So What is Nico Young's Best Event?

…the 1500m. You will see soon enough

Imagine if he doesn’t go pro and…

It’s almost guaranteed he gets 5k outdoor

Comes back and wins ncaa xc, gets 3k and mile indoor records, outdoor goes full focus and gets 1500m record

Then he would hold all main ncaa distance records, crazy how it actually could happen if he didn’t declare he is going pro

Ultimately, he will be equally good at the 5, 10, HM and marathon.

You'd think he's guaranteed to win anything he races in the NCAA, but he was only 6th in XC. I haven't heard anyone say he was sick or anything, but he crushed 7:37/13:22 a week later. Smith said a big part of Nico's new kick was having more strength, which would make you think he'd have done better in XC. He undoubtedly made a big jump in fitness as evidenced by 12:57/26:52, but it's weird how that didn't seem to translate to XC. Maybe just a bad day?

Also, Samuel just ran 26:53. I have no clue how he was so far back at NCAAs, but I expect him to be a real contender at 5k/10k/XC since he's a freshman right now. Either he'll be the next Cheserek, or there's gonna be NCAA guys capable of beating a 26:53 guy.

Graham Blanks is back next year for his senior year. He’s never lost to Samuel. And hasn’t lost to Nico since indoor NCAA 2023. He is also planning on running this outdoor season as well before Olympic Trials where he has the 5k Olympic standard.

I think his ideal distance would be ~7000-8000. But for real distances, I'd take the 10000 over the 5000 as he wouldn't have the leg speed to contend in a real kick (could he even close a 14:00-paced race in a 52?)

I hope Nico goes to the HM distance early in his career. I feel he could challenge the HM American record or at least get a sub 1:01-1:02 time like Mantz.

But he'll probably stick to 5K/10K to maximize his Olympic chances.

Your last sentence describes what everyone does.

1:01-1:02 is a massive undersell for a 26:52 guy

Going pro “early” didn’t seem to work out so well for Tuohy.

Diego Estrada ran 13:16 at NAU and around 1:01 HM then or soon after. Ryan Hall ran 13:16 before 59:43 AR. Nico would stand a very good shot at sub-60 and the record right now with 12:57/26:52--and he'd get the benefit of the really bouncy road shoes, which Hall, Ritz, and Rupp didn't have when they ran 60 and under.

Scratch that about Rupp. He probably did.

Marathon.

I’m not sure what his best event is because he’s so good at so many distances, but I’m sure about one thing. A confident Nico is a dangerous Nico

Cross country is different than track. Nico has a bouncy stride that puts a lot of force into the ground. On softer ground (like grass) a stride like that is getting less energy back because the force is being absorbed by the softer ground. A more cadence-oriented runner will not be as detrimentally affected.

Huh? Can you give an example of your theory besides Young? The best 5000/10000m runners are invariably just as good in XC.

His best event is posting on LetsRun.

You think so? Because I feel like until ~2 months ago everyone would've said Nico is way better at XC than track. 4th as a true freshman and 2nd as a junior is pretty great. He did have his 13:11 at age 19, and like 13:22 or something as a U20, but he still lost on the track.

Although now that you say it, a while ago I compared Nico to Fisher, and pointed out that Nico would've gotten the 5k title his sophomore year (like Fisher), but he got beat by 2 super-seniors. I didn't think it carried a ton of weight, but maybe that 3rd place was worth more than it's given credit for.

In the “Nico v. Rono” thread I wondered what Nico’s time was/would be in the Steeplechase. Truthfully, I was pretty sure he hadn’t and couldn’t measure up to H.R. but I’d like to see him try a few.