Week in Review: Big things ahead in 800?
Moraa hopes that's the case after setting world best in 600 in Berlin
Mary Moraa of Kenya looked very good in setting a world best of 1 minute 21.63 seconds in the women’s 600 meters in the ISTAF meet in Berlin on Sunday.
The question now is will that performance translate to her closing the season on an upswing in the 800?
Although the 24-year-old Moraa had won the bronze medal in that event in the Olympic Games in Paris on August 5, that performance had been somewhat of a disappointment as gold medalist Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain powered away from her in the home straightaway and she was also passed by World indoor champion Tsige Duguma of Ethiopia in the final 50 meters of the race.
While Hodgkinson had been favored to win the gold medal after finishing nearly a second ahead of second-place Moraa in the Prefontaine Classic on May 25 and lowering her British record to 1:54.61 in a Diamond League meet in London on July 20, it was a bit of a surprise when Moraa did not put up more of a fight in an Olympic final in which Hodgkinson ran 1:56.72 to Moraa’s 1:57.42.
Moraa had run a personal best of 1:56.03 in turning back Hodgkinson and defending champion Athing Mu of the U.S. in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, last year, but she hadn’t looked like the same runner this season and had been beaten in half of her six finals at the conclusion of the Olympic Games.
She had run 1:57.91 to win the 800 in the Athletissima meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 22 in her first race after the Olympics and followed that with a 2:33.43 clocking to place third in a 1,000-meter race in the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Chorzow, Poland, three days later. But I was not expecting a world best out of her when I watched her toe the starting line for the 600 while streaming the ISTAF meet on Sunday.
However, it was obvious after the first 30 meters of the contest that she was intent on running fast over the infrequently-run distance which she was contesting for the first time in her career as an elite-level performer.
She and Shafiqua Maloney of Saint Vincent were well clear of the rest of the field when Moraa came through the first 200 meters in about 25.5 seconds and they were even further ahead when Moraa passed 400 meters in 52.68.
Maloney, who finished fourth in the 800 in Paris, was still within striking distance of Moraa as the Kenyan led them into the home straightaway. But Moraa, who has a unusual running style in which she seems to lean slightly backward instead of forward when she kicks, began to pull away from Maloney with about 70 meters left and she increased her advantage significantly in the final 30 meters of the race.
Her winning time of 1:21.63 bettered the previous world best of 1:21.77 set by Caster Semenya of South Africa in the ISTAF meet in 2017 and Maloney placed second in 1:22.98 to moved to seventh on the all-time performer list.
Alica Schmidt of Germany placed third in 1:24.88.
“I am feeling so well and happy,” Moraa said in quotes on a World Athletics post. “To achieve this record on my first attempt is just overwhelming. I am so satisfied about the way I ran today.”
Moraa’s next race will take place today when she competes in the 800 in the Weltklasse Diamond League meet in Zurich at 2:16 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, in the U.S.
Although Hodgkinson recently announced that she had ended her season due to a “small injury” and Duguma is not listed as an entrant on the meet website, the field is still expected to be as good one as it will include Maloney, as well as Renelle Lamote of France and Prudence Sekgodiso of South Africa, the fifth- and eighth-place finishers in the Olympic Games.
In addition, Brits Jemma Reekie and Georgia Bell, and Americans Nia Akins and Addy Wiley are also expected to race.
Reekie and Bell, the Olympic bronze medalist in the 1,500, lowered their personal bests in the 800 to 1:55.61 and 1:56.28, respectively, while finishing second and third to Hodgkinson in the Diamond League meet in London in July.
Akins won the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in a career best of 1:57.36.
Wiley finished 11th in the 1,500 in the U.S. Trials, but she ran a personal best of 1:56.83 in winning the 800 in a meet in Szczecin, Poland, on August 28.
You can click here for a schedule and entry lists for the Weltklasse meet, which will be streamed on Peacock — for a fee — in the U.S., starting at 2 p.m., EDT.
On a roll: Sam Kendricks’ competitive itinerary says he should be tired at this point in the season, but the 31-year-old American has produced the two highest jumps of his career since 2020 in his last two meets, which came in his 22nd and 23rd competitions of the year.
After clearing between 5.90 (19-4¼) and 5.95 (19-6¼) six times during a seven-meet stretch from June 2 through August 21, Kendricks made a then-season best of 6.00 (19-8¼) to place second in the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Chorzow, Poland, on August 25, and then came a 6.01 (19-8½) jump to win the ISTAF meet on Sunday.
Menno Vloon of the Netherlands placed second with a personal best of 5.92 (19-5).
Kendricks, the silver medalist to Mondo Duplantis of Sweden in both the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, on March 3 and the Olympic Games in Paris on August 5, cleared 5.42 (17-9¼), 5.62 (18-5¼), 5.82 (19-1), and a season-best of 6.01 (19-8½) on his first attempts in Berlin before missing three times at 6.08 (19-11¼).
A clearance at that height would have been an American record and made Kendricks the fourth-highest vaulter in history behind Duplantis, the world record-holder at 6.26 (20-6½), Renaud Lavillenie of France, who cleared a world record of 6.16 (20-2½) in 2014, and Sergey Bubka of Ukraine, who set his last world record at 6.15 (20-2) in 1993.
A post on Kendricks’ Instagram account on Sunday read as follows: End of season tour going strong! Congrats @pole_vlo for the PB and all the boys for the comp! @istaf_berlin
Record year continues: An unprecedented year in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase rolled on in the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea Diamond League meet in Rome last Friday when three women broke 9 minutes in the event and Winfred Yavi of Bahrain and Peruth Chemutai of Uganda ran the second- and third-fastest times in history.
Prior to this year, the most sub-9:00 clockings in the women’s steeplechase in one season had been six, set in both 2022 and ’23. But that figure is at 10 and counting this year after Yavi, Chemutai, and Faith Cherotich of Kenya ran 8:44.39, 8:48.03, and 8:57.65, respectively, in the race at Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
The time by the 24-year-old Yavi just missed the world record of 8:44.32 set by Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya in 2018 and it came about after she sped away from Chemutai in the final 120 meters of the race.
No one had come within six seconds of Chepkoech’s world mark since it was set, but Yavi and Chemutai were both shooting for it in the Golden Gala meet after they had run 8:52.76 and 8:53.34, respectively, while winning the gold and silver medals in the Olympic final in Paris on August 6.
Pace setter Agniezka Chorzepa of Poland led the field through the first lap in 67.5 seconds, but Chemutai had moved past her before the end of the second lap and it was the Ugandan who led the field through the first kilometer in 2:54.01.
Yavi and Olympic bronze medalist Cherotich were the only runners close to Chemutai at that point in the race, but Cherotich was more than three seconds behind her when Chemutai came through two kilometers in 5:49.51 after running the second 1,000-meter segment of the contest in 2:55.50.
The world record appeared to be in jeopardy at that point in the contest, but when 2021 Olympic champion Chemutai ran the next 400 meters 1.3 seconds slower than the previous segment, it look like a shot at the record might be slipping away.
Perhaps sensing that, Yavi moved into the lead just before the start of the bell lap.
Chemutai stayed close behind her down the backstretch and tried to pass Yavi heading into the final curve, but her charge was repelled.
Yavi had a half-step lead on Chemutai as they exited the final water jump and she had extended her advantage to a few meters when she cleared the last — and 28th — barrier of the race. She then unleashed a kick that quickly left Chemutai behind.
Pumping her arms briskly and running with a wide-eyed expression of excitement on her face, Yavi drove all the way through the finish line, covering the final 100 meters in 15.0, compared to Chemutai’s split of 18.3.
After the first three finishers, Valerie Constien of the U.S. edged Marwa Bouzayani of Tunisia, 9:04.92 to 9:04.93, for fourth place and fellow American Gabbi Jennings finished sixth in 9:07.70.
Bouzayani’s time was a Tunisian record and Jenning’s mark moved her to sixth on the all-time U.S. performer list.
In her pursuit of the world record, Yavi ran the final 400 meters in a superb 65.9 seconds while clearing four barriers and a water jump.
“I looked at the time after the race and I went ‘oh, no!’ I was really expecting that record and I was going for it,” Yavi said in quotes on the meet website. “I definitely feel I should break it and believe it will happen. I need to work even harder. And I am planning to have another go at it before the end of the end of the season! My biggest goal for next year is to become a double World champion.”
Chemutai’s time slashed more than five seconds off her previous best set in the Olympic Games, but she fell short of her ultimate goal.
“I feel good and I am very happy. Yet, I came here for the world record and I missed it,” she said. “But I still achieved a national record. The world record will be for next time.”
She than added, “I kind of paced this race for Yavi. I knew that Yavi has this strong kick at the end. But I planned this race with my coach and my management, unfortunately I missed the world record. I guess I need to train more for the final 100m. I will celebrate this national record tonight.”
Four and counting: Ackera Nugent of Jamaica has run progressively faster in four consecutive races in the women’s 100-meter hurdles since she did not finish the Olympic final after smacking the seventh hurdle in that contest.
Nugent’s latest performance came when she ran a national record of 12.24 in winning the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meet.
The time by the 22-year-old hurdler left her seventh hundredths of a second ahead of Olympic champion Masai Russell of the U.S. and moved her to fourth on the all-time performer list.
It also came five days after she had run 12.29 to win the final of the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Chorzow, Poland, and eight days after she had clocked 12.38 to place third in the Athletissima meet in Lausanne, Switzerland.
She got off a good start in her latest effort, moved into the lead by the third of 10 hurdles, and was never seriously challenged for the victory as her winning time bettered the previous national record of 12.28 that she had set in the Jamaican Olympic Trials in late June.
The only women to have run faster than Nugent are Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, who set the world record of 12.12 in a semifinal of the World Athletics Championships in 2022, Keni Harrison of the U.S., who clocked 12.20 in 2016, and Yordanka Donkova of Bulgaria, who ran 12.21 in 1988.
“This victory is not like a revenge for the Olympics for me,” Nugent said in quotes on the meet website. “I am just in really good shape. I was injured before and this is a new experience for me. I am still so young. I still got to show up. My emotions? I guess they have not kicked in yet because I am still so full of adrenaline. I cannot tell you. Yeah, I kind of expected to win here. I really enjoyed this race. For the next races, I do not promise anything because it will depend on the day and the weather also.”
Winning from the front: After coming from behind to win a pair of 200-meter races during the previous week, Letsile Tebogo of Botswana had one of the best starts of his career in the men’s 100 in the Golden Gala meet before moving away from his closest pursuers in the final 40 meters of the contest.
According to a statistical report on the meet website, Tebogo was ahead of the field for the first 30 meters of the contest in Rome. He was then basically even with Christian Coleman of the U.S. at the 40-, 50-, and 60-meter marks before separating from Coleman and the rest of the field during the last third of the race.
The Olympic 200 champion actually looked over at Coleman and Olympic bronze medalist Fred Kerley of the U.S. with about 20 meters left in the race and then eased up during his final three or four strides while recording a time of 9.87 which was just off the 9.86 national record that he had set while finishing sixth in an historically deep Olympic final on August 4.
Coleman placed second in 9.92, followed by Kerley in 9.95 and Ackeem Blake of Jamaica in 10.03. Marcell Jacobs of Italy, the 2021 Olympic champion, finished ninth in 10.20 and said later that he was running on tired legs.
“This was one of my best 100 metre races,” Tebogo said in quotes on the meet website. “Before this, I imagined what the perfect race over 100 would look like. You have to lock in into your mind and then it can happen. Today I had a great start and it made me think, ‘Why did I not have one like this in the Olympic final?’ I actually did not plan to set a PB today. I remember how my body felt after the last time I ran a 9.8. It’s hard to come back from that to run the 200 the next day in Paris. I still have more races coming up and I did not want to get injured before Zurich.”
Looking more like himself: Ryan Crouser of the U.S. had the top six marks of the competition in winning the men’s shot put in the Golden Gala meet five days after finishing second to compatriot Joe Kovacs in the Kamila Skolimoska Memorial in Chorzow, Poland.
The 31-year-old Crouser had become the first man in history to win three consecutive Olympic titles in the shot put in Paris, but Kovacs edged him by a 22.14 (72-7¾) to 22.12 (72-7) margin in Chorzow.
However, Crouser dominated the proceedings in the Stadio Olimpico when his top mark of 22.49 meters (73 feet 9½ inches) was more than two and half feet further that the 21.70 (71-2½) best of runner-up Leonardo Fabbri of Italy.
Fellow American Payton Otterdahl placed third at 21.63 (70-11¾), followed by Kovacs at 21.62 (70-11¼).
Crouser took the lead when his first put measured 22.26 (73-0½) and he followed that with his top effort of 22.49 (73-9½). He then hit 22.30 (73-2) on his third attempt, 22.29 (73-1¾) on his fourth, 22.24 (72-11¾) on his fifth, and 22.12 (72-7) on his sixth.
“I executed a lot better today that I did in Silesia,” Crouser said. “I no longer feel the jet lag after coming back to Europe from home. It is a good indicator there is a big throw is coming up. Not that today’s mark is not big, but I believe I can still get into world record territory. I am trending in the right direction.
“Mentally and physically you reach your peak at the Olympics, but you can compensate for not being there with being more relaxed. I feel more mentally engaged than normally at this stage of the season. I am throwing consistently and that is important. You train for that one big throw, but when you get consistency, big throws are more likely to come.”
Strong rebound: Kristjan Ceh of Slovenia bounced back from a disappointing finish in the Olympic Games to win the men’s discus on the final throw of the competition in the Golden Gala meet.
The 25-year-old Ceh had placed fourth in the Olympics after winning the European title at the Stadio Olimpico in June, but his sixth-round effort of 68.61 (225-1) left him in front of Olympic champion Roje Stona of Jamaica at 67.85 (222-7), silver medalist and world record-holder Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania at 67.68 (222-0), and bronze medalist Matthew Denny of Australia at 66.44 (217-11).
Ceh was in fifth place after the first three rounds with a best of 64.07 (210-2), but he moved up to fourth with a throw of 65.27 (214-1) on his fourth attempt, and his fifth-round effort of 66.87 (219-4) vaulted him to third place.
That made him one of the three throwers who were awarded a sixth attempt, and following a throw of 65.62 (214-1) by Stona and a foul by Alekna, Ceh unleashed his 68.61 winner.
“This stadium is lucky for me, since I won the European Champs here as well,” Ceh said in quotes on the meet website. “It is one of the prettiest stadiums and a lot of people come to watch, so I love competing here. Today I was slipping on my first attempts, but then I got a good one on the fifth attempt and in the final, I went all in. It clicked, that is what we train for.
“I feel like I still have something to prove after the Olympics. I was going there hoping to medal and yes, I was sad afterwards, but it was the best men in the world competing, you cannot expect it to be easy.”
Ms. Consistency: In what was expected to be her final meet of the season, Olympic champion Tara Davis-Woodhall of the U.S. won the women’s long jump in the Golden Gala meet with a mark of 7.02 (23-0½).
The 25-year-old Davis-Woodhall had the three top marks in the competition while leading U.S. athletes to a sweep of the top four places.
She took the lead with a jump of 6.93 (22-9) in the first round and then hit her winning effort of 7.02 (23-0½) in the second. She also had a jump of 6.90 (22-7¾) in the sixth round that would have been good enough to win.
Monae Nichols, the silver medalist behind Davis-Woodhall in the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March, placed second at 6.82 (22-4½), followed by Quanesha Burks at 6.66 (21-10¼).
Davis-Woodhall has won nine meets without a loss this year. Four of her victories came indoors and five have occurred outdoors. In addition, she has leaped 7.00 (22-11¾) or farther in her last seven meets.
A post on her Instagram account read as follows: Golden Gala for a Golden season. 🌟Grazie Roma for being the last meet of the season. 7 meets 7 meters.
Productive week: For the second year in a row, Addy Wiley of the U.S. has produced a pair of personal bests late in the season while running on the European circuit.
The 20-year-old Wiley, who had turned professional in January after winning eight NAIA titles for Huntington University in 2023, had finished 11th in the women’s 1,500 meters in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June. But she lowered her personal best to 1:56.83 in the 800 in a meet in Szczecin, Poland, on August 28 and she notched another victory three days later when she set an American record of 2:31.49 in the 1,000 meters in a meet in the Polish city of Bialystok.
Wiley’s 1:56.83 clocking in the 800 time came in a race in which Susan Ejore of Kenya finished second in a personal best of 1:57.12 and Katie Snowden of Great Britain placed third in 1:58.75.
It bettered her previous best of 1:57.64 that she had set on Sept. 4 of last year while finishing second in a meet in Bellinzona, Switzerland, and also moved her to fifth on the all-time U.S. performer list.
Her 2:31.49 effort in the infrequently-run 1,000 left her nearly eight seconds ahead of second-place Weronicka Lizakowska of Poland and broke the U.S. record of 2:31.80 set by Regina Jacobs in 1999.
After her performance in Bialystok, she posted the following on Instagram: 1k American Record Holder🇺🇸 Feeling so thankful, I knew there was so much more to come this season and trusted God had a plan for me to accomplish some amazing things🤍 and thank you to everyone who has shown love and encouragement along the way, couldn’t have done this alone :)
Another world record in road mile: The world record in the road mile for men was broken for the second time this year on Sunday when Elliot Giles of Great Britain ran a hand-held time of 3:51.3 in winning the New Balance Ko Meile race in Dusseldorf, Germany.
The 30-year-old Giles, a semifinalist in the 800 in the Olympic Games in Paris, bettered the previous world record of 3:54.6 that had been set by Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya in Herzogenaurach, Germany, on April 27.
Yared Nuguse of the U.S., the bronze medalist in the 1,500 in the Olympic Games, finished second in 3:51.9 in Dusseldorf, followed by Vincent Keter of Kenya in 3:54.9.
World Athletics started ratifying world records in the road mile run in April of last year.
From Paris to Lima: Medina Eisa and Sembo Almayew of Ethiopia turned in the two most noteworthy performances during the World Athletics U20 Championships that were held in Lima, Peru, from August 27-31.
Eisa, who had finished seventh in the women’s 5,000 meters in the Olympic Games in Paris, set a meet record of 14:39.71 in winning that event by nearly 18 seconds in Lima.
Almayew, who was fifth in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase in Paris, set a meet record of 9:12.71 in the U20 championships while winning the race by more than six seconds.
Eisa has a personal best of 14:16.54 in the 5,000 and Almayew has run 9:00.71 in the steeplechase.
Add World U20 Champs: Ja’Kobe Tharp set an American junior record of 13.05 seconds in leading the U.S. to a 1-2 finish in the men’s 110-meter high hurdles in the World U20 Championships on August 30.
Tharp, who had first lowered the U.S. U20 best to 13.18 in May while running over the 42-inch hurdles during his freshman season at Auburn University, bettered the national record of 13.08 over the 39-inch barriers in his victory in Lima.
Andre Korbmacher, a freshman at Florida State last season, finished second behind Tharp with a time of 13.14.
The previous national record of 13.23 over the 42-inch barriers had been set by Renaldo Nehemiah during his freshman season at the University of Maryland in 1978 and Tharp’s 13.05 clocking while running over the 39-inch barriers had bested the record that Wayne Davis had run in 2009 during his senior season at Southeast High School in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Two liners: : When three-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya won the women’s 1,500 meters in 3:52.89 in the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea Diamond League meet in Rome last Friday, it marked the 10th time that she has run under 3:53 in the event. Eleven other women have combined to break 3:53 a total of 12 times. . . . . Muzala Samukanga of Zambia recorded his third sub-44 clocking of the season in the men’s 400 meters when he posted a winning time of 43.99 in the Golden Gala meet. Samukanga had previously set a national record of 43.81 in a semifinal of the Olympic Games on August 6 before lowering that mark to 43.74 while winning a bronze medal in the final the next day. . . . Olympic champion Nina Kennedy of Australia posted her sixth consecutive victory in women’s pole vault when she cleared 4.83 meters (15 feet 10 inches). Sandi Morris of the U.S. also cleared 4.83, but Kennedy was awarded first place because she cleared that height on her second attempt and Morris did so on her third try. . . . . When Olympic champion Grant Holloway of the U.S. won the men’s 110-meter high hurdles in 13.14 in the ISTAF meet in Berlin on Sunday, it was his sixth victory in seven finals this season. The three-time defending World champion has run under 13 seconds a career-high five times this season when you include his performances in opening and semifinal rounds. . . . . Courtney Lindsey of the U.S. edged Akani Simbine of South Africa for the men’s 100-meter title in the ISTAF meet. Lindsey, who placed sixth in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, clocked 9.99 to the 10.00 of Olympic fourth-place finisher Simbine. . . . . When Gina Luckenkemper of Germany won the women’s 100 meters in a personal best of 10.93 in the ISTAF meet, it was the fastest time by a German woman since 1991 and moved her to sixth on the all-time national performer list. Luckenkemper had run her previous best of 10.95 in 2017. . . . . Julian Weber of Germany raised his season best to 88.64 (290-9) in winning the men’s javelin in the ISTAF meet. Weber, who placed sixth in the Olympic Games, posted his best mark on his opening throw and he also had efforts of 87.17 (286-0) on his third attempt and 87.06 (285-7) on his sixth.
Calling it a season: Rai Benjamin of the U.S. announced via social media last week that he would not run in any more races this year.
The 27-year-old Benjamin was victorious in all six races in which he ran this season, beginning with a 44.42-second clocking in the 400 meters in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays in Walnut, California, on April 20 and concluding with a superb 43.18 anchor leg on a U.S. team that clocked 2:54.43, the second-fastest time in history, in winning the 4 x 400 relay in the Olympic Games in Paris on August 10.
In between those two performances, Benjamin won the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in four consecutive finals, clocking 46.64 seconds in the USA Track & Field Los Angeles Grand Prix at UCLA on May 18, 46.46 in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon, on June 30, 46.67 in the Herculis EBS Diamond League meet in Fontvieille, Monaco, on July 12, and 46.64 in the Olympics on August 9.
Benjamin currently has the top two times in the world this year in the intermediates, as well as four of the top five.
When it comes to where those performances rank on the all-time list, the two 46.46 clockings are tied for fifth, with the 46.64 at 12th and the 46.67 at 13th.
In addition, Benjamin is working on an unprecedented streak of five consecutive sub-47 clockings in finals, as he ran 46.39, the fourth-fastest time ever, in winning the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, last September.
Benjamin’s post on his Instagram account was as follows: Thats a wrap on the season for the Golden boy. And that’s a 100 gigs for your head top 😤🇺🇸⭐️🦅
Upcoming career change: Mike Smith, the coach who guided Northern Arizona University to five NCAA titles in men’s cross country, will be stepping down as the director of the Lumberjacks’ cross country and track and field program at the end of the 2025 track season.
The NAU Athletics Communications office announced in a release on August 26 that Smith’s upcoming move was prompted by his desire to pursue professional coaching opportunities. The release also stated that Jarred Cornfield, who has worked with Smith as an assistant coach and associate head coach since 2016, will move into Smith’s role in July of next year.
A Runner’s World post on August 25 reported that Smith will become a Nike coach after the end of the 2024-25 academic year. A post on August 31 stated that although Smith will be under contract to Nike, he will be allowed to continue coaching the professional runners he is currently working with who are associated with other shoe brands.
“For the past eight years I have lived out a professional dream coaching at Northern Arizona University,” Smith said in the release from NAU. “It has been my greatest privilege to work with the most loyal and brave student athletes a coach could ask for. We walked a path together through unforgettable moments in our sport, yet I was always most proud of who they became and who they were to each other along the way. It's been an honor of a lifetime to coach at NAU.”
Smith, 44, came to NAU in August of 2016 to work as an assistant coach under head coach Eric Heins, and he then took over the program in the spring of 2017.
After winning the 2016 NCAA men’s cross country title with Heins at the helm, Northern Arizona won team championships in 2017, ’18, ’20, ’21, and ’22 under Smith. The Lumberjacks also placed second in 2019 and last year, and the women’s team finished second to North Carolina State in the NCAA meet last November.
The 2020 NCAA cross country championships were held in March of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Smith has coached a slew of outstanding runners during his time at Northern Arizona, with the current collegiate records in the men’s indoor 3,000 and 5,000, and the outdoor 5,000 and 10,000 being held by runners from Northern Arizona.
Nico Young, who recently signed a professional contract with Adidas, won NCAA indoor titles for NAU in the 3,000 and 5,000 in March, and set collegiate records of 12:57.14 in the indoor 5,000 in January and 26:52.72 in the 10,000 in March.
He also placed second in the NCAA cross country championships in 2022, as well as in the 5,000 in the NCAA outdoor championships in June.
On the performance enhancing drug front: Parvej Khan of India, who won the SEC in the men’s 1,500 meters for the University of Florida in May, has been provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after testing positive for erythropoietin (EPO), a banned substance.
The suspension became effective on August 28.
The 19-year-old Khan, who has personal bests of 1:46.12 in the 800 and 3:36.21 in the 1,500, had been tested during the National Inter-State Championships in the city of Panchkula in the state of Haryana on June 27 and 28.
EPO is known to increase the production of red blood cells and taking it can increase one’s endurance.