The Memoriał Kamili Skolimowskiej meeting this weekend in Silesia features a strong field in the men’s 1,500-meter, as expected for a top circuit meeting a month out from the World Championships.
The number two-ranked runner in the world in the event and Olympic bronze medalist from last summer, Yared Nuguse, highlights the field. He has the fastest personal best in the field at 3:27.80, which is also the eleventh fastest time ever at the event.
The former University of Notre Dame runner is coming off a fifth-place finish at the USATF Championships in August, which took place in a highly competitive field where he led for most of the race before fading near the end.
Unfortunately for him, this means he won’t be flying to Tokyo next month. Although he qualified for the World Championships by hitting the entry standard, the United States will send the top three finishers from the USATF Championships Jonah Koech, Ethan Strand, and Cole Hocker.
Despite the disappointment, Nuguse will keep working toward the Diamond League final at the end of the month.
Joining Nuguse in the field are five other runners who have broken the 3:30 barrier this season.
Fellow American Josh Hoey finished fourth in the 800-meter at the USATF Championships last week with 1:43.06. He previously ran 3:29.75 in the 1,500-meter this season at the Ostrava Golden Spike in June. He has only contested the 1,500-meter twice this outdoor season.
Three Kenyan runners in the field have run this fast or faster this year, including Timothy Cheruiyot, Abel Kipsang, and Festus Lagat
Cheruiyot, the 2019 World Champion in the 1,500-meter, recently finished second at the Kenyan Trials, comfortably running fast enough to qualify for the World Championship squad. His season’s best, also 3:29.75, came at the Golden Gala in Rome a couple of months ago.
Kipsang, the fourth-place finisher at the Olympics last summer, just behind Nuguse, finished fifth at the Kenyan Trials, a strategic race where none of the top runners came close to their best. His best run of the year of 3:29.46 came at the Paris Diamond League, qualifying him for the World Championships by entry standard (3:33.00).
Lagat was the fourth-place finisher at the Kenyan trials and also ran his season’s best of 3:29.03 at the Paris Diamond League in June.
Funny enough, the only Kenyan in the field who hasn’t broken 3:30, Reynold Cheruiyot, took home gold at the Kenyan Trials. He is not related to Timonthy Cheruiyot.
The last two men in the field to run under 3:30 this year include Australia’s Cameron Myers and the Netherlands’ Stefan Nillessen.
Myers is the World U20 silver medalist from last season and this year’s Australian Championship, despite still only being 19. He ran his best of 3:29.80 at the Ostrava Golden Spike, in a race won by Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech.
Nillessen is another runner who seems to be on the rise, setting the Dutch national record at the Paris Diamond League last month.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen on the Mend
World number one Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be sitting this one out after he recovers from an Achilles injury. He’s also expected to miss the Brussels Diamond League meeting.
Ingebrigtsen has the fourth fastest time ever recorded in the event with 3:26.73, the fastest time in the world since Asbel Kiprop ran 3:26.69 in 2015.
The Olympic Champion Cole Hocker will also be sitting this one out as he prepares himself for the World Championships, where he’ll aim to establish himself as the best in the world for the second year in a row after a surprise win at the Olympics last summer.
He had to fight to stay in third at the USATF trials to qualify, but now that he’s in, he’s sure to be in the mix for gold.
The field will also feature a handful of top Polish runners, including Filip Ostrowski, who recently won the World University Games in Germany.
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The fastest time of the year is still France’s Azeddine Habz with 3:27.49 set at the Paris Diamond League earlier this season. The 32-year-old seems to be a late developer in the event, running his ten best performances over the age of 30.
The men’s 1,500-meter will kick off at 5:18 pm local time (11:18 am EST) this Saturday, August 16.
The next time we see the 1,500-meter in the Diamond League will be on August 22 in Brussels and again at the final in Zurich on August 28.