It’s On Again: Emmanuel Bor and Paul Chelimo Will Go For The American Indoor 5000 Record on Thursday at 6 pm ET (23:00 CET)
By LetsRun.com
March 17, 2021
Update: Live Stream will be here:
Two weeks ago, Emmanuel Bor of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program and the American Distance Project gave Galen Rupp’s American indoor 5000 record of 13:01.26 and the 13:00 barrier a real scare. On pace until the final 800, Bor ended up running 13:05.60 — the second-fastest time ever recorded by an American indoors.
Bor has decided he wants another shot at the record. On Thursday, Bor and training partners Paul Chelimo, the 2016 Olympic silver medallist at 5000, and Hillary Bor, a 2016 Olympian in the steeplechase (and Emmanuel’s brother), will race the 5000 again along with a few others including 13:17 man Willy Fink in the Boost Treadmills 5,000 at the brand new Virginia Beach Sports Complex.
The event will once again be broadcast worldwide for free right here on LetsRun.com and on our social media channels including Youtube and Facebook. The Boost Treadmills 5000 starts at 6:00 p.m. ET (23:00 CET) but our coverage will start at 5:45 p.m. ET (22:45 CET).
Originally, the group was scheduled to go after the 10,000 Olympic qualifying standard of 27:28.00 but after coming so close two weeks ago, they decided to give the record another shot, particularly after they learned that USATF will be staging an elite 10,000 in May.
This time, the strategy is going to be different, however. Last time, the Light Speed Pacing lights were set at 12:58 pace. After the race, Bor said he wished he went out a little bit slower and this time the athletes will be going for a negative split. Coach Scott Simmons told LetsRun.com on Tuesday he is going instruct David Hudman to set the pacing lights at 13:06 pace for the first 4k and then let the guys race it out for glory and hopefully an American record over the final 1k.
Instead of just having a time trial, a real race with an American record cash bonus on the line from Boost Treadmills could make the difference.
“This has been a strange year, very difficult. It would be rewarding to pull something good out of it before we turn the page from indoors to the 3-month march to the outdoor Olympic Trials. This is the kick off for Eugene. You will see something special in Eugene,” texted Simmons on Tuesday night.
Men’s 3k/5k
Willy Fink* – Under Armour
Leonard Korir^ – US Army
Lawi Lalang^ – US Army
Anthony Rotich** – US Army
** = Steeplechasers will be given an official 3000 result and may stop there. They may serve as the unofficial rabbits as Willy Fink is planning on racing this one, not rabbiting like he did last time.