2023 USA 5000s: Abdihamud Nur Wins His 1st US Title, Elise Cranny Completes 5k/10k Double

By LetsRun.com

July 10, 2023

2023 USATF Outdoor Championships

EUGENE, Ore. — Abdihamid Nur took the lead with just over 1000 meters left in the men’s 5000 meters on Sunday night at the 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships and never looked back as he closed in 2:21.62 (53.64 final lap, 1:51.20 final 800) and won in 13:24.37. Two-time Olympic medallist Paul Chelimo, who was third at the bell, tried to run Nur down but Nur responded in the final 100 and Chelimo had to settle for second in 13:24.90 as Sean McGorty finished third just like he did in the 10,000 on Thursday (13:25.98). Joe Klecker (13:26.94) passed Cooper Teare (13:27.02) right before the line for fourth. Surprisingly, despite the modest pace, Woody Kincaid’s big kick wasn’t there and he wasn’t a factor and ended up 9th in 13:30.84.

American record holder Grant Fisher announced prior to the race that he has a “stress injury” in his femur and he did not start as a result.

The women’s race was almost a carbon copy of the 10,000 as the top three of Alicia Monson, Natosha Rogers, and Elise Cranny had gapped everyone else by the bell and Cranny blasted everyone over the final 300 meters (47.36) and won going away in 14:52.66 — her third straight US title at the distance. Monson, who did all of the pace work until the final 800, was second in 14:55.10 as her wait for a US track title continues while Rogers was third in 14:55.39 — the exact order of Thursday’s 10,000. Cranny’s time also gave her the Worlds standard, which she did not previously have.

US leader Josette Andrews was dropped on the third to last lap and ended up fourth in 15:01.80 as 2021 NCAA champ Elly Henes was 5th in 15:08.66. 2022 NCAA champ Katelyn Tuohy of NC State was the top collegian in 7th in 15:15.26.

Men’s race video (If you need a VPN to watch the video below click here)

Men’s Results

1 Abdihamid Nur 13:24.37
2 Paul Chelimo 13:24.90
3 Sean McGorty 13:25.98
4 Joe Klecker 13:26.94
5 Cooper Teare 13:27.02
6 Sam Gilman 13:27.49
7 Olin Hacker 13:28.16
8 Ahmed Muhumed 13:28.61
9 Woody Kincaid 13:30.84
10 Conner Mantz 13:30.85
11 Kasey Knevelbaard 13:35.00
12 John Reniewicki 13:38.19
13 Morgan Beadlescomb 13:38.69
14 Anthony Camerieri 13:39.13
15 Emmanuel Bor 13:39.88
16 Cole Sprout 13:42.43
17 Isai Rodriguez 13:42.96
18 Dillon Maggard 13:44.72

Article continues below player.

Women’s race video (If you need a VPN to watch the video below click here)

Women’s Results

1 Elise Cranny 14:52.66
2 Alicia Monson 14:55.10
3 Natosha Rogers 14:55.39
4 Josette Andrews 15:01.80
5 Elly Henes 15:08.66
6 Whittni Morgan 15:14.03
7 Katelyn Tuohy 15:15.26
8 Weini Kelati 15:15.49
9 Emily Infeld 15:24.17
10 Abby Nichols 15:27.02
11 Allie Buchalski 15:28.19
12 Andrea Rodenfels 15:30.26
13 Ednah Kurgat 15:30.66
14 Katie Camarena 15:32.26
15 Katie Izzo 15:32.61
16 Taylor Werner 15:36.06
17 Emily Lipari 15:40.34
18 Hannah Steelman 15:42.83
19 Katie Wasserman 15:44.47
20 Anna Oeser 15:51.92
21 Bethany Hasz 16:20.76
22 Maddie Alm 16:29.99

Quick Take: The US had three men under 12:57 this year and none of them made the Worlds team

Pretty wild to consider that out of Woody Kincaid (12:51), Joe Klecker (12:54), and Grant Fisher (12:56), none of them will be running Worlds in the 5,000. Of course, Kincaid and Klecker will be going in the 10,000 and Fisher also has a shot in that event still depending on what McGorty chooses.

MB: 3 Americans have run 12:46.96-12:54.99 in the last year – none of them running 5k at Worlds

Quick Take: Abdihamid Nur was fantastic over the last 1000

Nur controlled this race from the front in a way that should have made Mo Farah and Jakob Ingebrigtsen proud. Now, we’re not saying Nur is equal to those guys. While Nur’s last 1k today of 2:21.62 was faster than the 2:23.14 that Ingebrigtsen closed Worlds in last year on the same track, that race was much faster (13:09.24).

And when Farah won his first world title in Daegu in a very similar time to tonight (13:23.36), he did it by closing faster. In that Daegu race, Farah’s last lap was 52.8 (Nur’s was 53.64).

In 2013, when Farah won Worlds in 13:26.98, his last lap was similar to Nur’s tonight (Farah’s was 53.44) but his last 2000 was 4:58-9 whereas Nur’s was just 5:07.

Quick Take: Mike Smith’s pro athletes had themselves a weekend

The professional athletes who train under NAU coach Mike Smith in Flagstaff don’t have an official name and belong to a mishmash of sponsors. But whatever you want to call them, that group killed it this weekend at USAs, winning the men’s 10,000 (Kincaid), men’s 5,000 (Nur), and women’s 1500 (Nikki Hiltz). That’s as many titles as Bowerman (2) and OAC (1) combined this weekend.

Quick Take: Paul Chelimo did well to bounce back from 10k disappointment

Chelimo said that his legs weren’t feeling good two laps into Thursday’s 10k, but he toughed that race out and finished 5th. He wasn’t sure how his body would respond but it was good enough to get him on the team. Chelimo is 32 years old and said that his speed is not where he wants it to be right now. But he also has a fantastic track record in global finals, with medals in 2016, 2017, and 2021, and has six weeks to get fitter before Worlds.

“Big goal was just to go to Budapest,” Chelimo said. “I’m hungry. I’m picking up at the right time.”

Quick Take: Sean McGorty impresses

Bowerman has two reigning US outdoor champions in Grant Fisher and Cooper Teare and last year’s sixth-placer at Worlds in Evan Jager, yet the only BTC man to finish in the top 3 in an event at USAs this year was McGorty, who did it in both the 5k and 10k. Pretty impressive considering McGorty had not raced at all in 2023 before the meet and that he actually toyed with becoming a steepler in 2021.

While McGorty has two 3rd-place finishes, he is not officially on the Worlds team in either event yet as he doesn’t have the standard or requisite world ranking. He has a potential path via world ranking in the 10k if a couple of athletes scratch (which is likely to happen) and said he will probably try to get in a fast 5k before the qualifying window closes on July 30. If McGorty hits the 13:07.00 auto standard in that race, he’ll be on the team. If he doesn’t, he will have to race again if he wants to do the 5k in Budapest — you need three races in the qualifying window to get a world ranking, and right now McGorty only has one.

McGorty also said it’s possible that if he qualifies in the 5k, he might step aside and let his teammate Grant Fisher take his spot in the 10k (where Fisher was 4th). But that’s also dependent on whether Fisher is healthy enough to run at Worlds.

Quick Take: Cooper Teare was searching for answers after failing to make the Worlds team

Teare’s USA meet did not begin well as he was only 4th in his 1500 prelim on Thursday and failed to make the final a year after winning the event. Teare said he made a number of tactical mistakes in that race and was punished for it.

“Not the weekend I wanted by any means, but that’s what championship racing is and that’s what USAs is,” Teare said. “If you’re not here on your A game, you’re not going to make teams.”

Teare has enjoyed some highs during his first year with the Bowerman Track Club, notably running pbs in the 800 (1:47.63), 1500 (3:32.74), and 3000 (7:34.70). But there have been growing pains. He said that rather than focus on more specific 1500 training, his preparation was a hybrid of 1500 and 5000 work, which left him not feeling as confident in his speed as when he won USAs in 2022.

BTC coach Jerry Schumacher likes his athletes to get long, uninterrupted blocks of altitude training, which Teare did in Park City leading up to USAs. But Teare admitted that not racing in the six weeks before the meet was challenging for him. Moving forward he says, he either needs to race more or grow comfortable with the idea of not racing for long stretches.

“We had some really amazing workouts up at altitude but I just didn’t feel that confidence that I have when you come off of a racing season and you’re running PRs and you’re beating the people that you’re racing here,” Teare said.

Quick Take: Woody Kincaid, where were you?

Woody Kincaid has been the breakout US distance star of 2023, having run 12:51 indoors for 5000 and winning Thursday’s 10,000m title. He had the chance to assert himself as the US distance #1 on Sunday night but came up well short, finishing ninth.

Kincaid trains with Nur and knew what to expect from him. But Kincaid, who ran hard to win the 10,000 three days ago, said he could not summon his close when he needed it. Usually Kincaid is incredible on the last lap but tonight he looked mortal, closing in 57.74.

“I was ready for it,” Kincaid said. “It just wasn’t in the legs.”

The 10k/5k finals at USAs are closer together than they are at Worlds, and while the shorter gap isn’t always an issue — Cranny won both on the women’s side and McGorty was 3rd in both races — some athletes just don’t recover well from the first race.

Quick Take: Elise Cranny does the 5k/10k double but neither is her favorite event

There were a lot of questions about Cranny coming into this meet after her poor race in the 5k on May 26, but she passed both tests with flying colors as she joined Molly Huddle (2016) as the only woman to win the 5k and 10k at the same US champs. Neither the 5k nor 10k is what excites Cranny most at the moment, however. When she finally reunited with coaches Jerry Schumacher and Shalane Flanagan after the race, the first thing she mentioned to them was running the 1500 in Monaco in two weeks — the event she ran for most of her collegiate career at Stanford. Cranny was actually entered in the 1500 at USAs as well, but it was clear she made the right decision.

“Oh man, that 1500 final was brutal,” Cranny said. “…It was a fun race to watch. I’m glad I chose the 10 and the 5.”

On a weekend during which her Bowerman teammates struggled mightily or failed to make it to the start line — Karissa Schweizer and Grant Fisher both DNS’d the 5000 due to injury, and Courtney Frerichs did the same in the steeple — Cranny carried BTC on her back by bagging two national titles. Cranny admitted it was difficult to remain focused on her own races while her teammates struggled but she managed it all well.

“It’s been a really hard weekend for our team,” Cranny said.

Cranny added that it has been a big transition for Bowerman this year. The team has relocated to Eugene, Schumacher now has a roster of college athletes to deal with, and longtime BTC assistant/strength coach Pascal Dobert has moved on to the Puma Elite group. But Cranny said that even with Schumacher and Flanagan’s added responsibilities, she doesn’t feel as if they have spread themselves too thin and that having new Oregon/BTC assistant Chris Solinsky around has helped as well.

Alicia Monson post-race

Monson is still waiting for that first US title but is now qualified for Worlds in two events.

Natosha Rogers post-race

It was a great weekend for Rogers, who finished 3rd in the 10,000 and 3rd again in the 5,000. Rogers has the 5,000 standard so she’s definitely on the team in that event but is leaning towards trying to double in the 10,000 as well.

Quick Take: Josette Andrews misses out again

Andrews came into the race as #2 in the US this year in the 5,000 and knew coming in that Monson would be leading it so glued herself right behind Monson in second. She hung with the leaders through two miles but faded over the final mile and wound up 4th. While it was her best finish yet at USAs — she was 8th in the 5k in 2021 and 9th in the 1500 last year — 4th will be a disappointment as Andrews has the talent to make a team but has yet to put it together outdoors. She does have an outside shot at Worlds if one of Cranny/Monson/Rogers scratches the 5k. Her OAC teammate Monson is probably the best bet for a scratch there but it may not happen.

Quick Take: Katelyn Tuohy says she is planning on returning to NC State for the 2023 cross country season

Tuohy finished 7th, an improvement on her 13th-place finish last year, though she said she was hoping to crack the top six. She was happy to get the experience in the race, though, given these are the women she will have to beat to make teams in the future.

Tuohy also reflected on her 2022-23 campaign at NC State, which brought NCAA titles in cross country and indoor track (x2) but ended with a 7th-place finish in the 1500 and a DNS in the 5000 at NCAA outdoors Tuohy admitted that it was tough to continue performing at the insanely high level she reached in XC and indoor track for the entire year and that she was dealing with a lot of stress outdoors which affected her training. To succeed in the 1500 and 5000 at NCAAs, Tuohy needed to be at her best, and that’s not where she was in June.

“I have no excuse for myself,” Tuohy said. “I just didn’t perform, wasn’t feeling myself that week. It sucks when it doesn’t work out. It was really hard.”

Moving forward, Tuohy, who has an NIL deal with adidas, said she plans on returning to NC State and running cross country this fall, where the Wolfpack will chase a three-peat.

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2023 USA 5000s: Abdihamud Nur Wins His 1st US Title, Elise Cranny Completes 5k/10k Double

2023 USATF Outdoor Championships

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