Category Archives: Running

The 2024 Paris Olympics were full of incredible performances. Here’s a compilation of my favorites, complete with videos, so you can watch them, too!

Men’s 1500

Watch the race here!

This is one of the races I watched live, and it was 100% worth it. I ran around the house screaming when Hocker won and the US took 1st, 3rd, and 5th. It was a semi-underdog story since so much of the media was focused on Jakob Ingebrigtsen vs. Josh Kerr, but US fans knew our guys had a good chance to shake it up.

Sifan Hassan gets 3 Medals

Watch the marathon finish here

Sifan Hassan did the insane triple of running the 5000, 10,000, and marathon at the Olympics…and even more insane was that she got 3 medals (2 bronze & 1 gold). Hassan concluded her triple with a gold medal in the marathon and an Olympic record. You can watch the

Grant Fisher gets 2 Bronze Medals

Watch the 10,000 recap here (complete with the craziest last 550 meters I’ve ever seen)

Watch the 5000 recap here

Grant Fisher is credited with lighting the spark for the US track and field team with his bronze medal in the 10,000 on the first night of track competition. He bookended his time at the Olympics with another bronze medal in the 5000 with a very similar race tactic – stay on the rail, stay in the top pack, and hang on for the kick.

Kenneth Rooks Sends It in the Steeplechase

Watch the race here

Potentially one of the best things about the end of this race was the clear “who is this guy?” facial expressions from those in the front of the pack when Kenneth Rooks took the lead. He went full send and ended up with a silver medal.

US Dominates the 400 Hurdles

Watch the race here

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is one of the greatest track and field athletes of all time, and it is always fun to watch her decimate not only her competitors but also her own World Record. The added bonus of this race was that Anna Cockrell nabbed the silver medal over Femke Bol of the Netherlands who is the only other athlete to have run under 51 seconds for the event.

Faith Kipyegon Becomes the First Athlete to Win the Olympic 1500 Three Times

Watch the race here

The women’s 1500 had quite the shakeup prior to the Olympics when Faith broke her own World Record at the Paris Diamond League…and had Australia’s Jess Hull on her tail until the very end! Faith also had 2 rounds of the 5000 in her legs prior to the 1500 (where she got a silver medal), but she proved she is still the most dominant 1500 runner and became the first athlete to ever win 3 golds in the event.

Noah Lyles is the Fastest Man in the World

Watch the race here

This race was highly anticipated since Noah Lyles was trying to back up his 100m World Championship gold medal and looked…quite unbeatable in the prelims and semis as he didn’t win his heat in either. But there’s a reason they run the finals, and Noah showed out when he won by 0.005 of a second with an epic lean. The post-race analysis shows that he was only leading at the finish line and had an epic come from behind. It was electric!

Joe Kovacs is Clutch & Ryan Crouser 3-Peats

Watch the competition here

Ryan Crouser is the greatest shot putter in the world and won an unprecedented third consecutive Olympic gold medal. But the most exciting part of the competition was Joe Kovacs coming in clutch on his final throw. He was sitting outside the podium in 4th place, surprising because he’s ranked 2nd in the world behind Crouser, and it was raining. Almost every thrower was fouling due to slipping, and Joe was up with the rain still coming down. He absolutely launched it, didn’t foul, and jumped up to second place to secure the silver medal!

Dennis Mitchell’s Training Group in the 100

Watch the race here

If you watched Sprint on Netflix (and you should!), you got to meet Dennis Mitchell and some of his athletes: Sha’Carri Richardson, Melissa Jefferson, and Tee Tee Terry. Season 2 of Sprint is going to be awesome because not only did his athletes sweep the 100m US Trials, but they also all made the final at the Olympics! To make it even sweeter, Sha’Carri and Melissa came away with silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Rai Benjamin Wins 2 Golds

Watch the 400 hurdles here & watch the 4×400 Relay here

The men’s 400 hurdles was a clash of titans as the 3 fastest men of all time were facing off in the final – World Record holder Karsten Warholm, World Championship record holder Alison dos Santos, and Rai Benjamin – the reigning Olympic silver medalist. Rai had a lot of momentum coming into the race and crushed the competition getting his long overdue gold medal. But he wasn’t done yet! He came back and anchored the men’s 4×400 team and held off Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo who had just won gold in the 200.

Grant Nabs Gold

Watch the race here

The 100 hurdles is such an unforgiving race where the smallest mistake can cost you the race. Grant Holloway has always been dominant but walked away from the Tokyo Olympics with a silver medal instead of a gold. Paris was a great redemption tour for him as he got his gold medal. And fellow American Daniel Roberts got the silver!

Gabby Thomas Comes Home with 3 Gold Medals

Watch the 200 race here & watch the 4×100 relay here & watch the 4×400 relay here

Gabby Thomas dominated the 200 to win her first gold medal, and it was no surprise to see her on the 4×100 relay, but her third gold came from the 4×400 relay, which was such an exciting race. The US put Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone on 2nd leg, and since she is so much faster than everyone in the world, there was an insurmountable lead for the rest of the teams to overcome, even Femke Bol. The group also set an American record and were just off the World record.

Quincy Hall Got That Dawg In Him

Watch the race here

The 400 is one of the most punishing races in track and field, and coming from behind in the final 100 is impressive. Even the commentators were counting Quincy out until he mounted a massive comeback to win the gold, complete with a grimace on his face. I dare you to watch this race and not smile.

Bryce Hoppel Gets the American Record

Watch the race here

The men’s 800 was bonkers leading up to the Olympics with 3 men running 1:41 at the Paris Diamond League in July. Bryce Hoppel was full of confidence going into the final with his eyes on the American record and a gold medal. Hoppel ran a brilliant race and indeed set a new American record of 1:41.67! It was a bittersweet success, though, because even with the blazing time, he was off the podium in 4th place.

Tara Davis-Woodhall Jumps for Gold

Watch the competition here

Tara Davis-Woodhall has amazing energy and is an incredible performer as well as athlete. She came into the Olympics ranked first in the world and was able to secure her first gold medal! Her celebration with her husband (Paralympian Hunter Woodhall) made me tear up.

What a day! What a pair of races! It is electric to be at the event in person, and I’m so glad we made the trip.

And now for the results of the contest…drum rollllllll….

Congratulations to Shawanna White! She corrected predicted the men’s first and second places finishers, the women’s second place finisher, and had a few out of order but still top 6 guesses as well. Check your email for your $25 Amazon gift card!

Here is the full list of results:

1. 215 – Shawanna White
2. 195 – Christopher rodriguez
3. 170 – Jill Braley
4. 130 – Sara Morrison
5. 115 – Thomas Clarke
6. 75 – Oliver Stocks
7. 70 – Alice Shiflett
8. 55 – Lucas Stocks
9. 50 – Brandon Davis
10. 45 – Matt Kelso
11. 35 – Cameron Sorsby
12. 30 – Taylor University
13. 25 – Bert Harrison
14. 20 – Jenn Stocks
15. 10 – Lauren Harrison*

*Lauren only submitted picks for the women’s race.

Same as last year, I have thoughts about possible scoring changes for future contests (maybe shortening the gap between guessing first place correctly and having first place elsewhere in your top 6).

But per usual, the Trials are unpredictable! No one correctly guessed the top 3 in either race, even out of order. The women’s race in particular was low scoring due to D’Amato and Saina dropping out.

If you want to check out everyone’s predictions, click here.

It’s time to share my picks! It was even tougher than I imagined as there are probably 8-10 contenders for just 3 spots on the Olympic team, and marathons can be so unpredictable. Plus as a fan of these runners as people, I want them all to accomplish their Olympic dreams! *Sob*

Alas, I did manage to submit my picks, so here they are:

Women’s Race

(I did update this list after Molly Seidel announced she wasn’t running Thursday morning.)

1. Emily Sisson

As the reigning American record holder and previous record holder in the half marathon, this is Emily’s race to lose. I can’t imagine anyone thinking they can run away from her by setting a quick pace from the beginning. Also, I will never forget how she absolutely dominated the 10,000 meter Trials after dropping out of the 2020 Marathon Trials. She wants redemption in the Marathon, and see her getting it.

2. Betsy Saina

Betsy almost shares being the race favorite with Emily Sisson. I loved hearing her excitement for being able to compete for the United States now in a recent interview, and she’s coming into the Trials with the third fastest time.

3. Keira D’Amato

The former (and a recent former!) American record holder who is quite fit according to her publicly shared Strava. I’m a huge fan of Keira and will be thrilled if she makes the team!

4. Sara Hall

This is Sara’s 6th trials (8th counting all events separately) between track and the marathon! It would be amazing for her to finally make an Olympic team. Plus she had a great showing at the 2022 World Championships.

5. Jenny Simpson

You’ve gotta pick a debut marathoner sometime, and there’s no one debuting I’d rather bet on than Jenny Simpson.

6. Fiona O’Keefe

Another marathon debut who is coached by Amy Cragg. And her qualifying half time is sub-70!

Honorable Mentions

There are way too many talented athletes to only mention 6! So some additional notes:

• Des Linden. If Des is in contention at 20 miles, everyone around her should be worried.
• Aliphine Tuliamuk. The 2020 champ has been dealing with a hamstring injury but is obviously still a threat.
• Sara Vaughn. Part of the #strongmoms crew with the 6th fastest time coming into the race – set just a few months ago in Chicago.
• Molly Seidel. She dropped out due to injury, but I love what I wrote about her in my original post, so moving it here. “SEIDEL LIKE TITLE AND DON’T YOU FORGET IT!” – me tweeting as Molly won a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympic Marathon (while sobbing). Molly is a competitor who excels in championship-style races, and she just ran a new PR in Chicago.

Men’s Race

1. Conner Mantz

Conner deserves a spot on the team for leading the charge that unlocked 2 of the Olympic Team spots for American men.

2. Scott Fauble

There nothing more fun than watching Scott Fauble’s consistency eat up a bunch of runners over the final miles of the Boston Marathon. Scott is going for the win, not just to make the team, and I’m rooting for him!

3. CJ Albertson

I can’t wait to see what CJ does from the gun in Orlando. From his eccentric training methods to his gutsy race plans, I want him to see a payoff of making the Olympic team. (assuming, you know, that the third spot gets to go)

4. Zachery Panning

The Hansons-Brooks group produces good marathoners, so I think Panning is one to watch!

5. Clayton Young

It feels illogical to not have Conner Mantz’s training partner on the Olympic team, but what am I supposed to do with only 3 spots?!

6. Paul Chelimo

Throwing a wildcard debut pick in here for fun. I can still remember watching Chelimo get his silver medal in the 5000 in 2016, and I’m interested to see what he does on Saturday!

Honorable Mentions

• Galen Rupp. Lol I forgot Galen – whoops. He’s typically someone you don’t bet against, but he didn’t have the best showing in the Houston half, and he didn’t hang on to get the standard in Chicago, so maybe he won’t make the team this time?
• There are more, but I honestly don’t follow many male runners, so I have less to say about the men’s race.

There you have it! There’s still time to enter your picks for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card. Enter here!

One week from today, the best marathoners in the country will take to the streets of Orlando to compete for a spot on the Olympic Team for the marathon!

I love that the U.S. has a race rather than a selection committee and can’t wait to see who makes the team. And just like in 2020, I’m hosting a prediction contest! I changed up some of the scoring and added a handful of new bonus categories, so hopefully no one will end up with a zero score this year. 😉

Anything can happen in a marathon, which means you can know diddly about running and still submit an entry that beats a hardcore fan like me.

Here is some info to help you make your picks:

• Men Athlete Bios & Citius Mag Race Preview
• Women Athlete Bios & Citius Mag Race Preview
• My picks!

I promise I’ll publish my picks before Friday, even though it will pain me to narrow down the women’s field to only 6.

Submit your predictions here:

Thursday

Women’s 3000 Steeple

My prediction:

1. Emma Coburn
2. Courtney Frerichs
3. Leah Falland
4. Mel Lawrence
5. Grayson Murphy

Results:

1. Emma Coburn (9:09.41)
2. Courtney Frerichs (9:11.79)
3. Val Constien (9:18.34)
4. Courtney Wayment (9:23.09)
5. Marisa Howard (9:24.74)

This race started at 11:47 p.m. on Thursday night, so I had to catch the recording the next morning. I was too anxious to wait until I could watch the race, so I checked the results in the morning and was relieved to see the usual top 2 made it. A quick perusal of Twitter told me this was a heart breaker for Leah Falland, so I knew I was in for some drama.

Honestly, if I hadn’t seen the results ahead of time, I would have been super nervous for the way Emma Coburn ran the race. Instead of going to the front, she hung out mid-pack for more than half the race! The commentators speculated she was practicing racing tactics since she so often leads US races, but I didn’t feel calm until I saw her jump to the front and eventually overtake Frerichs. Again, I had seen the results already!

Leah Falland was running a strong race and was sitting in third when she tripped and fell around 750 to go. It’s unclear to me if she tripped coming off that barrier or not, but she got back up and was back in contention pretty quickly.

A big piece of advice among commentators has been to not panic if you trip and try to immediately make up the ground you lost. But when you’re already in “the squeeze” of a race and heading into the kick, you don’t have time to just ease back into the pack; you have to go now.

And Leah did! She looked like she was going to be able to hold off the competition to make the team until the final water barrier where it looked like she just ran out of gas. Ultimately she was passed by 5-6 runners over the final 150, and it was Val Constien who nabbed the final spot to Tokyo. If you want to learn more about Val, check out this episode of the Citius Mag podcast.

Saturday

Women’s 10,000

My prediction:

1. Sara Hall
2. Elise Cranny
3. Emily Infeld
4. Karissa Schweizer
5. Emily Sisson

Results:

1. Emily Sisson (31:03.82)
2. Karissa Schweizer (31:16.52)
3. Alicia Monson (31:18.55)
4. Elise Cranny (31:35.22)
5. Rachel Schneider (31:42.92)

What was I thinking not picking Emily Sisson to make the team?

I also got so much wrong about how this race would play out. Even with moving the race to 10:00 a.m. Pacific, it was still 90 degrees and humid, so I assumed the race would be slow, but they went out at 5:07-10 pace. Then Sisson took the lead after 5 laps, never looked back, and ran a Trials record.

Sisson split 15:49/15:14 for the halves of the race and dropped down to 74s before further dropping down to 71-72 for the last 2k and a sub-70 last lap.

There were certainly women who tried to go with her! Karissa and Elise and Alicia were always in the pack, and Rachel Schneider, Sara Hall, and Emily Infeld held on for a long time as well. Elise even made a move to try to take the lead from Sisson late in the race but ultimately was unable to do so and dropped to 4th in the final laps.

Karissa had the fastest kick of the race to overtake Alicia Monson for 2nd place (so fast that they camera nearly missed her finish) to earn the coveted honor of making both the 5000 and 10,000 team. And Alicia Monson literally left it all on the track as she had to be hospitalized overnight after suffering heat exhaustion and hypothermia from the race.

Sunday

Women’s 400H

My prediction:

1. Sydney McLaughlin
2. Dalilah Muhammad
3. Shamier Little

Results:

1. Sydney McLaughlin (51.90 WORLD RECORD!!!)
2. Dalilah Muhammad (52.42)
3. Anna Cockrell (53.70)

What a race to start the night! After the races got postponed due to the extreme heat, I went to bed around 9:15 p.m. and set my alarm for 12:15 a.m. to get up to watch these races. It was 100% worth it.

Dalilah Muhammad took the race out fast with Sydney just behind her, but they were even by the 8th hurdle, and Sydney turned on the jets down the home straight and over the last 2 hurdles to take the win and set a new world record. 51.90 is fast for a 400 without hurdles, and Sydney ran it with 10 hurdles along the way!

Unfortunately Shamier Little clipped the 8th hurdle and finished one spot out of the team. But Anna Cockrell’s post race interview was really touching, and I’m pumped for her.

Women’s 800

My prediction:

1. Athing Mu
2. Ajee Wilson
3. Kate Grace
4. Allie Wilson
5. Chanelle Price

Results:

1. Athing Mu (1:56.07)
2. Raevyn Rogers (1:57.66)
3. Ajee Wilson (1:58.39)
4. Michaela Meyer (1:58.55)
5. Chanelle Price (1:58.73)

Wowza the killer performances continued with the 800. Athing Mu showed a ton of composure after getting tripped up about 150 meters into the race, and she comfortably took the lead on the bell lap and continued to put more separation between herself and the pack until she just jetted away from everyone over the last 100 meters. I didn’t even know what was happening in the race for third because the chase pack couldn’t fit in the same frame as Mu.

The race for 2nd and 3rd was pretty much anybody’s with 200 to go. Kate Grace maneuvered into good position, and I was honestly really worried about Ajee Wilson until the split second before I saw her cross the line.

Raevyn Rogers ran out of her mind over the last 100 to solidify her spot on the team and will be returning to the Olympics again.

Men’s 1500

My prediction:

1. Matthew Centrowitz
2. Yared Nuguse
3. Craig Engels
4. Cole Hocker
5. Josh Thompson

Results:

1. Cole Hocker (3:35.28)
2. Matthew Centrowitz (3:35.34)
3. Yared Nuguse (3:36.19)
4. Craig Engels (3:36.69)
5. Henry Wynne (3:37.70)

DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE!

(not an original thought, stolen from multiple people on Twitter)

This race really lived up to the hype. It was such a typical championship 1500 with a fast start where they immediately slam on the brakes after about 100 meters and then run a sleepy pace for another 700 meters before the real race starts.

Centro took the lead at the bell lap, but the pack was still pretty crowded, and he didn’t have much separation. Even at 200 to go, it seemed like anybody’s race for the top 3 spots, and no one looked like they were running all out. Cole Hocker and Craig Engels were both boxed in, riding the rail, and Yared Nuguse had a perfect position on the outside.

Then with about 130 to go, a lane opened up between Hocker and Nuguse, and Hocker slipped through the space to the outside and started chasing down Centro, pulling even with him (this is where I am silent screaming at the TV because it is nearly 1 a.m. and everyone is asleep), and eventually getting a nose ahead for the win.

Yared Nuguse nabbed third place with a stellar kick of his own, and Craig Engels got another disappointing fourth place finish.

Even though Cole Hocker doesn’t have the Olympic Standard, running 3:35 again and winning this race pretty much guarantees that his World Ranking will be good enough to put him on the Olympic Team. He’ll find out for sure this week.

Saturday night finished with the Men’s 200 which I didn’t make any predictions for, but Noah Lyles won, and it was exciting! It was honestly the best 40 minutes of track ever.

Best Commercials

I’m obsessed with the Tracksmith commercials and highly recommend you watch them here and here. What I really love is the narration, which is below.

I saw trees bend in a howling wind, their branches screaming…and I thought, “That’s too painful.”

I heard rain in an angry rhythm on a rooftop…and I thought, “That can’t last.”

I saw my reflection in a river, flowing swiftly, quietly, without end…and I realized, “That’s what we do. That’s running.”

Closing Thoughts

I love the Olympics, but I think I love the Olympic Trials more. At the Olympics there are a maximum of 3 athletes that I tend to know a lot about and want to cheer for, but at the Trials? I had a hard time only picking 5 women who I wanted to make the 5000 or 10,000 team!

Track is the best. That is all.

Women’s 400H

1. Sydney McLaughlin
2. Dalilah Muhammad
3. Shamier Little

The US is so strong in all the hurdle events, and the 400H is no exception. Daliliah Muhammad is the world leader, but I’m pulling for McLaughlin to take the win tonight.

Women’s 800

1. Athing Mu
2. Ajee Wilson
3. Kate Grace
4. Allie Wilson
5. Chanelle Price

Besides Athing and Ajee, this team is really hard to pick! Athing has looked so calm in the rounds, and there’s no one who can match her kick with a sub-50 400 PR.

Ajee Wilson and Kate Grace are Olympic veterans and have looked good in the tactics of the rounds as well.

Allie Wilson (go, Atlanta Track Club!) and Chanelle Price have both been the ones to take out the race in the rounds, so it will be interesting to see what they do in the final.

Overall, this is a stacked event, and the US will send a strong team regardless of who makes it.

Men’s 1500

1. Matthew Centrowitz
2. Yared Nuguse
3. Craig Engels
4. Cole Hocker
5. Josh Thompson

I’m just not going to bet against the reigning Olympic gold medalist, ok? Plus Centro has been looking in complete control in the rounds, complete with a smile at Cole Hocker in the finish of the semis.

I’ve been a fan of Nuguse since he soloed the Olympic Standard during NCAA prelims, and I think he’s going to have a good showing today.

Craig Engels, the media darling, is due for redemption and his first Olympic berth. Plus, I’d just really rather the top 3 have the Olympic standard, so we don’t have to go to World Rankings to know who makes the team. It’s confusing and not casual fan friendly.

Looking forward to the final night of action!

Women’s 10,000

1. Sara Hall
2. Elise Cranny
3. Emily Infeld
4. Karissa Schweizer
5. Emily Sisson

Picking predictions for this race is on par with the difficulty of trying to pick the Marathon team back in February 2020 (where I got all 3 wrong) – probably because so many of the women who didn’t make the Marathon team are trying to make the team in the 10,000.

Look, I really want Sara Hall to make an Olympic team. She’s accomplished so much, especially later in her career, and I just think it’s her time to check this one off the list.

Then I have a trio of Bowerman Babes with some personal bias toward Emily Infeld since I like her so much (she’s also an Olympian, so it’s not like this is that biased).

And I round out my top 5 with Emily Sisson who a lot of people thought had a good chance of making the Marathon team.

It’s going to be hot and humid, so I don’t expect the race (at least not the first half) to be fast. It should be an exciting finish for sure!

Women’s 3000 Steeple

1. Emma Coburn
2. Courtney Frerichs
3. Leah Falland
4. Mel Lawrence
5. Grayson Murphy

When Colleen Quigley announced she wasn’t running the Olympic Trials, it became a guarantee that at we would see at least one new Olympian this year. Coburn, Frerichs, and Quigley have dominated the event for so long, that I wasn’t quite sure who to pick for the third team spot!

Ultimately I went with Leah Falland who looked extremely comfortable running away from the field to chase Coburn in the prelims. She also has the Olympic Standard and the 3rd fastest PR in the race.

I’m a big fan of Mel Lawrence who has been running well, and I’d love to see her make the team, too! She also has the Olympic Standard.

Grayson Murphy closed hard to get the Olympic Standard in the prelims, so she rounds out my top 5 picks.

Of course, anything can happen in the steeple! Here’s to hoping everyone stays on their feet.

Holy cow! What a night!

I tuned in around the 2nd lap of the 2nd heat of the men’s steeplechase and heard pretty quickly that Sean McGorty (a favorite from heat 1) didn’t get an automatic qualifier and would have to wait to see if he got one of the 4 time qualifiers. This was an unexpected shot of stress/adrenaline to my watching experience that got me even more amped up before the finals started! And McGorty got the final time qualifier to make the final, too.

Women’s 1500

My prediction:

1. Elle Purrier St. Pierre
2. Jenny Simpson
3. Nikki Hiltz
4. Cory McGee
5. Shannon Osika

Sub-4 to win and sub-4:03 to make the team.

Results:

1. Elle Purrier St. Pierre (3:58.03)
2. Cory McGee (4:00.67)
3. Heather MacLean (4:02.09)
4. Shannon Osika (4:02.18)
5. Helen Schlachtenhaufen (4:04.41)

What a race! The start was extremely aggressive, and Purrier St. Pierre even got knocked off the inside rail for a couple of steps before recovering. Then she took the lead and never looked back.

Cory McGee stayed near the front for the whole race, running off Purrier St. Pierre’s shoulder, and the biggest surprise of the night was Purrier St. Pierre’s training partner Heather MacLean (who had to protest to get into the final) winning the final spot on the team with a third place finish. Shannon Osika put in a valiant effort to catch MacLean but didn’t quite get there.

If you want to learn more about Elle Purrier St. Pierre, I recommend this article.

If you want to learn more about Heather MacLean, I recommend this podcast.

Men’s 800

My prediction:

1. Donovan Brazier
2. Clayton Murphy
3. Bryce Hoppel

Results:

1. Clayton Murphy (1:43.17)
2. Isaiah Jewett (1:43.85)
3. Bryce Hoppel (1:44.14)

I had to pick my jaw up off the floor after this final. Donovan Brazier got…last. No one was expecting that!

Isaiah Jewett took the race out hard and then instead of slowing down at the bell lap ran a 25-second 200 for the 400 to 600. Then Clayton Murphy closed HARD (without his arm sleeve!) to negative split the race and take the win. He was quite sassy to those who counted him out on Twitter afterwards as well.

I highly recommend watching the post-race interview clips from Isaiah Jewett here and here.

I feel bad for Donovan Brazier, but he’ll be back.

Women’s 5000

My predictions:

1. Karissa Schweizer
2. Josette Norris
3. Rachel Schneider
4. Allie Buchalski
5. Elise Cranny
6. Abbey Cooper

Not a fast race, and the pace starts picking up 4 laps out.

Results:

1. Elise Cranny (15:27.81)
2. Karissa Schweizer (15:28.11)
3. Rachel Schneider (15:29.56)
4. Abbey Cooper (15:31.05)
5. Allie Buchalski (15:47.52
6. Elly Henes (15:47.73)

This race was the closest to my expectations. They had a big group go through the first mile in about 5 minutes, and then the pace really slowed down. They got super bunched up during the second mile, running about 5:20 pace.

Then with 4 laps to go, Karissa dropped the pace from 79 to 71, and the pack started to string out a bit. The Bowerman teammates Karissa and Cranny traded laps as the pace dropped further, and Rachel Schneider had a bit of a gap on the rest of the chasers.

At the bell lap, Karissa took over again but was unable to hold off Cranny’s monster kick, and the teammates went 1-2, closing in 63-64.

Abbey Cooper who soloed a 15:07 to get the Olympic Standard in her prelim, will have to wait to see if any of the top three also make the 10,000 meter team to see if she’s going back to the Olympics or not.

Women’s 1500

1. Elle Purrier St. Pierre
2. Jenny Simpson
3. Nikki Hiltz
4. Cory McGee
5. Shannon Osika

I think Elle is the clear winner; Jenny has the experience and isn’t someone to bet against; and after that, this is very difficult.

Nikki Hiltz looked like they were practically jogging comfortably with the semi-final heat win, so I’m going with them for the final Olympic Team spot.

I don’t think the final will be a sit and kick situation, either. I predict sub-4 for the win and sub-4:03 to make the team.

Men’s 800

1. Donovan Brazier
2. Clayton Murphy
3. Bryce Hoppel

Is anyone not picking Brazier to win?

So far the arm sleeve trend has paid off, too, so I bumped Murphy from my original 3rd pick up to 2nd. #science

Women’s 5000

1. Karissa Schweizer
2. Josette Norris
3. Rachel Schneider
4. Allie Buchalski
5. Elise Cranny
6. Abbey Cooper

On paper, this is Karissa’s race to lose. There is no scenario where someone takes the race out fast, and she’s in unfamiliar territory with a PR that’s ~25 seconds faster than the next fastest person in the field.

That being said, I don’t think anyone is going to take the final out at a blistering pace. It’s supposed to be 90+ degrees, and 8 of the women in the field already have the Olympic standard. My prediction is that the leaders don’t start ratcheting down the pace until the final mile.

Josette Norris is a relatively new name to me, but anyone who has been paying attention over the last few months isn’t counting her out.

Then I think Rachel Schneider’s miler kick earns her the final spot on the team.

Like the 1500, this is also a tough call since there are way more than 3 people I’m rooting for. Can’t wait to watch!