The latest athlete to log an all-time 5,000m performance at the BU Track & Tennis Center in Boston?

Nico Young.

Paris Olympian and adidas pro Nico Young stormed to a 12:51.56 win in the men's 5,000m at the Last Chance National Qualifier at BU meet on Sunday, moving to No. 2 on the American indoor all-time list in the event.

The only U.S. competitor to ever run faster than that is none other than Grant Fisher, who logged the 12:44.09 world record on Feb. 14 in the same BU facility at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational. 

Young additionally moves to No. 5 all-time in the event in indoor world history.

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A set of newly-added pace lights on the BU oval and a few pacers kept the race consistent early, with OAC teammates Yared Nuguse and Olli Hoare doubling back from 3:47.22 and 3:50.77 mile performances earlier in the meet. The front pack hit between 30 and 31 seconds per lap like clock work before stepping off.

However, it was Young who made the strong move with 1,000 meters to go ahead of Ky Robinson as the pace began to drop back off the green pacing lights. NAZ Elite's Adriaan Wildschutt went with Young, but three sub-30-second 200m laps to close out the race were too much for him to keep up with.

With the crowd bringing him home, Young split 28.55 on the final lap to cross the line in the new U.S. No. 2 all-time mark.

Wildschutt joined Young in the sub-13:00 club on the day, finishing in second in 12:55.02. OAC teammates Robinson and Dylan Jacobs took third and fourth in 13:02.34 and 13:07.89, while new ASICS signee Drew Hunter crossed the line fifth in 13:17.35.

Young's performance improves upon his 12:57.14 previous personal best for the indoor 5k, which was a collegiate record when he set it last year at the BU John Thomas Terrier Classic. His time also puts him just a few hundredths of a second ahead of Woody Kincaid, who before February was the indoor American record holder at 12:51.61.

Also with that sub-13:01 performance, Young logs the world standard in the 5,000m.

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