WATCH ALEXA EFRAIMSON RUN 2:01.13!

18-year-old phenom Alexa Efraimson has had an up-and-down start to her professional career, but tonight’s result in the 800m at the Portland Twilight was validation that she’s on the right track. 

 

The 2013 1500m World Youth bronze medalist ran a stunning 2:01.13 tonight at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, improving her PB by more than two seconds while lowering her 2015 800m World junior lead in the process. Efraimson ran 2:03.23 this past Thursday at the Hoka One One Middle Distance Classic in Los Angeles, which was the top performance by a junior until this evening. 

 

Efraimson smashed her personal best tonight with the help of really strong pacing. Former NCAA D-II 800m champion McKayla Fricker paced Efraimson through 400m in around 59 seconds, which set her up perfectly for the fast time. When she stepped off the track at 600m in around 1:30, Fricker had done a lot of the work for Efraimson already.

Fricker is Efraimson's training partner, and interestingly enough, finished second to the 18-year-old in the 800m at Hoka in 2:03.50. The familiarity that Efraimson has with Fricker was likely a big factor in the teenager's brilliant race in Portland. 

 

Many questioned Efraimson’s decision to turn pro when she did so in August, and doubters can point to results like the Payton Jordan 5k (16:09, 19th in Heat 2) as proof that she made a mistake by skipping out on college. That topic is still being debated, but there’s no denying the immense talent and potential that Efraimson has. She’s fearless and has all the tools to be great in this sport, it’s just going to take time before she’s competitive at the highest level. 

 

Her 2:01.13 is a sign that her time may be coming sooner rather than later. 

FULL RESULTS