The Olympic Hangover⏱

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Courting the silver 🥈

When looking at the start list for the women’s steeple final, one name likely jumped off the page: Beatrice Chepkoech, and her 8:44 PB, run in 2018, which also happens to be the WR. But previous results stop mattering once the gun goes off — that’s why they run the damn thing! Despite how it looked on paper, this race was wide-open with 6 women entering with season’s best between 9:00 and 9:04, and that short list didn’t even include the well-decorated Emma Coburn — who had fallen 200m shy of winning Monaco — or the American Record Holder, Courtney Frerichs.

Halfway through, Frerichs, the 2017 World silver medalist, made a move to the front. Unlike other distance events, there is a rare advantage that comes with leading the steeple. The head of the pack has a clear line of sight for each barrier that debatably outweighs the benefits of drafting. (Prefontaine would have been a natural!) But it was 2k in that Frerichs really made her bid, dropping a 69.2 quarter to completely string out the field and temporarily gap eventual winner, Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai, by 1.8 seconds. It would be the fastest 400 of the day for anyone on the podium. Frerich’s move was so gutsy that it wasn’t unreasonable to assume she had miscounted laps.

She did not. Rather it was Courtney ignoring the statistics that would have predicted her outside the medals. Instead, she took ownership of her race and made sure it was her moment, and not one of her theoretically faster competitors’.

Her last lap surely made Courtney fans nervous (she began to fade with 100m splits of: 17.5 — 17.7 — 19.0* — 18.7) but she ultimately held off any late charges. Courtney earned that silver the hard way and it should be celebrated, but she should get additional praise for legitimately trying to win.

Come from away 🇸🇸

The South Sudanese track team showed up to Tokyo well before the races started for a long training camp leading up to the Olympic Games. By “long training camp,” I mean a 20+ month-long training camp

The South Sudanese delegation arrived in November 2019 with a team consisting of 3 Olympians, a Paralympian, and their coach, and without intentions of sticking around in Japan for close to two years. But due to the postponement of the Games and travel difficulties, they could not get home. That’s when they were met with truly Olympic-levels of hospitality, and were welcomed in by the city of Maebashi, approximately two hours from Tokyo. The Maebashi government raised $270K for new pals’ stay through a crowd-funding program that allows citizens to buy regional goods in exchange for a tax deduction. In addition to receiving 3 meals a day, something that was a rarity back home, and training with Ikuei University on world class facilities, they took computer and calligraphy classes, learned Japanese and became immersed in other parts of what became an unexpected cultural exchange program.

While South Sudan is still recovering from the ripples of civil war, this extended stay provided a rare opportunity for Abraham Guem to train with other athletes while being adequately supported. The result was a national record of 3:40.86 in the first heat of the 1500m where he finished 13th. Remember, South Sudan is the same country that produced the likes of Lopez Lomongand the country’s first ever Olympian, Guor Marial — who ran 2:12 for the marathon to qualify in 2012 — and is the birthplace of Athing Mu’s parents. It’s a reminder that the athletes we see competing in the Olympics are as fortunate for their talent as they are the opportunity to pursue it.

The story behind the winner 🇧🇮

The 5k-to-10k range was the Sifan Hassan show in Tokyo. In addition to a bronze medal in the 1500, her unbelievable triple was earmarked by two dominating gold medal performances. But behind her in both victories was Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba — a 2016 silver medalist in her own right. In Rio, she competed in her speciality event, the 800m. But due to rule changes surrounding DSD and hyperandrogenism, she was forced to move up in distance — and she made the most of it, qualifying for both long distance track events in which she was deemed eligible. Talk about range! Although 800 runners and 10k runners may be on the same track teams, they might as well be playing different sports. Niyonsaba accepted the shift in plans and said, ‘Fine! I’ll play by your rules!’

But her Olympic ambitions were dealt another blow when news broke that Francine would be DQ’d from the 5k despite finishing in qualifying position in her section, without a clear explanation offered. Looking at race footage, it’s genuinely tough to find a moment where she might have done anything wrong. She stumbles along the rail as she gets passed by another runner — but it’s not clear if she even steps inside the rail, and she certainly did not receive any advantage. After the race she lambasted the Burundi federation for not supporting her in the appeal. Was this revenge? Once again she was being sidelined for factors beyond her control, but handled it by looking to the next event. Ultimately she returned to the 10k, ran noticeably wide the whole race to avoid even the slightest hint of racing impropriety and finished 5th in 30:41. Had Francine finished a couple places higher, then surely there would have been a uniform infringement or something to discredit her.

From the ICU to Tokyo 🇦🇺

“We have to operate now, or you are going to die in the next couple of hours.”

For many athletes, being at the Olympics is not just about how you do, but a celebration of even making it there. In the case of Australia’s Sarah Carli, it took a special kind of miracle to make that happen. During late-February while performing a routine training session at the gym, she slipped while stepping up on a box and the bar she was carrying collapsed on her. There was no ambulance necessary — her partner calmly drove her to the hospital to attend to the cut on her chin. After an initial MRI showed nothing seriously wrong with her brain, the CT scan found something. An artery in her neck that brings blood to her brain, which is super important to have, was torn. The doctors bluntly informed her that she required emergency surgery to replace it with a vein from her thigh, or else the consequences would be fatal.

The procedure went well, but for months, Carli was not allowed any vigorous exercise and instructed to keep her heart rate below 120bpm, which is around where most athletes can get their hearts by merely thinking about the Olympics. Four months after the accident, she cleared her first hurdles during practice. She then competed once before the Games to affirm her fitness and to solidify her selection to the team. Although Sarah Carli did not make it over the 10 hurdles in Tokyo quite fast enough to advance through the rounds, she cleared a much bigger barrier just to be there.

Morning Run 🥉

• 2011 Footlocker XC Champion

• 2015 NCAA XC Champion

• 2021 Olympic Marathon Bronze

When Molly Seidel’s accolades are put in front of you like that, it reads like a predictable path: A very good young runner becomes older, and turns into a very good adult runner. But to condense her accomplishments to several blips along a timeline is to do her and her story a disservice.

It wasn’t a linear journey for Molly to become the first female Footlocker champion to also win an Olympic medal. And the elation that was universally felt for her during the final moments in Sapporo was largely because we as a community are aware of the struggles she had overcome to achieve that feat.

That’s because as her platform has grown, so has Molly’s willingness to be open about her battles with anxiety, depression, eating disorders and of course, injury. Behind her witty social media presence and jaw-dropping performances, Molly has for years battled her demons, worked tirelessly to tame them, and never shied away from sharing both the good and the bad with us along the way.

Mental health struggles are not exclusively experienced by female distance runners, but it’s a tragically common — and still under-discussed — issue. It is a leading factor as to why so many of the young prodigies we see tearing up the course at Footlocker or NXN do not continue their development well into adulthood and why Molly’s recent success is doubly noteworthy. But hopefully we are seeing a paradigm shift. In 2016, Molly turned down a lucrative pro contract to instead check herself into an eating disorder treatment program, and that investment in her long term well-being is now paying dividends, both in her running and in her happiness.

But back to that race! Molly went to the front early and never really left, leading much of the race showing and no signs of being intimidated by Peres Jepchirchir (1:05/2:17) or Brigid Kosgei (1:04/2:14), despite her comparatively modest personal bests of 1:09/2:25. She responded to surges from some of the sport’s most decorated athletes, threw in a few of her own for good measure, and watched the pack steadily shrink through attrition in her rearview, until she had firm separation from the eventual fourth place finisher. Then she celebrated.

After the race, Molly shared her secret, ‘Truthfully, I wanted it as hard as possible. I wanted it hot and windy knowing a lot of these women run really fast in conditions that are very good. I think I thrive off a little bit of adversity.’

Molly has proven that she can handle difficulties of all varieties. And while we may find inspiration in her bronze medal, the resilience it took for her to earn it will leave the biggest impact on those watching.

Interested in supporting athletes? Subscribe to our premium newsletter, The Victory Lap to read exclusive interviews with elites to put more money in their pocket! On Friday morning we will be publishing a conversation with self-proclaimed ‘American Track and Field Hustler’ and hottest pacer in the business, Craig Nowak. Trust us, this one is good entertainment!

The first for India? 🇮🇳

If we are looking for a new market to tap into for the next generation of T&F diehards, look no farther than the 1.4 billion potential fans starting to pay attention in India. Neeraj Chopra earned gold in the javelin in Tokyo, and has seen his Instagram following surge to 3.3 million — the most of any athlete still competing. His return home was met with a paparazzi fervor generally only reserved for teenage pop-stars. Chopra had previously hinted at the possibility of one day going into politics, and this victory will certainly help.

Like most of the field, Neeraj came in as a substantial underdog to Germany’s Johannes Vetter, who compared throwing over 90m to like riding a bike — something no one else in the world has done this year. (The throwing part, plenty of people can ride a bike.) But after a subpar first throw and two fouls, Vetter did not complete his series due to an injury he sustained from slipping on the track surface, an issue that he’s had before. It was the biggest upset of the Games, but it resulted in India’s first ever gold medal in Athletics.

Well, it depends who you ask.

Enter Norman Pritchard. If you just said, ‘that sounds like an English name to me!’ then you already see the controversy. Although both of his parents were English, he was born in 1875 in Kolkata when India was occupied under British colonial rule. He was sent to the Paris Games in 1900 by the British Amateur Athletics Association, but in some events is attributed as competing for England and others British India. It’s comforting to know that the court of public opinion has been arguing over the sanctity of competing under a parent’s flag for over a century.

It’s surprising that the second most populous country in the world has only ever won two individual Olympic medals in any sport, but the fanfare surrounding Chopra could quickly mobilize a shift toward investing more into athletics. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken to his 70M followers on Twitter to repeatedly congratulate Chopra on his win and to encourage the popularization of grass-root sports. Don’t be surprised if Jon Hamm gets tasked with scouting the country’s cricket players to find the next great arm.

The GOAT? 🐐

What could you possibly say about Eliud Kipchoge’s marathon that hasn’t already been said? He got tired of Galen Rupp clipping his heels so he decided it was time to go win the race — it’s exactly what any of us would have done... if we were capable of covering 26.2 miles in ideal conditions in a shade under two hours.

Kipchoge spruced up his resume by adding a 2nd Olympic Marathon gold medal, to pair with his World Record and 8 Marathon Major titles. But what is often forgotten about is how good he was before moving to the roads full-time. He has an Olympic bronze and silver from the 5ks in Athens and Beijing, respectively, plus a World Championship gold from Paris in 2003. The question is not about whether he is the greatest distance runner of all-time currently, but if he still will be in 10 years. That’ll be up to Joshua Cheptegei to decide.

At age 24, the Ugandan superstar affectionately known as “the Silverback” will make this a conversation. Cheptegei leaves Tokyo having done something that Kipchoge never did: win an Olympic gold on the track. That ought to pair nicely with his silver from the 10k.

And they’re both accolades that ought to balance out his reputation as a time-trialing specialist. Although it’s sacrilegious to even contemplate the idea of someone being better than the quote-machine himself, it was Kipchoge who said, ‘no human is limited.’ While acknowledging the advancement of shoes since the last time he stepped on the track in 2012, here is the matchup, Kipchoge vs. Cheptegei:

• 5,000m — 12:46 vs. 12:35

• 10,000m — 26:49 vs. 26:11

• Half Marathon — 59:25 vs. 59:21

Additionally, we could see Cheptegei experiment with the marathon sooner than Kipchoge did. With two World Records to his name and golds from both the Olympics and Worlds, there isn’t that much more left for him to accomplish on the track — especially when considering the potential paydays that await him on the roads. But the greatest reason to believe in Cheptegei’s future in the marathon is how they differed on the track. Whereas Eliud had run 3:33 for 1500m and 3:50 for the mile, Joshua has only ever run 3:37 while never “officially” breaking 4-minutes in the mile. Think of the aerobic engine in there! Maybe one day he’ll be the first to break 2 hours without lasers.

The Russian without a flag

There were no Russian uniforms at this year’s Tokyo Olympics, but that did not mean there were no Russians. Mariya Lasitskene competed under the banner of the Russian Olympic Committee, sporting the letters ROC across her chest with a seal in place of a flag. Having won the World Championships in 2014 and 2015, in 2016 she was poised to enter Rio as the favorite, but was barred from competition as Russian athletes everywhere paid the price for others’ malpractice. Following the investigation that found over 1,000 Russian athletes were connected to state-sponsored doping programs between 2011 and 2015, the country was banned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. While some Russian athletes were still allowed to compete in 2016, the IAAF did not permit track and field athletes to compete as neutrals (minus Darya Klishina, who had been living in the United States).

And so Lasitskene watched from home with a season’s best of 2.00m as the Games were won in 1.97m. And from 2017-2019 she would win 3 more World Championships and eventually clear an incredible height of 2.06m, and yet still no Olympic gold.

And this time around, finally able to vie for an Olympic title, when the best high jumper of the previous 8 years finally got over 2.04m cleanly, she once again had to watch from the sidelines. This time, the wait was just for Australian Nicola McDermott’s final attempt. She just barely clipped the bar to knock it off, cementing Mariya Lasitskene’s status as Olympic champ. As Lasitskene stood atop the podium, it was not the Russian national anthem that was played, but Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, which is the American equivalent of Bruce Springsteen’s, Born in the U.S.A. — Close enough!

For the home team 🇯🇵

In 2013, I traveled to Japan to race in the Izumo Ekiden representing an Ivy League “All-Star” team of recent graduates — it was one of the coolest trips I’ve ever been on. Most of us had been coming off our two-week break and were stepping into the ring against peaking university teams with school pride on the line. We were there to drink sake, and the results reflected that. But at the afterparty, coaches and athletes kept approaching to ask me about how I train for the 1500. While Japan has significantly better depth from the 10,000m to marathon than the United States, I had run a few seconds faster than their National Record in the metric mile. That’s not to brag — okay, maybe a little — but to hopefully provide some perspective about the disproportionate success the nation has had between the middle and long distance races.

Before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, no Japanese woman had ever qualified to compete in the 1500m. That is until Nozomi Tanaka made it in via the convoluted ranking system as a bonus to her 5k berth. In the prelim of that 5k, where the top 5 finishers would receive automatic bids for the final, she ran a personal best of 14:59, but finished 6th — just 0.38 seconds shy. In both the men’s and women’s races, all 5 of the time qualifiers would come from the same heat, which always seems to be the case. (The reason why this asinine process still exists is beyond all of us.) The fortunate benefit of this unlucky draw meant that she would be back for the 1500m to make history.

In the first round she ran 4:02.3 to break her own national record, set a 2-second personal best, and reach the next round. Then in the semi-finals she went 3:59.1 to once again break her national record — and make the final. And in the finals, mixing it up against the most competitive field in Olympic 1500m history, she ran 3:59 again to finish 8th. At 21 years old, she is younger than any American to break 4- minutes (Mary Decker and Jenny Simpson were both 22). Maybe the Americans should be the ones to ask the Japanese what they are doing.

And shout out to Tanaka’s 20 year old teammate, Ririka Hiornaka, who ran a national record of 14:52 to finish 9th in the 5k finals!

RIP Cameron Burrell

We are extending our deepest condolences to the friends and family of Cameron Burrell, who tragically passed away this week. Cameron was the 2018 NCAA Champion for 100m and held a lifetime best in the event of 9.93 seconds. His mother, Michelle Finn-Burrell is an Olympic gold medalist and his father, Leroy Burrell, is the former World Record holder for 100m. The Track and Field community mourns the loss of a great athlete and dear friend to so many.

What an Olympics!

Don’t be sad that it’s over, be happy that you can sleep. The 10 days of non-stop action made for some brilliant entertainment, though it was perhaps equally exhausting for fans watching from the other side of the world as for those competing. With so much exciting racing happening, it was impossible to cover every event in the Olympic newsletters (last week). But given the scope of the Games, there was no shortage of attention on the big winners. Throughout the calendar year, The Lap Count’s goal is to share the stories you may not have heard, and so we tried to continue that theme here as well.