What a year of track and field. Cole Hocker got 5000m gold, Cooper Lutkenhaus ran 1:42, Athing Mu was not Athing Mu, Donavan Brazier is back, Josh Hoey was the US leader at 800 & 1500 and a lot more. 5 American distance runners won Diamond Leagues (and non of them medalled at Worlds). We break it all down.
Archived Homepage For October 01, 2025
Archived Homepage For October 01, 2025
Best Track & Field Podcast
Doping News
- WADA bans carbon monoxide inhalation Yes, professional cyclists, including a two-time Tour de France winner, have admitted to inhaling the thing that you have a detector in your house to make sure it doesn't kill you. Apparently inhaling it can artificially increase red blood cell and hemoglobin levels, similar to EPO.
- Kenyan banned for 5-years paid just $38 for EPO and CERA to dope Cornelius Kibet Kiplagat explains how he heard about the drugs and the process he used to obtain them and then inject himself.
- MB: Indian teen sentenced to four years in Kenyan prison for importing PEDs ADAK CEO says "the ruling sends a clear message.
On The Boards
On The Boards
XC / Road News
- NY Times: Tracksmith got some free advertising from pop star Harry Styles running the Berlin Marathon in their shorts Styles got a lot of attention for running a sub-3 hour marathon in Berlin and Tracksmith founder Matt Taylor says sales of the the shorts he wore (the Van Cortlandts which sell for $75) have increased by about 50%.
- Preview: Arkansas men and women the favorites at their home Chile Pepper XC Festival this weekend The Arkansas men are ranked #19 nationally and the women #22.
- BYU's Creed Thompson signs NIL deal with Brooks The 2024 NCAA XC 12th placer is making his marathon debut at Chicago this month.
- MB: Awet Nftalem Kibrab 28:07 over Narve Gilje Nordas (29:45) in Norway 10k
- Italy's double world medalist Nadia Battocletti racing Corsa dei Castelli 10K on October 19
- DyeStat Preview: Star studded high school fields set to compete at Great American XC Festival Friday and Saturday
Distance News
- Laura Muir's former coach Andrew Young banned for three years for "serious misconduct" Muir stopped working with her longtime coach in 2023. A UK Athletics disciplinary panel found that Young "ignored medical advice" and "used manipulative and coercive behavior towards those he coached." An example was forcing an athlete to race against the recommendations of a physiotherapist and abandoning an athlete on the side of the road after a disagreement.
*MB: Andy Young (ex coach of Laura Muir) guilty of 'serious misconduct'
- Former Guyana 800m Olympian Ian Roberts arrested by ICE over illegal status and weapons charges Roberts competed at the 2000 Olympics, has a 1:46.85 PB and has been working as a school superintendent in Iowa. He has a weapons charge dating back to 2020 and DHS said was "in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash and a fixed blade hunting knife" at the time of his arrest (it's against US federal law for non-citizens without legal status to own a firearm).
- RIP: 2000 Boston Marathon champ and Kenyan politician Elijah Kiptarbei Lagat passes away at age-59 Lagat started his elite running career unusually late (27-years-old) as he initially started running just to lose weight.
- MB: Sean Mcgorty leaves Bowerman Track Club
- Japan Weekend Track Roundup
NCAA XC Rankings
- T&F News NCAA XC Preview - Men's Top-10 Individuals Brian Musau (OSU), Habtom Samuel (New Mexico) and Denis Kipngetich (OSU) are their top-3. Gary Martin (Virginia) is the first American at #8.
- T&F News NCAA XC Preview - Women's Top-10 Individuals Pamela Kosgei (New Mexico), Doris Lemngole (Alabama) and Grace Hartman (NC State) are their top-3. Star recruit Jane Hedengren (BYU) is ranked #6.
- Iowa State stays on top in week 2 NCAA XC coaches' poll OSU, New Mexico and Virginia are ranked 2-4. *Regional Rankings
- BYU women still #1 in week 2 NCAA XC coaches' poll NC State moved to #2, Florida jumped up 9 spots to #3 and Oregon down to #4. *Regional Rankings
Sprint Stuff
- World 100m champ Oblique Seville will need a month to recover after undergoing toe procedure He had the nail removed from both his big toes because they were "getting to the ingrown stage."
- Noah Lyles asked to elaborate on the shoving altercation with Kenny Bednarek at USAs Lyles was asked about it on a recent podcast, but didn't want to share too many details saying, "I’m actually going to keep that personal…That’s just something that involves me and my woman, me and Junelle and right now, it’s just information that we don’t want to go too deep. A lot of the track world thinks they know, but it’s bigger and deeper than a simple explanation." *Full Video Interview
- MB Netflix DID NOT sign Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce to a $13.5 million deal for a documentary There is a story circulating on the internet that SAFP signed a big deal with Netflix, but the Jamaica Gleaner debunked it as fake.
More Weekend Distance Results
- Eilish McColgan wins Vitality London 10,000m for the third time in 30:35 She got a dominant win over Jessica Warner-Judd (31:14) while Zak Mahamed won the men's race (29:07).
- Kenya's William Nyarondia and Sweden's Carolina Johnson win TCS Lidingöloppet 30k XC race in Sweden
- MB: Molly Seidel second at Boulderthon Half Marathon (1:17:09)
World Mountain/Trail Running Champs
They each dominated the 50.9-mile race through the Pyrenees, Walmsley winning by more than 10 minutes and Schide by 25 minutes. The French men and Italian women both relegated the US to runner-up finishes in the team competition.
*French duo Benjamin Roubiol and Louison Coiffet cross the line together to "share" silver in Long Trail race
- Germany’s Nina Engelhard wins Classic race to get a double win at the World Mountain and Trail Running Champs Engelhard also won the Uphill race on Thursday. Kenya’s Philemon Kiriago won the men's Classic race.
- France's Frédéric Tranchand and Sweden's Tove Alexandersson win Short Trail titles Tranchand won the men's race by less than 3 minutes while Alexandersson dominated the women's by almost 34. The Spanish men and Swedish women took the team titles.
- Switzerland's Remi Bonnet and Germany's Nina Engelhard win Uphill race US's Anna Gibson finished third in the women's race and US's Christian Allen was 4th in the men's. Team wins The Kenyan men and Italian women took the team victories.
- MB: World Mountain/Trail Running Championships
- USATF: Team USA won 8 medals at the World Mountain and Trail Running Champs
Weekend XC Action
The #3 ranked OSU men won a close team battle with #2 ranked New Mexico (36 points to 41). while the #1 ranked BYU women put 7 in the top 15 to win with 34 points over #13 OSU (57 points) and #3 ranked New Mexico (65 points). OSU swept the individual wins thanks to Denis Kipngetich (23:33) and Isca Chelangat (19:59) got the individual wins. *Results
*MB: 2025 Gans Creek Classic and Cowboy Jamboree
Iowa State dominated the team competition with 47 points over Virginia (107 points) and Colorado (126 points) while the Florida won with 102 points over NAU (126) and Colorado (166). Washington State swept the team titles thanks to Solomon Kipchoge (22:24) and Rosemary Longisa (19:07). *Results
*MB: 2025 Gans Creek Classic and Cowboy Jamboree
- Addy Ritzenhein wins third consecutive individual title at Desert Twilight XC Her team, #3 ranked Niwot, won the team title. The Niwot boys also won the team race with Oliver Horton winning the individual.
- MB: Colorado and UCLA Cross Country had AMAZING races today
- MB: Swedens 17 yo Sebastian Lörstad runs 10K XC at 30.01 on a brutal course
- USTFCCCA weekend XC recap
UK News - Josh Kerr Update
- Josh Kerr reveals a pulled calf muscle is what caused him to finish a distant last in the World 1500m final He concedes that he "definitely did some more damage" by finishing with the grade two muscle tear rather than dropping out, but says he has no regrets.
*MB: How is Josh Kerr Doing
*MB: Is Kerr OK? That looked like a calf pull? - Joe Wigfield (3:59) and Holly Dixon (4:30) win Vitality Westminster Mile
- RIP: 1964 Scottish Olympic sprinter and politician Menzies ‘Ming’ Campbell passes at 84 Campbell tied the British 100m record at 10.2 in 1967 and when he was a student at Stanford, famously beat OJ Simpson before Simpson moved to the NFL
- Study finds that London has the world's "strongest marathon brand" It got a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 90.1 out of 100, ahead of NYC (89.7), Paris (88.4), Berlin (82.9) and Boston (80.9).
The World's Top Coaches Share Their Secrets
- Trevor Painter opens up to WA about the keys to being a top mid-d coach - Speed work and knowing the athlete Double threshold training may be the rage for so many right now, but not to Trevor Painter.
*MB: Trevor Painter shares the secrets of the world's top mid-d training group: "We are definitely not a double threshold group." - Helena Duplantis shares her coaching secrets - ‘If losing doesn’t hurt, winning doesn’t matter’. The Swede hates the Swedish concept of ‘lagom’: not too much, not too little. “Being average is not good enough and you can be vocal about it,” she says.
It's Been 25 Years Since One of Track & Field's Greatest Nights
- 25 years ago, Magic Monday took place and Athletics Weekly's Jason Henderson thinks it was the greatest night in Athletics history On that night, Cathy Freeman famously won gold in front of 112,000 home fans but also that night gold went to Stacy Dragila (in the first women's pole vault), Maria Mutola, Haile Gebrselassie, Jonathan Edwards, Michael Johnson and 3 others as a ridiculous 9 golds were handed out.
*MB: 25 years ago, Magic Monday: Cathy Freeman, Hail G, MJ, Stacy Dragila, Mutola all won gold. Was it the greatest in track history? - Cathy Freeman reflects on the 400m final that stopped a nation, how she carried the country on her shoulders and her legacy 25 years on.
The Latest From Kenya
- Daniel Komen's wife testifies in trial where she alleges he sold $2.5 million worth of land to Eliud Kipchoge and others for 10% of what it was worth Komen's wife Joyce Kimosoop, a senior lecturer at Moi University, wants the court to rule on whether a wife has a constitutional right to be involved in decisions affecting family property and whether the sale violated her rights. “I took several bank loans to fund the purchase and development of the property, which was our only family home. My husband never mentioned the sale and I was surprised when strangers occupied it,” she stated.
*MB: Update on Daniel Komen's wife's lawsuit against Komen, Eliud Kipchoge, Felix Limo and other star runners conntinues - The silent crisis: Why male athletes are slowly losing ground Kenya is at loss to explain why there women were so dominant and yet the men only won 3 medals. 10 years ago, the men led the way at Worlds. Foolishly, the Kenyan coach thinks the selection criteria for the team is to blame and wants to only have the winner of the Trials be named to the team moving forward. The selection criteria worked quite well for the women. *Kenyans at a loss to explain why there women were so dominant at Worlds but men only won 3 medals
Random links that passed our human vetting process
- 1600 athletes from 73 national teams are competing at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships this weekend in the Aragonese Pyrenees
- MB: RIP: 2025 Stockholm marathon winner Shewarge Alene of Ethiopia, feels ill in training, dies in hospital The 67:43/2:27:56 runner was just 30.
- Justin Gatlin thinks Bryan Levell is going to be a big force in the 200 “This young man is a true talent, and he’s going to be a problem for the next year, the year after that, and for many seasons to come,” Gatlin said.
More Famous Female Icons
- Runners Kathrine Switzer and Sophie Power - the British women famous for breast-feeding her child at UTMB - meet for 1st time The duo, known for two iconic running photos, recently embraced for a photo at a women's running conference in Oxfordshire.
- Irish sprinter, Sharlene Mawdsley, who is owed $15k from GST isn't upset with Michael Johnson “I don’t have huge animosity towards Michael Johnson because he didn’t start this to go bankrupt. Obviously, it’s unfortunate that an investor pulled out and, OK, we haven’t got our money, but I still feel really grateful that I had the opportunity to race there," said Mawdsley, who went viral earlier in the summer for racing Irish hurler Buggy O’Meara after day drinking for 4-5 hours.
Depressing college news
- Trans runner Sadie Schreiner files suit yet again - this time against SUNY Geneseo & NCAA over transgender race ban The biological male has already sued Princeton for not being allowed to compete in the female division there as well.
- KU will not hold Kansas Relays next spring as it can't afford $350k as it wants to pay its basketball players How in the world that it costs $350k to put on a track meet is beyond us. Most large track meets make money as there are so many entries.
Previous News fom Kenya
- 15 years ago, rain prevented Patrick Makau from breaking the WR in Berlin but he came back the next year and got it - Will the same be true for Sabastian Sawe? It wasn't rain that stopped Sawe but heat. His run on Sunday was an all-time great performance as Sawe ran the fastest time by a large margin in hot weather.
*Did you know Sabastian Sawe's uncle is the Ugandan 800m national record holder? Yes, it's true - Abraham Chepkirwok has a 1:43.72 pb. - Triumphant Kenyan athletes receive raucous welcome home from Tokyo Worlds
- Kenyan govt paying each of its gold medal winners 3 million Kenyan shillings each ($23k)
- Julius Yego reveals he suffered a "compete adductor longus tear" in 1st round throw in Tokyo, vow to bounce back - no surgery needed
Assorted Distance News
- Sad News: Kenya's 2014 African steeple champ Jairus Birech passes away at age 32 Birech was also the fastest steepler in 2014 with a 7:58.41 PB. Most sources don't mention a cause of death, but this article says he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and spinal meningitis. He is survived by his wife and two children.
- MB: Washington Post article - Kenyan NCAA imports US college coaches pay agents to organize time trials in Kenya in order to recruit top distance runners for their programs.
- Sweden's World 10,000m bronze medallist Andreas Almgren going for the European half marathon record in Valencia in October The record is 59:13 by Switzerland’s Julien Wanders from 2019. Almgren ran 59:23 in his debut last year.
- Boston Marathon cutoff time announced: Runners needed to run 4:34 faster than the qualifying mark to enter This means as an 18-34 year-old man, you needed to run 2:50:26 and as a woman 3:20:26. 8,887 runners who ran qualifying times were not accepted to the race.
- MB: Musician Harry Styles runs Berlin marathon under pseudonym in 2:59
Sprint Stuff
- Now 28 years old, Noah Lyles says he thinks about his age a lot and has already planned out what he wants his last year in the sport to look like (sometime between 2028 and 2032)
- Olbique Oblique returns to Jamaica: "It's a great feeling knowing that we broke that curse and to start the new era of Jamaican sprinting."
- Now-retired Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce arrives back in Jamaica to warm welcome at airport She won a final medal in Tokyo with silver in the 4x100.
- Melissa Jefferson-Wooden saved her father when she was 17 by giving him a bone marrow transplant
Seb Coe / World Athletics News
- Seb Coe jokes that one more world record from Mondo Duplantis and there's no Christmas party for World Athletics Duplantis won $100,000 for setting the WR at Worlds. Coe also talked about watching the World 800m final with David Rudisha, both of them wondering if their records (Rudisha's world and Coe's British) would go down. Coe: "We both hugged each other at the end of it, saying we're survivors. His world record survived, my British record survived."
- Seb Coe says Olympic calendar may need to be "re-engineered" because of climate change Coe: "I'm not sure that we can go on asking some of our endurance-based athletes to be competing at times of the year which are really are going to hit their performances and are probably putting them at risk as well."
- World Athletics elected Athletes' Commission members announced The list includes Sweden's Andreas Almgren.
More Post-Tokyo Stuff
- World Athletics releases attendance stats from Tokyo Worlds - 619,288 cumulative attendance across the 9 days The final day in Tokyo set a championship record for attendance with 58,723.
- AP: Effects of failed Grand Slam Track league felt in different ways across world championships A lot of distance runners from GST went on to have terrible seasons, although it worked out fine for Cole Hocker and sprinters like Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
- Japan Running News analyzes Japan's performance at Worlds Brett Larner writes, "Although there was a lot of disappointment for the home crowd this time, the actual team results in Tokyo were almost equal to Budapest: two bronze medals and 11 top-8 placings." (Budapest had the same results except one bronze medal was gold.)
- A record number of countries won medals at Tokyo Worlds 53 different nations won at least one medal in Tokyo, breaking the previous record of 46 from 2007 Osaka and 2023 Budapest Worlds.
- The BBC looks at how steady medal counts remain from an Olympic to a Worlds year Some in the UK are freaking out because they only one five medals in Tokyo (with no gold) after winning ten medals at the Paris Games.
- The Guardian shares their top photos from Tokyo Worlds
Post-Worlds News
- Botswana declares public holiday for "historic" 4x400 victory The Botswana president announced Monday, September 29th, as a holiday to celebrate the achievement. Meanwhile, in the US, Rai Benjamin likely didn't even know the US was going to be in the final as he went out on the town the night before being walked down on the anchor.
*MB: Rai Benjamin said he had a late night out before the 4x400: "I was pretty much done, you know, so I had a pretty late night if you can imagine." - Training partners Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter Bell discuss the surprise finishing order in the 800m at Worlds Hunter Bell said for a moment she thought she was going to win and she'd like to go win the 1500m if Faith Kipyegon "decides to move up [to 5000m]." Problem for her, Kipyegon already runs the 5000m and still dominates the 1500m.
- The Guardian: "USA dominate table again as GB suffer worst finish since 2003" The US won 26 medals, 16 of them gold. Well ahead of Kenya's 11 medals (7 gold) and Jamaica's 10 medals (1 gold).
- GB launch review after worst World Championships in 22 years Among the disappointments was that they won no relay medals after winning five at the Paris Games. It was the first time since the 2003 worlds that they didn't win a relay medal.
- BBC: "GB fail to win gold for first time in 20 years - where it went wrong" GB finished way back, 21st in the medal table
Recent Non-Worlds Results
- RRW: Anthony Rotich (28:27), Ednah Kurgat (32:11) Win Great Cow Harbor 10K For U.S. Army WCAP *Results
- MB: Galen Rupp- 62:42 Philly Half (3rd place) The race was won in 61:01. *Results
- Cal Baptist men and women sweep team titles at Roy Griak The #16 ranked Cal men won with 39 points over Wyoming and the women won with 25 over Minnesota. *Results
- North Central (Ill.) men and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women win DIII pre-nats *Results
Hocker is the second American distance man to win multiple global golds, the third to win a global 5,000 title, and just the fifth from any country to win global titles in the 1500 and 5,000 after Paavo Nurmi, Hicham El Guerrouj, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and Bernard Lagat.
- Bring out the brooms: Kenya sweeps the women’s distances. Odira STUNS the world 1:54.62 as Keely gets the bronze
- COLE HOCKER 5000M CHAMPION Hocker has a SENSATIONAL last lap. He was way back and ran a 52 to win in 12:58.
- Was Cole Hocker’s 52.62 last lap tonight the fastest ever in a sub-13:00 5000?
- Rai Benjamin said he had a late night out before the 4x400: "I was pretty much done, you know, so I had a pretty late night if you can imagine."
- Grant Fisher is passed his prime
- Cole Hocker will win 2025 Tokyo 5000m
- Sage Hurta Klecker 1:55.89
Cole Hocker won 5000m gold in Tokyo ahead of Isaac Kimeli and Jimmy Gressier. Nico Young and Grant Fisher ended up 6th and 8th. Jakob Ingebrigtsen was 10th. The Kenyan women’s unreal meet continued and Cole Hocker was GOLDEN yet again. We broke it down for you live from right after it ended.
- AW: Lilian Odira's surge takes her to shock world 800m gold Odira came out of nowhere to give Kenya a sweep of the women's distance medals, passing favorite Keely Hodgkinson in the final meters to win in 1:54.62. Hodgkinson's teammate Georgia Hunter Bell also passed her to take silver in a photo finish, 1:54.90 to Hodgkinson's 1:54.91.
Final Day Non-Distance Medals
- AP relay recap: Sha'Carri Richardson, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Noah Lyles anchor wins on big closing day for Americans The US swept the men's and women's 4x100 relays, the women just holding off Jamaica by .04 and the US 4x400 women dominated with a 3:16.61 championship record to win by 2.64 seconds. But the US 4x400 men ended up with silver after an epic three-way finish with Botswana and South Africa where world 400m champ Collen Kebinatshipi passed Rai Benjamin at the line to get them the gold by .07.
- Leo Neugebauer makes late charge to win decathlon world title US's Kyle Garland lead most of the way, but Neugebauer threw a five meter javelin PB to take the lead and won with 8804 points. Garland ended up with bronze (8703 points).
- Australia's Nicola Olyslagers wins her first global outdoor title with 2.00m HJ victory She won on countback over Poland's Maria Zodzik with Ukraine's Olympic champ Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Serbia's Angelina Topic sharing the bronze at 1.97m.
- Sweden’s Daniel Stahl defends his title to become a three-time discus world champ He threw 70.47m to win handily over WR holder Mykolas Alekna (67.84m).
2025 Berlin
Sawe was on world record pace at halfway (60:16) and though he couldn't hold it, 2:02:16 was very impressive given the mid-70s temps in Berlin as he won by 4+ minutes and consider that Kenya's Rosemary Wanjiru won the women's race in 2:21:05, the slowest winning time in Berlin since 2013.
Tokyo 4x400 Runoff
Team USA has never failed to make the men's 4 x 400 final at Worlds and after a 12+ hour delay that streak continues. USA did it the hard way, but they dominated Kenya in the re-run this morning. We were there for it and asked Demarius Smith, who was in the middle of the delayed second exchange Friday night and had the slowest split today, if he was being personally coached by US relay coach Darryl Woodson. Smith: "There's no proof of that. That's first. Second of all, it doesn't matter...Keep doubting me. I'll be back." *Post-race interview with Team USA
We share our 9 takeaways from a golden night for Kenya where the US was historically great in the women's 5000 and the deepest 800 race in history was run.
We recap some crazy action in the men's 800, women's 5000, and the prelims of the relays where there will be two race re-run on Sunday morning.
- Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships Day 8 Live Discussion Thread - US men bomb out of 4 x 400, Jamaica men bomb out of 4 x 100
- Breaking: There will be a runoff for a 9th (additional) spot in men's 4x400 final between USA & Kenya
- Incredible 800m -- All athletes 1:42.77 or better, fastest 7th and 8th place marks ever
- Is Chebet's kick the GOAT? - 13.44 for the final 100m!
- It's time to have a conversation about Cian McPhillips
- So proud of Shelby
- Shelby Houlihan SILENCES the haters? Houlihan answers all our questions after an impressive 4th place finish at 2025 Worlds
- What was the point of Shelby doping?
- Josette Andrews, 6TH IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!
- USA mess up in 4*400 heats
- Fisher and Young can medal in the 5000, but it requires a brave, unorthodox strategy.
- Nafi Thiam withdraws
- Anna Hall becomes the first US woman in 32-years to win a global heptathlon title She took gold with 6888 points ahead Ireland's Kate O’Connor (6714). US's Taliyah Brooks and GB's Katarina Johnson-Thompson tied for bronze with 6581 points.
- US champ Kyle Garland leads the decathlon after day 1 He's in a duel with Norway's world indoor champ Sander Skotheim, but is on pace to beat him.
- Netherland's Jessica Schilder takes shot put gold with 20.29m over US's two-time world champ Chase Jackson (20.21m)
- Brazil's Caio Bonfim wins 20k race walk gold He said that he lost his wedding ring in the third kilometer (How?!?), but said, "I believe my wife will be OK because I won today."
- Spain’s Maria Perez completes race walk "double double," winning the 20k to repeat the 20k/35k double she did in 2023
- AP Saturday recap: Anna Hall rediscovers love for track, joins Jackie Joyner-Kersee as a US heptathlon world champ
More From Tokyo
- AP: Jimmy Gressier thanks doping police for leveling the playing field After winning 10,000m gold, Gressier thanked the AIU, saying, "Today, I beat East Africa. Let’s not kid ourselves, you know I’m not picky. The AIU is doing a huge job and it helps to level the playing field a bit more."
- Keely Hodgkinson not happy with warm-up situation in Tokyo The warm-up track is not next to the stadium like it usually is, but instead is up to a 15-minute drive away.
- The Independent: "The unorthodox preparation behind George Mills’ relentless pursuit of glory" Mills is a student of the sport and says he's done "a lot of homework" watching old championship 5000m races on YouTube.
- Five things to watch on the final day of Tokyo World Champs Keely Hodgkinson goes for gold in the 800m and stacked 5000m with Jakob Ingebrigtsen, six men who have gone sub-12:50 this year (Nico Young, Biniam Mehary, George Mills, Hagos Gebrhiwet and Birhanu Balew), plus Cole Hocker and world 10,000m champ Jimmy Gressier.
Friday Worlds
Friday Worlds
The stars shined on Friday night in Tokyo. 5 gold medals were awarded on the night and all five went to people who had already won a previous global outdoor championship - Rai Benjamin (400h), Femke Bol (400h), Noah Lyles (200), Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (200), and Pedro Pichardo (TJ). We break it all down for you starting with the men's 5000 here Niel Laros got injured and Andreas Almgren was eliminated but Jakob Ingebrigtsen and all 3 Americans advanced before turning to the 800 semis where American Sage Hurta-Klecker ran well to make the final.
- MB: World Champs Day 7, Official Discussion Thread
- MB: Noah Lyles delivers yet again in the 200m - 19.52 FTW. Ties Usain Bolt with four straight world titles.
- MB: Breaking: Rai Benjamin has been DQd from the 400 hurdles after dominating it And now he’s been re-instated.
- MB: Happy birthday Jakob He advanced to the 5000m final as the last qualifier (8th) in his heat. All three Americans, Grant Fisher, Cole Hocker and Nico Young, advanced as well.
- MB: Laros appreciation thread DNF in his 5000m heat.
- MB: anyone have any reactions to Laros doing 8k of threshold after 1500m R1 heat?
Friday Videos
Friday Videos
W 200
M400h
M 200
W 400 h
W 800
W Hepthatlon
SML and Paulino ran an epic race. Haltway down the homestretch, Paulino nearly pulled even but SMl ahd responded as the two ran the second and third-fastest times ever behind Marita Koch's suspicious 47.60 world record. SML is the first athlete to win world titles in the 400 flat and 400 hurdles. Full race video is embedded
Plus the women's 800 heats were full of drama, a 21-year-old who needed a time quailifier to get out of the 400 won it, , Gout Gout only ran 20.36 and was eliminated, Shelby Houlihan thinks she can run under 14:20 and Curtis Thompson earned the US its first medal in the men’s javelin in 18 years.
Thursday MB Talk:
- World Champs - Day 6 - Official discussion thread
- US men’s mid-d and distance disaster continues. No one makes 800 final. Darn. 2019 world champ Donavan Brazier ran 1:43.82 by missed out by .02.
- Jessica Hull sent to semi SEMI FINAL!!!! She went down HARD but was advanced.
- Is Ireland’s Cian McPhillipps a surprise contender in the men’s 800? 1:43.18 NR FTW over Brazier in heat #2
- Noah on what his 19.51 in the semis means: “It tells me I was stupid enough to run 19.5 in the semi."
- Gout Gout talks after his 1st World Championships came to a premature end with a 20.36 200m
- New men's 5000m predictions This one is wide open.
Thursday Night's Live Reaction Show
- Collen Kebinatshipi becomes Botswana's first men's world champion with 43.53 400m win He beat Trinidad and Tobago Jareem Richards by .19. This event was missing all three Olympic medalists from last year as US's Quincy Hall was out with injury and GB's Matt Hudson-Smith and Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga both went out in the rounds.
- 13-years after winning Olympic gold, Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott returns to the top with his first javelin world title (88.16m) Walcott became the youngest men's javelin Olympic champ when he won gold at 19-years-old in 2012, but had never won a world medal of any color. US's Curtis Thompson took the bronze (86.67m).
- Cuba's Leyanis Perez Hernandez leaps to 14.94m TJ world lead to win gold in Tokyo Four-time world champ and WR holder Yulimar Rojas competed for the first time since 2023 (she missed last year with injury) to get bronze (14.76m).
- AP Day 6 Recap: McLaughlin-Levrone cracks 48 seconds in historically fast 400 at the worlds as Lyles sends a 19.51 message and Gout Gout (20.36) is eliminated
- Five things to watch on day seven in Tokyo What can Noah Lyles do after 19.51 in the semis?
What happened?!
Great Britain's Jake Wightman made the same move with 200m to do that he did to win the 2022 Worlds, but it came up just short this time as Portugal's Isaac Nader stunned everyone to win in 3:34.10.
- Official World Camps Day 5 Discussion thread - Women’s steeple and men’s 1500 finals
- What the F*** ISAAC NADER WORLD CHAMP. BRITS AND LAROS GO HOME DEVASTATED.
- JAKE MF WIGHTMAN 2nd PLACE SILVER
- Pay respect to the king - Jakob made this era
- Is Kerr OK? That looked like a calf pull?
- If Hocker were in the race, he would've won easily
- Did Robert Farken’s 6th place finish just prove that Cole Hocker should have been DQd? Would Beamish have won tonight’s 1500?
- In one year, will Niels Laros be everything Jakob dreamed of being - 1500 WR holder + unbeatable in championship 1500/5000s
We’ll find out if this might be possible later tonight.He finished 5th. - Why I Think Jake Wightman Will Win the 1500m Final: the “Finishing Jerk”
- WHAT JUST HAPPENED
Women's Steeple
In each of the last 5 seasons, Cherotich has set a new steeple pb and won a global medal (2 at the junior ranks). Now she's the best in the world. Is she on her way o being the GOAT?
Reaction Show
More From Tokyo
- USA's Katie Moon makes crucial final bar to win her third successive world pole vault gold She cleared 4.90m to beat teammate Sandi Morris' 4.85m. Morris has now been runner-up at five global outdoor championships (1 Olympics, 4 World Champs).
- Italy's Mattia Furlani becomes youngest men's long jump world champion with 8.39m victory
- AP Wednesday Recap: Portugal’s Isaac Nader is the out-of-nowhere winner of men’s 1,500 meters at world championships as US goes 1-2 in pole vault & Gout Gout advances in 200m
- Five things to watch on day six
The Enhanced Games
Kerley was suspended in August for whereabouts failures. In a statement he said, "This now gives me the opportunity to dedicate all my energy to pushing my limits and becoming the fastest human to ever live."
- MB: Fred Kerley to Join Enhanced Games
- Seb Coe statement from February 2024 "There's only one message and that is if anybody is moronic enough to feel that they want to take part in that, and they are from the traditional, philosophical end of our sport, they'll get banned and they'll get banned for a long time."
- UK Anti-Doping warns the Enhanced Games could "Damage the integrity of world sport irrevocably"
GST / Michael Johnson Could Face Legal Trouble
Sources say that GST owes as much as $19 million and some athletes are planning to take legal action if they aren't paid by the end of the month.
- MB: Athletes threaten to sue Grand Slam Track
- Grand Slam Track denies Michael Johnson earned $2 million while athletes went unpaid A spokes person said, "The rumors that Michael Johnson has received $2m or profited in any way from Grand Slam Track are categorically false. In fact, Michael has actually put over $2m of his own money into the project."
Catching Up On Recent NCAA XC
- College XC Roundup: Alabama's Dismus Lokira, Caren Kiplagat Win At Southern Showcase Lokira won in 23:11 and Kiplagat in 16:18. The Alabama men took the team victory while Louisville won the women's race. The Virginia men and women swept the Virginia Invitational with individual wins from Justin Wachtel (23:52) and Gillian Bushee (16:39). The Syracuse men and Penn State women won at the PSU Spike Shoe Invy lead by individual wins from Assaf Harari and Florence Caron.
- Washington State's Evans Kurui wins Cougar Classic in speedy 22:22
- No changes to top 6 ranked men's teams in week 1 NCAA XC coaches' poll Iowa State, New Mexico, OSU and BYU are ranked 1-4. *Regional Rankings
- BYU and Oregon women stay 1-2 teams in week 1 NCAA XC coaches' poll New Mexico moved up to tied for #3 with NC State. *Regional Rankings
- Preview: #20 Ranked Minnesota Women Ready To Defend Home Course At Roy Griak #16 ranked Cal Baptist lead the men's field.
- USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Announced
Tuesday Worlds Recap Show
- MB: OFFICIAL World Champs - Day 4 LIVE Discussion Thread In the 800, Cooper Lutkenhaus was eliminated but Donavan Brazier and Bryce Hoppel moved on. Grant Holloway didn’t make the 110h final which was won by Cordell Tinch. SML ran a sensational 48.29 and Faith Kipyegon won her 7th global title with a masterful performance.
Tuesday Distance Recaps
Kipyegon joins Usain Bolt, Sergey Bubka, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Anita Włodarczyk as the only athletes to win seven global titles in one event. American Nikki Hiltz had their best championship finish ever but missed the medals in 5th.
16-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus ran 1:47.68 for 7th in his World Championships 800m heat as teammates Donavan Brazier and Bryce Hoppel advanced.
Tuesday's non-distance action
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ran 48.29 in Tokyo to break Sanya Richards-Ross’s American 400m record and moves closer to the 47.60 world record.
What a wild story.
- New Zealand's Hamish Kerr takes HJ gold after duel with South Korea's Sanghyeok Woo The Olympic champion Kerr had a clutch clearance at 2.36m to beat Woo's 2.34m. Afterward Kerr said, "Geordie (Beamish) and I won world indoor titles on the same day. He gave me a kick after his win last night, so I had to win, too. It's really cool to share our best moments together."
- Canada's Ethan Katzberg retain's his world hammer title with championship record 84.70m
More From Tokyo
- Cole Hocker makes statement on his 1500m DQ; Hocker’s agents (Flynn Sports) call officials "amateur" Hocker said, "Extremely disappointed not to get the chance to defend my 1500m title this year. As always, championships are unpredictable, but there’s no time to feel sorry for myself. Looking forward to the first round of the 5k this Friday."
- Mongolia had a 43-year-old marathoner compete in his 18th global championship in Tokyo Ser-Od Bat-Ochir ran 2:30:09 for 65th place. He has a 2:08:50 PB from 2014 and ran a 2:13:59 season's best earlier this year.
- Cooper Lutkenhaus talks after missing Worlds 800m semi-final, admits he still has "homework to do on this trip"
- Mondo Duplantis is using new "claw shoes" to help him break the pole vault WR The spikes have a unique hooked spike at the front. He says he only wears them when he's making a WR attempt because sometimes he cuts himself on the hook.
- World Athletics warns GB over Jeremiah Azu's "100% Jesus" headband Religious and political slogans are banned at the World Championships.
- Five things to watch on day five in Tokyo The men's 1500m final is at 9:20AM ET.
Olympic champion Cole Hocker was disqualified in the 1500m semi-final at Worlds for jostling after finishing 2nd. The U.S. has appealed the decision.
- Discussion: Cole DQ'd
Best kick in the world
Beamish had not won a steeple since his debut in April 2023, but launched an all-time kick to go from 11th to 1st on the last lap and deny Soufiane El Bakkali's bid for a fifth straight global title.
Monday Worlds Talk
- Cole DQ'd
- GEORDIE MF BEAMISH
- Rober Farken: The contact with Cole Hocker "wouldn't have made any difference" He said that initially but once he watched the replay he thought he was impeded.
- World Champs - Day 3
- Everyone apologize to Ritz NOW
- My hot take: Hocker's chances at gold just went up 1
- Cole Hocker: is this the worst season post Olympics for an OG winner?
- El Bakkali: is this a cultural thing?
- What are American marathoners getting wrong?
Day 3 Monday
In one of the best marathon finishes in history, Simbu ran down Germany's Amanal Petros and outleaned him at the line to win Tanzania's first-ever World Championships gold by hundredths as both men were credited with a time of 2:09:48.
More Worlds Coverage
Duplantis broke the WR for the 14th time in his career with a third-attempt clearance at 6.30m. Greece's Emmanouil Karalis took silver with 6.00m.
- Switzerland's Ditaji Kambundji produces the race of a lifetime to get 100H gold with 12.24 PB It was an upset win over WR holder Tobi Amusan (2nd in 12.29) and Olympic champion Massai Russell who finished outside the medals in 4th (12.44). US's Grace Stark took the bronze with 12.34.
- DyeStat profile: Nine-time US champ Sandi Morris has never won a global outdoor title, but is going for gold in Tokyo Morris has been silver four times outdoors (once at the Olympics and three times at Worlds).
- Julien Alfred withdraws from World 200m due to hamstring strain She said she felt the hamstring bothering her a little bit during warm-ups before she took 100m bronze on Sunday.
- Gout Gout says he is "ready to rumble" ahead of World Champs debut He admitted he has "a few butterflies" and is hoping he can make the semis and "even greater," make the final.
- Canada's Camryn Rogers throws #2 all-time (80.51m) to defend her world hammer title
- Medal hope Molly Caudery forced to withdraw from women's pole vault due to ankle injury The 2024 world indoor champion (ranked 4th in the world this year) hurt her ankle during her warm-up.
- Five things to watch on day 4 of World Champs Faith Kipyegon goes for her 4th world 1500m title.
Jimmy Gressier was the surprise winner of the 10,000m as Grant Fisher and Nico Young were left off the medal stand.
Jefferson-Wooden destroyed the field with a 10.61 championship record while Seville ran a 9.77 pb to defeat fellow Jamaican Kishane Thompson (9.82) as Olympic champ Noah Lyles was 3rd in 9.89.
- MB: TOKYO WORLD CHAMPS 2025 DAY 2 THREAD!!!!
- MB: Jimmy MF Gressier SHOCKS the world in the 10k - Americans are SHUT OUT of the medals.
- MB: Melissa Jefferson-Wooden 10.61 FTW at Worlds. DESTROYS FIELD. r
- MB: OBLIQUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oblique Seville silence the doubters. Jamaica 1-2 in 100m
Worlds Day 2
Olympic champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen failed to advance from the 1500m heats at Worlds. Neither dd Phaneul Koech orAzeddine Habz. We break it down.
Worlds Marathon
Just as she did at last year's London Marathon, Jepchirchir (2:24:43) outkicked Assefa (2:24:45) in a fierce final 400 meters as Uruguay's Julia Paternain (2:27:23), who ran in the NCAA at Penn State and Arkansas, was a shocking 3rd. American Susanna Sullivan (2:28:17) was 4th after leading at halfway.
Day 2 Talk:
- TOKYO WORLD CHAMPS 2025 DAY 2 THREAD!!!!
- Jakob post race interview translated
- Jakob doesn't make semi in 1500!
- My Unhinged Jakob Ingebrigtsen Take – The Era is Over
- Appreciate Jakob
- Heat 1: Kerr looks good, Strand in trouble? “That was f*%*{ing hard'
- Josh Kerr: ‘It’s my world 1500m title. If they want it they can come and get it’
- Jakob and Phanuel Koech out in last 1500m heat
- The 1500 today was the most brutal round one in history.
- Niels Laros smiles “heys guys, I’ll speak to you after the final, ok?”
- Habz has no explanation as to why he failed to qualify
- Habz is the Worst 3:27 guy of all time
- Marathon: Julia MF Paternain! 🇺🇾🥉
Chebet’s run which included a 27.11 final 200 was one of the highlights on day 1 in Tokyo, alongside an epic gut-it-out win from Ryan Crouser in the shot put (his fifth consecutive global title). There was a surprise in the men’s 100m where South Africa’s Gift Leotlela led all qualifiers by running a 9.87 personal best.
- Day 1 Official Day 1 2025 Worlds Discussion Thread
- Nadia MF Battocletti She got a 2nd straight silver.
- Conventional wisdom (and Kara Goucher's) take on how Tsegay should beat Chebet is dead wrong Rojo thinks trying to drop Chebet is insane. If you are Tsegay, you try to outsprint her as a 1500 runner.
- Beamish Will Medal at 2025 WC
- Jakobs interesting spike modification
Olympic silver medallist Kenneth Rooks didn't make the final, but Dan Michalski did and so did Geordie Beamish despite a fall on the final lap.
More World Champs Coverage
- Geordie Beamish had his face stepped on, but still got up to qualify for world steeple final Beamish fell while going over a barrier at the start of the last lap and was stepped on by another runner. But he sprang back up and kicked from 8th to 2nd place over the final 300m.
- Ryan Crouser seals world title hat-track after a year of injury Crouser hadn't competed since September last year, but came out and won his third consecutive world title with 22.32m.
- MB: Josh Kerr: ‘It’s my world 1500m title. If they want it they can come and get it’ Talking about his competition he said, “These guys have run well all season. That’s fantastic. But I beat Cole every time that I’ve raced him over 1500m this year. I don’t believe I’ve ever lost to Laros. And if you look at how my history has worked, I make a big jump at this time of the season. It’s one of those things where people get excited about the new shiny toys. It’s my title. If they want it, they can come get it.”
- USA retains world title with dominant mixed 4x400m display They won in 3:08.80, holding off the Femke Bol-anchored Netherlands (3:09.96).
- Five things to watch on day two in Tokyo The men's and women's 100m finals should both be great.
- Men's 35k race walk recap
- Women's 35k race walk recap
RIP To A Coaching Legend
Daniels had a prolific career as an athlete, coach and exercise scientist. He won two Olympic medals in the modern pentathlon, did exercise testing for various groups including Nike's Athletics West elite team in Eugene and held numerous coaching positions which included advising on the training of Jim Ryun while working with the 1968 US Olympic team and winning seven DIII women's national XC titles while at Cortland. And of course, he indirectly contributed to the coaching of thousands of high school and college athletes through his training book, Daniels’ Running Formula.
The Ultimate LetsRun Story In Our 25 Year History & One Of Our Favorite Jonathan Gault Features - Read It Now
After five coaches, six states, and hundreds of hours of listening to the LetsRun.com Track Talk Podcast, steepler Dan Michalski will make his World Championship debut in Tokyo. He dedicated his runner-up finish at USAs to the grinders who keep going without a big shoe contract. "They know the grind, they know what it’s like to fight through injuries, what it’s like to feel like you have the talent to make a team and keep coming up short," Michalski says. "This is for them, in a sense."
The Ultimate 10,000 Preview
Billy Mills shocked the world in Tokyo 61 years ago. Can an American win a second global 10,000 title in the same city 61 years later? This is the ULTIMATE 10,000 preview.
Who will win the 10,000 at the 2025 Worlds?
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Prediction Contest
Track’s biggest showdowns are here. Pick your podiums, win bragging rights, and maybe even a LetsRun Supporters Club membership in our $200,025 Worlds Prediction Contest.
The LetsRun.com prediction contest team for Worlds is set. Meet the three winners from the USAs contest and see how they pulled it off. Don’t forget to enter the Worlds contest next.
Sean Brosnan & Chris Lear & Andrew Greif's book is here
In Beyond Fast, Sean Brosnan, with Chris Lear and Andrew Greif, traces the unlikely rise of Newbury Park High School from an overlooked program to a distance-running powerhouse. Packed with behind-the-scenes stories, training insights, and cultural shifts, the book shows how Brosnan and his athletes rewrote the high school record books.
Sean Brosnan Podcast
From BMX to building the greatest HS team ever, Sean Brosnan tells us how he did it at Newbury Park, plus what really went on at UCLA, and what’s next. Don’t miss this one.
Data doesn't lie
We've run the numbers by comparing Lutkenhaus's run against every other age-16 world record, and the data is clear.
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.
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
- Part II: SC How Josh Hoey Went from Also-Ran to World Indoor Champion, Part II: Going All-In With Justin Rinaldi & The Fast 8 Track Club Hoey's career had stagnated until connecting with Rinaldi in 2023. Within minutes of seeing him train in-person, Rinaldi knew he was special: "I said, if I can’t get this guy to run 1:44, there’s something wrong with me."
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."
Your latest American stars share their insights.
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.
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
Take Your Love of LetsRun to the Next Level
Take Your Love of LetsRun to the Next Level
LetsRun Classics
LetsRun Classics
