Sacrifice the gift ⏱
Lap 25: Sponsored by Under Armour
How much faster can you get in one month?
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The fastest ever? 🇯🇲
10.54 — The Prefontaine Classic’s most anticipated race certainly lived up to the hype thanks to 5x Olympic gold medalist and now second-fastest woman of all-time, Elaine Thompson-Herah. Although the event was billed as the Olympic final (plus Sha’Carri) we were deprived of, within the first 10 meters of the race it was clear it would be more of a rerun of what transpired in Tokyo. It just seemed that the weight of the world on Sha’Carri Richardson’s shoulders was too much to carry. But as far as giving the people something to talk about, the subpar performance from the US Champ created significantly more conversation than if she had finished a close 2nd or 3rd to break up the Jamaican trio.
Has there been a more polarizing figure in the sport’s recent history than Sha’Carri? The specific stance any given track fan takes on rooting for or against her offers more insight into their own personality than any Meyers-Briggs test or BuzzFeed quiz could ever provide. But regardless of where you stand — my god is she good for the sport!
Of course for this rivalry to continue she’ll need to bounce back and make it competitive, which she will. A 21-year-old’s talent doesn’t disappear in a month, although the media attention plus self-inflicted pressure may have temporarily Space Jammed her superpowers. But if you think Sha’Carri stole the winner Elaine’s thunder, then what about Florence Griffith-Joyner?
Or more specifically…the anemometer from the 1988 Olympic Trials on the day 10.49 became the women’s 100m world record. There is no doubt that she ran that fast, but there are high levels of suspicion that she may have had some help from the elements (check out this incredible oral history for some context). The maximum allowable wind reading is +2.0 m/s, which means a ~4.5 mph wind can be at the athlete’s back and the time would still count for record purposes. Parallel to the straightaway was the triple jump runway and the marks before and after Flo-Jo’s record run, the wind readings were measured as +4.3 and +2.9 — Willie Banks lifetime best mark came that same day, but his unbelievable jump of 18.20 had a +5.2 assist. There were 3 women in the race who broke 11 for the first and only time in their careers in that heat. The TV announcers quickly stated that the time on the clock was not going to be WR legal, but they were wrong — the anemometer read 0.0 m/s. Flo-Jo would go on to run 10.61 (+1.6) the next day — a time many pundits claim should have become the legitimate world record.
This is not to discredit the accomplishments of Florence Griffith-Joyner, who would go on to win 3 gold medals that year in Seoul. But instead, let’s suppose that the wind gauge didn’t accurately capture how big of a boost FloJo received, meaning that Elaine Thompson-Herah, would have tied the world record of 10.61 in Tokyo — then obliterated it at Pre. All the more shameful that she wouldn’t get interviewed by NBC after winning a race in what was quite possibly the fastest legitimate time ever. Just for fun: Elaine Thompson-Herah’s best times adjusted for perfect conditions is worth a WR — maybe the debate around “anemometer-gate” won’t matter much longer.
Losing in style 🤘
Craig Engels seems to be coping extremely well with the fact that he finished in 4th place at the Olympic Trials — again. In what has essentially been a publicized summer road trip with some racing thrown in to cover gas money, the man with the mullet has cemented himself as a counter-cultural hero for running-obsessed teenage boys without prom dates, nationwide.
If you’ve followed his past few months, it should come as no surprise that Craig’s goal of having fun and injecting some character in the sport was accomplished during Friday’s International Mile. With 100m to go, Engels motioned to the crowd in an act of early celebration as he passed by Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, but he failed to account for the hard-closing Kiwi, Geordie Beamish, who blew by him to win in 3:54.86.
But our beloved RV-dwelling Icarus was too busy laughing at himself to be embarrassed. That’s the beautiful and terrible thing about summer racing — it only matters as much as you want it to. However, it is a great way to create a platform to remind Nike to not lowball Craig on his impending contract negotiation or else he’s going to retire — maybe. His 2017 signing with the then Oregon Project was an all-time great PR move to help increase the group’s likability at a time when it was most desperately needed. And if I know Nike, they always repay loyalty!
3 inches short of another WR 🇫🇷 🇦🇺 🇿🇼
No shame in temporarily forgetting that the hurdles were a few inches short — it happens to the best of us!
When France’s Sasha Zhoya ran an incredible 12.72 in Nairobi at the World Athletics U20 Championships it required a quick double take — Aries Merrit’s WR is 12.80. But eventually we all remembered that the juniors compete over 99cm hurdles instead of the standard 107cm. Regardless, Zhoya’s mark still demolished the previous world record of 12.99.
His recent success has the whole world laying claim to him. His mother is French, his father is Zimbabwean, but he grew up in Australia. And nationalities aside, pole vaulting as an event is probably eyeing him with great interest. In addition to being an exceptional hurdler, Zhoya vaulted 5.56m in 2019 — high enough to have won the U20 title in that event as well. Now the question is can his hurdling technique make the 3 inch jump? At 6 feet tall, Zhoya may be on the shorter side of an elite hurdler. Hansle Parchment, the gold medal winner is 6’5”, but Aries Merrit is 6’1” — and does it matter when you can get yourself 18.5 feet in the air?
Where has the time gone? 🇳🇴
It feels like it was just yesterday that a 16-year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen first broke the 4-minute barrier at the Pre Classic. Now 4 years and 11-seconds later, he’s running 3:47.24 to win the Bowerman Mile in what was the fastest time ever on American soil. After his Olympic victory, his father and coach, Gjert, said that Cheruiyot would never beat Jakob again — and so far the prophecy holds true. Before Tokyo, Timothy Cheruiyot had dominated the record, having won all 12 of their head-to-head races. Most of us would be mortified if a parent came out talking such a big game to the media on our behalf, but this isn’t the normal father-son relationship. And at this point, it would seem Gjert isn’t often wrong.
And neither is Nick Willis. If you haven’t seen his entry into the vlog game, he broke down the possibility of Jakob breaking the 1500/Mile WRs here. I think we found our next great TV commentator.
If you want to get some chills, check out this video of the home Norwegian crowd reacting to Jakob’s Olympic victory here.
Dear NCAA, here we come 🇳🇬
Imaobong Nse Uko and Udodi Chudi Onwuzurike both have incredibly bright futures ahead of them. At 17-years-old, Uko, the Nigerian 400m runner has already competed at the Olympics and holds a personal best of 51.55, just set in Nairobi— how lucky are the Baylor Bears to land a recruit like that? And Udodi just graduated from Brother Rice HS in Michigan before winning the U20 World Championship 200m in 20.21. He’ll be heading off to Stanford in the fall.
It’d be a shame for that to be jeopardized! Team Nigeria was giving prize money to their athletes who medaled and so to remain eligible, their respective $5,000 awards are being held in a trust for them until they graduate. Although the NCAA recently adopted NIL rules create new revenue stream opportunities for athletes, winning races doesn’t fall under the category of “name, image or likeness.” I’m still working on a loophole where winners of races can be paid for their likeness: “you look like you just won this race, here’s some money!” But until I crack the code, this trust system is likely here to stay.
What else can you say?
Athing Mu set the American Record at the Pre Classic winning in 1:55.04. It was the perfect season and there’s not much I can opine about in this newsletter to make that point more obvious. Athing ran in 36 races this year and including prelims and relays, she won 35 of them! It really makes you wonder how impressive those stats must’ve been for the women who were nominated for the Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award over her.
Interested in supporting athletes? Subscribe to our premium newsletter, The Victory Lap to help financially support elite athletes by reading exclusive interviews with them! On Friday morning we will be publishing a conversation with US Finalist and 4:05 1500m runner, Eleanor Fulton about how her love of competing drives her to continue chasing goals as an unsponsored athlete.
Guten Tag from Berlin! 🇩🇪🇰🇪
It was a good day for Joyciline Jepkosgei at the Berlin Half Marathon where she posted a 65:16 to break Sifan Hassana’s previous course record. The 2019 New York City Marathon winner is preparing for London in October, where she’ll get her shot at her countrywoman, Brigid Kosgei, who is the world record holder (2:14:04) and fresh off a silver medal at the Olympics. But Jepkosgei is a WR holder in her own right for the road 5k (14:32) and 10k (29:43 )— depending on who you ask. Although her 2017 5k race is the fastest ever, technically World Athletics did not recognize the road distance as an official event until 2 months after she “set” it. So it’s not, but you and I both know it is.
The race outside the race 💸
With all six World Marathon Majors happening within six weeks of each other, it’s been a bit overwhelming to follow who is running where. But from a biased New Yorker’s POV, the New York City Marathon’s announcement this week won, as it’s absolutely teeming with fun storylines to follow for the race’s 50th running. Headlining the show is the Olympic champion, Peres Jepchirchir, who has never run or won one of the majors. The entire US Women’s national team is back with Molly Seidel, Sally Kipyego and Aliphine Tuliamuk set to line up — followed by the likes of Emily Sisson, Steph Bruce, Kellyn Taylor and Des Linden, who will be doubling back after Boston. Why get one appearance fee when you can get two?
The men’s field’s biggest name is Kenenisa Bekele, who comes to the Big Apple following a snub by the Ethiopian federation for an at-large Olympic bid. Although he certainly won’t better his PB of 2:01:41 over the bridges, if his eleven World XC titles are any indication, he should be up for the hills. Bekele has no shortage of confidence, recently claiming, ‘I still feel that I am the best and better than anyone.’( Life must be so fun if you walk around all the time feeling that way about yourself!)
That supreme sense of confidence comes even knowing he’ll line up against a pretty stellar field as there will also be the Netherland’s recent silver medalist, Abdi Nageeye. And the long awaited debut of Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie is finally happening — if he just goes out in his half marathon WR pace of 57:32 then all he has to do is hold on for 67 minutes and he’ll smash the course record. All that plus the American contingent, led by Jared Ward, Ben True and Noah Droddy, makes you wonder what this year’s elite budget must have been.
We need more collabs! ///
If you’re going to invest money into pro runners then you might as well commit to integrating them into the brand. At the turn of the millennium, Nike produced spikes named for Bob Kennedy (the runner), which was cool because they weren’t a gimmick — they were legitimately some of the best shoes out there.
In that same spirit, more than a few years later, Adidas just dropped some special edition Tinman Elite Adizero Boston 10s this week, which has grabbed the attention of sneakerheads who likely aren’t using them in a fall marathon anytime soon.
The Bowerman Track Club has been used to promote some recent versions of the Pegasus and Skechers has utilized Meb for his own line of shoe, but why don’t we see way more of this?
One hurdle is the lead time it takes to actually develop a line of shoes and how it compares to the inconsistent timeline of a track athlete's career. During his worst, most injury-plagued season, LeBron is averaging 25 points a game, but even the best runners in the world get hurt and suddenly disappear. That’s why the team model makes sense. Plus, the most coveted demographic for running companies is the high school crowd and the high school crowd loves this group. How many more times can a brand market a shoe by saying it is the lightest, best cushioned and most responsive yet? Might as well mix it up with some YouTube videos — oh, and why not make them look cool to non-runners too?
11 minutes with Sydney
If you ever thought life would be way easier if you could just, you know, achieve all your wildest dreams, think again. Sydney McLaughlin was a noted absence at the Prefontaine Classic, but on Monday she shared an 11-minute confessional with her 1-million Instagram followers that may provide some insight as to why. Although on the surface the season seemed to have gone perfectly — breaking the World Record twice and taking home the Olympic gold at 21-years-old doesn’t leave much left to be desired — this video, taken two days after the Trials, reminds us that success isn’t always as sweet as it seems.
Speaking personally and with no knowledge at all about the specifics of what Sydney is referring to, being a professional athlete is a weird career. Having training partners is different from having teammates. Your success is no longer theirs and that changes the dynamic of the relationship. It was a weird shift after college to realize that I was now going to be running for myself and no one would ever again be a fraction as invested in how well I ran as I was. Depending on your perspective, that could be liberating, but it’s definitely an adjustment. My college teammates cared about my job about as much as I cared about theirs.
Sydney is speaking the truth about the sport — it’s an individual endeavor and it can feel lonely, especially at the top. It is upsetting to see Sydney struggle instead of celebrating her accomplishments, however, she is drawing all the right conclusions. At the end of the day it should be about doing it for yourself, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important to be surrounded by love and positivity. The takeaway from this isn’t just to wish Sydney well and provide words of encouragement about how impressive her season was. Athletes deserve respect for their hard work regardless of how fast they run and if they win or lose. But if she is having these feelings, then it’s easy to imagine there are people in our own lives who aren’t feeling appreciated as well — it’s worth reaching out to them too.
(This post gives some additional insight into what a lot of the athletes are currently feeling. I’ve had the thought that never reaching the pinnacle of the sport was quietly a blessing that made my retirement easier, but more on that soon.)
TRACK WATCH 📺
Lausanne Diamond League — Thursday, 8/25 — Streaming on Peacock and NBC Sports (2pm-4pm ET) — Elaine Thompson and SFAP are in the 100. Karsten Warholm is racing the flat 400. Fred Kerley vs. Stephen Gardiner vs. Kenny Bednarek in the 200. Dalilah Muhammad is in the 400mH. Jakob vs. Barega vs. Chelimo in the 3k. The full podium is back in the men’s 800m and Shot Put.
Paralympics — Friday, 8/26 to 9/5 — These races will be just as difficult to find as the Olympics, but we are all veterans at this point. I’m most excited to watch my buddy and sub 4-minute miler, Mikey Brannigan, defend his T20 1500m title. And Australia’s 3:41 1500m stud, Jaryd Clifford is going to be tripling in T12/13 1500m, 5000m AND marathon. Here’s the full race schedule.
Paris Diamond League — Sunday, 8/28 — Streaming on Peacock and NBC Sports (10am-12pm ET) — The official entries aren’t out yet, however most of the sport’s stars will likely double back after a short train ride from Switzerland. Rumor has it Allyson Felix and Neeraj Chopra will be there!
Yakima Mile — Sunday, 8/28 — Streaming is unclear, but the Washington road mile will feature a head-to-head matchup between Centrowitz and Engels.
On the shoe front, New Balance initially launched the 890 branded as the Barringer and the Baddeley (for Jenny and Andy), and featured them in promos. Considering the sheer force of their women’s contingent this year, might be time to bring the naming system back. Some Purriers? Count me in.