.

MB: The tragedy of Kenya Distance Runners: You've missed this grreat story. Read it.

Brooks PR - Have We Already Found The Next Brazier?

Michael Granville's 29-year-old record of 1:46.45 (Granville never ran faster by the way) is history. Owen Powell was 2nd in 1:46.63. Watch it above. In other events, Jane Hedengren's amazing season continued as she ran yet another HS record - this time a 9:17 full 2 miles, which is right in line with her 14:57 5000. NJ's Paige Sheppard ran 2:01.50 in the 800, Texas's Mia Maxwell ran 11.04 (+1.2) in the 100, and middle schooler Camryn Dailey ran 51.67 in the 400.

    Upcoming - Hengelo Is Monday
    On The Boards
    On The Boards
    He's Back

    Wow. The US distance community is buzzing about this result as most people had no idea the 2019 world champ was racing today. And in the process, he beat Shane Streich by 2.5 seconds and former NCAA champ Will Sumner by 5.10 seconds.
    *Video snipped of race #1 *Video snippet #2
    *MB: Donny braz is back baby! Brazier 1:44.7.

    From The Archives:

    NCAA Court Case Finally Approved
    Saturday Night Sprinting in Jamaica

    World champ Shericka Jackson took the women's 200m in 22.53 and world U20 champ Tina Clayton the 100m in 10.98. In the 110H, Olympic bronze medalist Rasheed Broadbell beat out US's Trey Cunningham, 13.06 to 13.08.

    He beat Oblique Seville by 0.09.

      Get Ready For NCAA Champs Next Week
      Championship News
      Japan National University Championships
      Rome DL

      Chebet ran 14:03.69 to move to #2 on the world all-time list while Bromell ran a world-leading 9.84, his fastest 100m time in three years. Plus Josette Andrews ran 14:25.37 to move to #3 on the all-time US women's 5,000 list. Azeddine Habz won the 1500 in 3:29.72 as 5 broke 3:31 (NRs for Germany, Sweden), Ireland's Sarah Healy won her 1st DL 1500 in 3:59.17 after the Ethiopians ran like idiots yet again, Quincy Hall won in a photo finish in 44.22, & more. Watch our post-meet reaction show here or join the Supporters Club to get it as a podcast. *Full Rome Results *WA Recap.
      *Ireland's Sarah Healy thrilled to have won her 1st DL race "I know I’m good at hard, fast races, but races like this were more where I struggled so I’m really, really happy to win – it’s really cool.” In the men's 1500, Cathal Doyle moved to #2 in Irish history at 3:32.15 but that only placed him 14th.

      Mastercard NYC Mini 10k

      Obiri covered the up-and-down back half of the race in a blistering 15:09 and won $10,000 in prize money.
      *LRC: Post-race interviews with Obiri, Kelati, Popehn, Roe, Vestri.

      More Distance News
      2025 HOKA Festival Of Miles

      And that was with a 67.04 last lap. Her 1500 split of 4:04.68 was just 0.06 off Mary Cain's HS record of 4:04.62. Christina Aragon narrowly won the pro women's mile in 4:29.38 over Krissy Gear's 4:29.43
      *MB: Jane Hedengen: G.OA.T high school track season deserves BLACK PAGE 
      *MB: HOKA Festival of Miles 2025 
      *MB: Hoka Festival of Miles Underwhelming 

      Pre-NYC Mini News

      The field includes marathon stars Hellen Obiri and Sharon Lokedi and Gotytom Gebreslase as well as US Olympians Weini Kelati, Emily Sisson, Emily Infeld, and Dakotah Popehn. Watch the race live in the player above or on demand.

      Can Mantz Get Another American Record?

      Khalid Khannouchi's 2:05:38 has stood since 2002. We break down why the time is right for Mantz to attack the AR and why he chose Chicago over Valencia.

        This Week's Pod

        No. But they might be #2. Ethiopia has to be #1 even though they haven't medalled in the event since 2019. But Fisher, Young, Hocker Teare, Blanks, Nur, Wolfe, Jacobs, Kincaid, Beadlescomb, etc. is an impressive group.

        Distance News
        Sprint Stuff
        Other News
        Doping News
        Post GST Philly News
        More Upcoming Action
        Lots of Team NB Boston News

        MacLean, who improved incredibly from 4:19 to 3:58 under Mark Coogan, was extremely grateful for her time on the team. Team NB Boston will be without 3 Olympic 1500 runners this summer as 1500m Olympian Emily Mackay also recently left and Elle St. Pierre just gave birth.

          The news comes as a surprise as Mackay excelled while training with the group, improving from 4:08 to 3:55 and making the Olympic team in 2024.

          Team NB Boston is hopeful Valby can rejoin the team at altitude camp and run USAs.

          Hosting News
          NCAA Champs Are Next Week
          Sprint Drama
          Embed from Getty Images
          Marathon Trials

          Men's standard lowered from 2:18 from 2024 while women's standard stayed the same.

          More Weekend Results From Europe
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          "Save Girls Sports"
          Anna Hall Dominates At Gotzis Hypo Meeting

          GST Philly is Sat./Sun.

          GST's successful run in Philly came to a close Jefferson-Wooden (10.73) and Bednarek (9.86) both ran PBs/world leaders in the 100 while Young (8:01.03) won his GST debut in the 3,000 thanks to a 25.61 last 200 after Grant Fisher scratched.  Josh Kerr (3:34.44) and won the 1500 for the men while Diribe Welteji (1:58.94) completed the 1500/800 double for the women.

          Day 1 Podcast

          This podcast is available to Supporters Club members. Join our Supporters Club today to listen.

          Marco Arop and Kenny Bednarek totally BOSSED their fields as Arop won with a negative split 1:43.38 and Bednarek won by 0.55 in 19.95.Jamal Brit pulled off a big upset in the 110h with a 13.06 win. In the women's 200, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden upset Gabby Thomas, 21.99 to 22.10. Other winners included Paulino (49.12), Welteji (3:58.04) and Agnes Ngetich (8:43.61).

          More Weekend Pro Results

          Koech equaled the meet record to win ahead of Kenya’s Nicholas Kebenei (1:43.75). South Africa's Zakithi Nene highlighted the sprints with a big PB and world-lead of 43.74 (#16 on the all-time list). Botswana's Lilian Odira took the women's 800m in 1:58.31 as the top-3 broke 1:59. Other distance winners included Uganda’s Sarah Chelangat (w5000m - 15:03), Ethiopia’s Amare Hailemariyam (m5000m - 13:34), Abel Kipsang (m1500m - 3:35.09).
          *MB: Koech 1:43.3!

          Asian Games In The Books
          Embed from Getty Images
          Broken National Records Highlight Weekend International Results

          NCAA Regionals

          LetsRun.com co-founder Robert Johnson tells you who he thinks will win NCAAs before the regional meets are even held. *Men's Picks *Women's Pick

            The only good news is the injury isn't a stress fracture - it's being described as inflammation.

            Admin News
            Pre-Meet News

            Once again, the men's 800 & 1500 will be must-watch tv as two of the hottest Americans from the 2025 indoor season - Josh Hoey and Hobbs Kessler - take on the big boys at Franklin Field. Plus Addy Wiley, Nia Akins, Georgia Hunter Bell, Christian Coleman, Christian Miller, Nico Young, and Graham Blanks make the GST debuts.

            50 Years Ago - May 30, 1975 - Steve Prefontaine Died
            Another Gimmick That Will Save Track and Field?

            Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas and Tara Davis-Woodhall will serve as the advisor-owners.

            Random Links
            Who?

            Jonah Koech wasn't even supposed to be in Sunday's 1500. As they approached the bell, he was in 13th out of 17. A lap later, he was the champion. He is just the third American man to win a Diamond League 1500/mile and the first runner sponsored by Under Armour to win a DL race. His 3:37.27 pre-race pb is also the slowest of any man to win a DL 1500/mile.

            Jonah Koech Talks to LetsRun

            We recap the running world and are joined by Jonah Koech after his amazing Diamond League win. Show notes here.

            Random Articlea That Our Human Vetters Found Somewhat Interesting
            Other News
            Embed from Getty Images
            5000m WR Attempt

            Joshua Cheptegei set his 12:35.36 WR at the Monaco DL in 2020 and Gebrhiwet sits #2 on the all-time list after he missed it by just over a second at Oslo last year with 12:36.73.

            NYC GP Cancelled

            The USATF LA Grand Prix and USATF Bermuda Games were also cancelled this year. Grand Slam Track is the new big kid on the block in N. America.

            How Josh Hoey Rose To The Top Of The World

            For five years, Hoey cylced through coach after coach but barely improved from his 1:47.67 high school 800m pb. Learn why he moved around so often -- and why he never gave up. Part I of JG's 7,000+ word feature.
            *MB: Josh Hoey profile by JG

            This Week's Pod w Clayton Murphy

            Clayton Murphy was our guest this week and talks about his great career. What were his favorite moments, races? Why did he decide to hang them up?

            Cheating/Doping News
            Girma Update

            "He’s still feeling parts of the concussion coming to him when he reaches certain high speeds and levels," said Girma's agent Hussein Makke. "...He’s not normal yet. He’s able to train and he’s put in good workout sessions, but at such a point, a combination of intensity and other things, he feels some dizziness and some things...He's planning to come back and run his race when he’s close to 100%."

            Valby Update

            "She is on the mend,"said Parker's father and agent, Kyle. "I don’t want to get into [the specifics of the injury] at this point, but she is in good shape...I’ll be able to share more [about racing plans] in the future, we’re just waiting on a few things relative to her health. She’s in a good spot mentally."

            Kipyegon opens her season in Xiamen with nearly a WR But...

            On Wednesday, Nike announced that Kenya's Faith Kipyegon will attempt to break four minutes in the mile on June 26 in Paris. Spoiler alert. She's not going to break 4. And it's not going to be particularly close. Did you know the 1k time she ran on Saturday where she just nearly broke the WR is still below sub-4 mile pace?

            Shoe News

            Taylor Roe broke 15:00 for the 1st time in her career today, racing in the shoes for the 1st time. 5k man Amon Kemboi also loved them. "You kind of feel the bounce only," Kemboi said. "So even though you are tired, you feel just the drive it gives you when your legs are tired."

            More From The Ten

            Bekele and Sound Running's Jesse Williams, meet director for The TEN, explain why the Ethiopian star Telahun Bekele, who is racing GST this weekend, missed the start on Saturday night and how he hit the World Championship standard anyway.

            Shelby Speaks

            Last week, Houlihan spoke with LetsRun.com for more than an hour with no questions off the table. Houlihan shares which supplements she took at the time of her positive test, why she said she didn't know what nandrolone is, running a 30:31 10k in practice, and her hopes for World Indoors and the rest of 2025.

            Stop Obsessing Over Your Diet

            The US indoor 1500m/3000m champion overhauled his fueling in workouts before the 2024 season. Now he swears by his routine.

            The Record Books Are Getting Rewritten In 2025

            In the span of one week in February, runners broke five world indoor records and every American men's middle-distance record from 800m to 5000m. Jonathan Gault spoke to some of America's top athletes and coaches to find the reasons behind all of the fast times.

            One More Look at a Legendary Race

            From novice fans to running diehards, there was something for everyone (except perhaps Brits and Norwegians) to enjoy about one of the greatest middle distance races ever run.

            Blanks = NCAA XC x 2

            Just before Blanks chases a 5,000m pb and collegiate record in what is likely his final NCAA race at Boston University on Saturday, he told LetsRun about the key session of his 2024 XC season -- one he described as "probably the best workout I've had so far in my career."

            Jonathan Gault pays tribute to two legends

            Simpson and Centrowitz, who both 1st medalled in 2011 and retired in 2024, leave the sport as two of the faces on the Mt. Rushmore of American 1500m running after piling up a combined eight medals at global championships. And despite not ever finishing in the top 3 on the yearly 1500 list (Simpson's best was 4th, Centro's 9th), they will be remembered as two of the better milers of their generation.

            Best of the LetsRun.com Track Talk Podcast
            Best of the LetsRun.com Track Talk Podcast

            Your latest American stars share their insights.

            Three legends of the sport.

            One of the greatest US runners ever.

            We chatted with Frank on the 50th anniversary of his Olympic Marathon gold

            American Record Holders
            American Record Holders

            Keira D'Amato, the new American record holder in the marathon, was joined by Deena Kastor, who held the record for 15 years.

            Sisson was the guest on the LetsRun.com Track Talk podcast after she became the first American to go sub 67 in the half marathon on a record-eligible course. Podcast highlights above. Full pod here.

            Woody Kincaid joined us after he broke the American record indoors at 5000. He talks above why he left the Bowerman Track Club. Podcast highlights and link to full podcast here.

            LetsRun.com Pro Coaches Tour
            LetsRun.com Pro Coaches Tour

            Coogan's New Balance Boston team had 3 Olympians in 2021 and 2022 could be the biggest year yet for the program with 2 new additions and the TRACK at New Balance coming on March 1st.

            Danny Mackey has taken the Brooks Beasts from an unproven club to the Olympic podium in its first decade.

            Dathan Ritzenhein is the first of the top pro coaches to sit down and talk about his club heading into the 2022 campaign.

            Best of Jon Gault
            Best of Jon Gault
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            Take Your Love of LetsRun to the Next Level
            Take Your Love of LetsRun to the Next Level
            LetsRun Classics
            LetsRun Classics

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