Nico Young Runs 12:45.27 to Earn Historic 5,000m Win at Oslo Diamond League

The Diamond League has been around since 2010. Never in its 16-year history have we seen an American 5,000-meter runner do what Nico Young did on Thursday, when he ran 12:45.27 to win his Diamond League debut at the Bislett Games in Oslo.

Americans have won Diamond Leagues before. Americans have run fast in Diamond Leagues before. But never has an American gone up against some of the world’s top 5,000m men and beaten them in a fast race the way the 22-year-old Young did on Thursday.

Bernard Lagat came close in 2011, when he ran an American record of 12:53.60 in Monaco but narrowly lost to Mo Farah (back when 12:53 was fast). Grant Fisher almost did it in 2022, when he ran an American record 12:46.96 in Brussels only for Jacob Krop to break him in the final 100 meters. Young finished the job at Oslo’s Bislett Stadion, seizing the lead from George Mills (who would run 12:46.59 to smash Farah’s British record) on the final turn and holding off a late charge from 18-year-old Ethiopian Biniam Mehary (12:45.93) to earn a historic victory in one of the sport’s greatest venues.

To put this in perspective for you, LetsRun ‘s Robert Johnson believes this is the first time in nearly 47 years that an American man has gone to Europe and won a 5000 while running within 10 seconds of the world record. Way back on July 4, 1978, Marty Liquori won in Stockholm in 13:16.21 when Henry Rono‘s WR was 13:08.4.

(MB: When is the last time, if ever, that an American went to Europe and won a 5000, running within 10 seconds of world record?)

“It was a crazy race,” Young told meet organizers. “This surprised me a little bit but I am really proud that I managed to stay on this pace all this time. Coming into the race, I was not 100% sure what I was going to do. There were so many scenarios of what could have happened. As I progressed, as I got to 3k, I was like: OK, I do not feel like too terrible, so I will try to do something too and will wait and see. The best is yet to come.”

Young’s time was the fastest ever by an American outdoors and trails only Fisher’s 12:44.09 indoor world record from February on the US all-conditions list. A few seconds behind Young, Graham Blanks, 23, ran 12:48.20 to finish 7th to move to #3 on the US all-time list. Counting Fishers’s indoor mark, Americans now sit 1-2 on the 2025 world list in the 5,000 meters, and the US final on August 3 figures to be one of the most competitive distance races ever staged at a US national championship. The men entering that race face a harsh reality: to make the team for this year’s World Championships in Tokyo, you must either be a 12:40s guy or you must beat one.

The Race

If you were designing a race to run 12:45, you could hardly have done better than what Mother Nature and the meet organizers cooked up on Thursday. Billed as a world record attempt in the buildup, the race lost some star power in the buildup when Jakob Ingebrigtsen was sidelined with an Achilles injury and Ethiopian Olympic 10,000 silver medalist Berihu Aregawi withdrew earlier this week. But with Hagos Gebrhiwet and Yomif Kejelcha, who ran 12:36.73 and 12:38.95 in Oslo last year, and with a packed stadium and temperatures in the low-60s, this one was bound to be fast.

Before the start, it seemed as if the world record was never going to happen as the Wavelight was set to hit 3,000 meters in 7:42 (12:50 pace) before picking up dramatically for the final 2,000 to catch up to Joshua Cheptegei‘s 12:35.36 world record, meaning to hit the WR the runners would have to close in 4:53 for the final 5000. But the wavelight was PERFECT for targeting a time in the 12:40s. And then the rabbits and racers did exactly that as a pack of 13 men hit 3,000 in 7:42-43 with Kejelcha leading the way. When the pace lagged on the fourth-to-last lap (64.89), Mills took over with a kilometer remaining and made sure the field finished strong, going 61.92-59.32 to hit the bell in 11:50. At that point, Young was 4th and well-positioned to strike, which he did midway through the final turn, powering home with a 26-second final 200 to close out a 4:00 final 1600.

Back in 13th, Cooper Teare ran 12:57.05, which would have stood as the American record as recently as 2009. Not anymore. We are officially in a new era of American distance running.

Full race replay, results, and quick take analysis appear below.

Race replay cued to start with 600m to go (Need a VPN for a US IP? Use the VPN we use).

Quick Take: Nico Young came to Europe to gain experience racing the best in the world. He got that and then some today.

Prior to today, Nico Young had run precisely one race in his life outside of the United States: last year’s Olympic 10,000 final in Paris. He ran well in that race — 12th in 26:58.11, an impressive time at the end of a long season of collegiate racing — but he and coach Mike Smith felt he needed more experience against the world’s best athletes before the World Championships in Tokyo in September. Hence a trip to Europe, with races in the Oslo and Paris (June 20) Diamond Leagues.

Today’s race was a lot faster than what Young will face in Tokyo — there won’t be any Wavelight or pacers at Worlds — but this was not a pure time trial either as Young had to race some guys over the final lap. Smith told LetsRun afterwards that while the time is great, he felt the win was most important.

Worlds will be even more difficult. None of last year’s Olympic 5,000/10,000 medalists were in Oslo — Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Grant Fisher, Berihu Aregawi, Ronald Kwemoi, and Joshua Cheptegei. And the meet is still three months away, which is a long time in track & field (none of the five men to win a Diamond League 3,000/5,000 before the Olympics last year medalled in Paris).

But those are good problems to have. The biggest takeaways from today are that Young is one of the best distance runners on the planet right now, and his ceiling has become clear: World/Olympic medalist. And at just 22 years old, Young still has room to improve. The last three Americans to earn 5,000/10,000 medals won their first medals at age 25 (Chelimo), 26 (Galen Rupp), and 27 (Fisher).

Quick Take: After a breakout 2024, Nico Young has made another leap in 2025.

Young did not win an NCAA individual title during his first three years at Northern Arizona from 2020-23. Then in 2024, he made a huge breakthrough, becoming the first collegian to break 13:00 for 5,000 and 27:00 for 10,000 and showing a newfound kick to sweep the 3,000 and 5,000 at NCAA indoors. He then made the Olympic team in the 10,000 and finished 12th in Paris.

After the year was over, Young’s coach Mike Smith maintained that Young was just scratching the surface and had another leap to make. Bold words considering Young already enjoyed many of the benefits that lead to breakthroughs as pros — year-round altitude training and a world-class coach.

But Smith has been proven right. Young ran 12:51 indoors, a six-second improvement on last year, which was even more impressive than it sounds, considering he missed 10 days of training in the buildup to that race after being attacked by a dog while running in Phoenix. He then demonstrated an impressive kick to win the 3,000 at Grand Slam Track Philadelphia on June 1. Now he is a 12:45 guy.

Before the race, Smith explained to LetsRun why he was so confident Young would improve a lot in 2025.

“In 2024 we were still in the NCAA system which is unforgiving even with your best efforts to protect athletes. Frequency of racing but also the inability to have long specific blocks of training that aren’t always interrupted. He did what he did his last year of college in conditions that weren’t optimized. I knew once we had control of the calendar it would provide the great enhancement to his peaking, which you will see this summer. As you know, for a kid that runs XC, indoor, outdoor, it’s a lot. Then go right into a pro summer,” wrote Smith via text.

The guy Young’s trajectory most resembles is another Mike Smith-coached athlete: Galen Rupp. Both men were essentially training like pros while in high school (Young at Newbury Park High School under coach Sean Brosnan, Rupp under Alberto Salazar). Both failed to win an NCAA title until their final season, when they suddenly started winning after unveiling a newfound kick. And both made their first US 10,000 team at the tender age of 21. Rupp left college as a very accomplished runner but still managed to go up a level as a pro. Young looks to be doing the same.

One thing to monitor: Young is sponsored by adidas, but Smith is now a Nike coach. Nike has permitted Smith to continue coaching Young for the duration of his current contract. Since Young only signed last year, that end date is likely several years away. But if Smith keeps coaching with Nike, at some point Young will either have to sign with Nike or leave Smith.

(Hat tip Gordon Mack for noting the Rupp/Young similarities).

Quick Take: Across the 1500/mile, 5000, and steeple, American men have won nine Diamond Leagues. This was definitely one of the most impressive.

It’s not unprecedented for an American man to win a Diamond League in one of the distance races, but it is rare. It has only happened nine times in the 16-year history of the Diamond League — though five of them have come within the last three years, largely due to Yared Nuguse piling up three victories in the 1500.

American male DL victories in 1500/mile, 5000, and steeple

Of those victories, Nuguse’s two Zurich wins are the most impressive. In 2023, he beat Josh Kerr a week after Kerr won Worlds, and in 2024 he beat the entire Olympic podium plus Ingebrigtsen. But Young’s win today was clearly more impressive than True’s (who beat a weak field) and Chelimo’s (where the time was slower). Today’s race had similarities to Jager’s win in Monaco and Nuguse’s in London in that the field was missing one or two of the very best guys, but all three Americans had to run fast and beat some top athletes to earn their victories.

Quick Take: Graham Blanks was sensational as well

On any other day, an American running 12:48.20 for 5,000 meters would be a humongous story. Just like Young, Blanks was a two-time NCAA champion in college at Harvard, and both of Blanks’ wins came in the “hardest race to win” for a college athlete — NCAA XC. And unlike Young, who has been a full-time pro this year, Blanks has balanced his professional schedule this spring with wrapping up his final semester at Harvard. No biggie.

Blanks’ time today was a big improvement on his 12:59.89 pb from December, and he is now just the third American under 12:50 (only Fisher had done it before today).

US all-time 5,000m list

It’s hard to miss that the top three times on the US all-time list are all from the first half of 2025. Obviously the runners of the 2020s such as Fisher, Young, and Blanks have the benefit of shoe/spike technology far superior to their predecessors.

But it’s not all the shoes. Fisher is a double Olympic medalist. Young just won a Diamond League. Blanks won back-to-back NCAA XC titles. Those are rare feats for any American distance runner. You still need some pretty talented feet to fit in those super shoes.

Quick Take: The 5,000 at USAs is going to be an absolute war

The USA only gets three spots in the 5,000 meters at the 2025 World Championships, which means that only three of the following men can make the team:

• Grant Fisher: 12:44.06 pb, world indoor record holder, double Olympic medalist.
• Nico Young: 12:45.27 pb, just won Oslo Diamond League.
• Graham Blanks: 12:48.20 pb, 9th at 2024 Olympics.
• Abdihamid Nur: 13:03.17 pb, 2023 US champion.
• Parker Wolfe: 13:10.75 pb, 2024 NCAA champion, 3rd at 2024 Olympic Trials.
• Cole Hocker: 12:57.82 pb (for now, likely to change on Sunday in Stockholm), 2024 Olympic 1500 champion.
• Cooper Teare: 12:54.72 pb, 2022 US 1500 champion.
• Dylan Jacobs: 13:07.89 pb, 5th at World Indoors 3000.
• Sam Gilman: 13:15.58 pb, 4th at World Indoors 3000.

There are a few caveats here. It’s possible that Young or Blanks could chose to focus solely on the 10,000 if they make that team (the 10,000 is on Thursday at USAs, the 5,000 is on Sunday). And the US could earn an extra spot if an American wins the Diamond League final — which is not impossible given how well Fisher and Young have been running this year.

But the bottom line is that this is going to be a brutally difficult team to make — one of the hardest ever in an American distance event.

Talk about Young’s amazing run on our world-famous fan forum / messageboard at letsrun.com/forum:

• Nico MF Young. Holy shit. Nico Young 12:45.27 FTW in Oslo outdoor AR!!!! George Mills British record!! Young wins WR attempt in Oslo. Wow.
• When is the last time, if ever, that an American went to Europe and won a 5000, running within 10 seconds of world record?
• Official 2025 Bislett Live Discussion Thread 
• What new drugs are all these American runners taking?