I find myself believing the logic of Letsrun on this one: http://www.letsrun.com/2012/monacopreview-0719.php
LetsRun.com wrote:
QT #1: Is American record talk crazy for Jager in this race? Even though his PR is 8:17.40 and the American record is 8:08.82, we don't think it is.
Take a look at the top 5 Americans all-time in the steeplechase and look at their 5,000 PRs according to tilastapaja.org:
1. Dan Lincoln 8:08.82 - 13:32.27
2. Henry Marsh 8:09.17 - 13:45.20
3. Mark Croghan 8:09.76 - 13:44.22
4. Brain Diemer 8:13.16 - 13:47.15
5. Dan Huling 8:13.29 - 13:24.72
Okay, Huling's PR is fairly legit and some of those other guys may have run a bit faster, but our point is they were nowhere near as good of flat runners as Jager, who ran 13:22.18 in 2009 as a 20-year-old and is likely in sub-13:10 shape right now.
I say yes 8:07.65.