USATF Indoor Championships 2014Feb 21, 2014 by Mitch Kastoff
USATF Indoor Championships: Men's 3k preview
USATF Indoor Championships: Men's 3k preview
It’s perhaps the most quality event at the USATF Indoor Championships. There’s solid depth, but the talent at the very top is the best the U.S. has to offer.
This one will be one to watch, especially considering the following:
21 guys in one heat of the 3000m on a 200m banked track. This is going to look like roller derby. @Flotrack
— Adam Vess (@AdamVess11) February 21, 2014
Plenty of pundits have emailed us about Bernard Lagat being a lock. He is, but for arguments sake, let’s say it’s to make the team and not to take the win. The 39-year-old reigning world indoor 3k champion still has his patented finishing kick, but it’s not as lethal as it used to be. At shorter distances, I’d characterize it as venomous.
Let’s look at his winter campaign. In chronological order, Lagat finished first at the British Athletics International 3k (7:49.83) on January 25; fourth at the IAAF Karlsruhe 3k (7:38.51) on February 1; and first the Millrose Games 1k (4:54.74, American record) on February 15.
Father Time pulled away from the likes of Cam Levins and David Torrence in the 1k, but struggled to keep pace with Caleb Ndiku (7:36.27), Augustine Choge (7:37.76), and Yenew Alamirew (7:38.18) in the 3k in Germany.
Still, a loss three weeks ago overseas doesn’t rule him out for the win. With what usually happens at these championship races (read: slow), plus the altitude factor, it’ll come down to who has the most natural tactical skill-set. Of course, no one in the U.S. is better than Lagat.
Even though we expect him to be near the front at the bell, he shouldn’t be alone.
Three years ago, Lagat kicked away from a young Galen Rupp to take the USATF Indoor 3k title in 7:57.17. Rupp finished second in 7:59.91.
The two return to Albuquerque, NM for the U.S. Championships and things couldn’t be more different.
Rupp has now taken back two of Lagat’s American indoor records (5k and 2-mile) and is on the cusp of developing a world-class finishing kick (at shorter distances). He’s shown he has the strength to overcome Lagat, but does he have the raw speed? If he had finished the mile at NBIGP, we’d have our answer. Instead, it’s a big question mark.
The guy who we don’t have to question is Ryan Hill. Last summer, we wondered for weeks whether Hill could achieve the IAAF 5k standard (13:15.00) and qualify for the World Championships. Not only did he end “the chase” in Heusden with a 13:14.22 finish, but he placed 10th in Moscow. Not bad for a guy coming out of college.
If you read our men’s 1500m preview, you know that Hill has had an amazing winter campaign. A 3:59.00 mile and 1:50.22 double at altitude and a 7:34.87 third place finish at NBIGP (#3 all-time) shows that he can mix it up with the world’s best. While we mentioned that Lagat was close to Alamirew in Germany, Hill was just a step behind Ethiopian stars Hagos Gebrhiwet and Dejen Gebremeskel in Boston. It'll be another close match-up in ABQ.
First, he’ll have to deal with two of the greatest American distance runners of all-time.
Flotrack thinks that it’ll be Lagat and Rupp in Poland, but personally, I’d like to see Hill snag a spot. It would at least give us a “redemption” narrative to work with this spring.
| Men 3000m (courtesy to USATF) | ||||
| Name | Affiliation | Mark | Status | Declaration |
| Galen Rupp | Nike | 7:34.68 | qualified | declared |
| Ryan Hill | Nike | 7:34.87 | qualified | declared |
| Garrett Heath | Brooks | 7:37.40 | qualified | declared |
| Andrew Bumbalough | Nike | 7:37.62 | qualified | declared |
| Bernard Lagat | Nike | 7:38.51 | qualified | declared |
| William Leer | Nike | 7:42.95 | qualified | declared |
| Ben Blankenship | Oregon TC Elite | 7:46.55 | qualified | declared |
| Craig Miller | New Balance | 7:49.05 | qualified | declared |
| Donald Cabral | Nike / New Jersey New York Track Club | 7:51.47 | qualified | declared |
| Timothy Ritchie | Boston Athletic Association | 7:56.16 | qualified | declared |
| Zachary Zarda | 7:57.18 | qualified | declared | |
| Nicholas Hilton | Team Run Flagstaff | 7:57.55 | qualified | declared |
| Craig Forys | New York Athletic Club (NYAC) | 7:58.07 | qualified | declared |
| William Nelson | 8:00.05 | qualified | declared | |
| Jim Spisak | Duquesne | 8:00.22 | qualified | declared |
| Dan Lowry | Playmakers Elite/New Balance | 8:00.69 | qualified | declared |
| Adam Vess | Team Run Flagstaff | 8:00.84 | qualified | declared |
| Daniel Quigley | Oregon TC Elite | 8:01.49 | qualified | declared |
| Aric Van Halen | 8:02.21 | qualified | declared | |
| Tommy Schmitz | Speed Factory Athletics | 8:03.15 | accepted | declared |
| Lopez Lomong | Nike | 13:58.00 | accepted | declared |