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Championships
After leading part of the race Monday in Beijing at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships, Evan slipped back to sixth place over the final 300 meters. The American record holder left the track disappointed, but appreciates all of the support from his friends, family and fans and looks forward to getting back out on the track soon.
A very conservative early pace led to a furious dash to the finish, but Evan succeeded on finishing top three, automatically advancing to the finals at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Beijing, China.
Evan led a few different moments in the race, always looking in control and only shifting gears over the final 70 meters of the race, passing two runners and finishing a half step behind Kenyan Conseslus Kipruto.
Finishing second in 8:41.51, Evan now shifts his focus to the 3,000m steeplechase final, which takes place Monday morning (in the United States) at 9:15am EST.
Full Results | IAAF World Championship Website
Letsrun caught up with Evan afterward, reviewing his race, the close finish and the final ahead.
The IAAF World Outdoor Championships are here and Evan is ready to race. Below are a few details to keep in your back pocket as you go about cheering on Evan in Beijing.
Use the hashtag #JagerTime to cheer Evan on!
Date: Friday, August 21
Time: 10:35pm EST
Where to Watch: 7:30pm-1:00am EST on Universal Sports
Competition: Evan is the top entry in the field, with only Kenyan Conseslus Kipruto in the same ballpark from a seasonal best standpoint. Evan's 8:00.45 is well ahead of Kipruto's seasonal best of 8:05.20, while the third best runner in the field has only run 8:16.54 this season. The top three finishers automatically advance to the final. Fellow Americans Daniel Huling and Donn Cabral are in the second and third heat, respectively.
Date: Monday, August 24
Time: 9:15am EST
Where to Watch: 7:00am - 10:00am EST on Universal Sports
Competition: After the women's 10,000m final and before the men's 100m final, the crowd should be buzzing with excitement for the men's 3,000m steeplechase final. Reigning World Champion Ezekiel Kemboi and fellow Kenyan Jairus Birech are considered Evan's chief competition (assuming everyone qualifies for the final). Kemboi has the big-race success, while Birech has proven to be the world's best steepler the past two seasons. Neither is unbeatable and the battle is set.
As the IAAF World Outdoor Championships near, media attention picks up. Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal published a very nice piece on Evan and fellow American steeple star Emma Coburn. The United States distance core is strong heading over to Beijing and Evan and Emma are two of the strongest medal favorites.
If you have a few minutes, give it a read!
Can U.S. Track and Field Finally Go the Distance? (Wall Street Journal)
Happy Fourth of July!!! I want to thank everyone for all the support I have gotten over the past few weeks after my races at the Portland Track Festival and U.S. Championships. Running well and winning races obviously gives me a ton of joy but it makes me so happy to see I have support from so many different people, close and far. I might not have responded to everyone but I am truly thankful for everyone’s support, so THANK YOU!
This year of training has been going so well. The guys and myself have just been steadily putting in solid workouts, keeping everything under control, without hitting anything out of the park pretty much all year. I knew I was fit going into our altitude camp in Park City and always come out of altitude fitter than I was going in, so I knew I was ready for some big results, but even I surprised myself with my performance at the PTF and that is really saying something. I have tons of confidence in myself and thought that I was capable of running in the 3:32-3:33 range at some point this year, but to do it at Lewis & Clark University, at a low-key meet that night, surprised the hell out of me. I can’t remember the last time I shocked myself with one of my own performances. I actually don’t know if I have ever shocked myself with something I’ve done, which is why this performance was so special to me.
Going into USA’s I was confident coming off of my 1500 but still nervous. Although I had run faster than the guys in the field, I knew how good of competitors they all are. There were some new faces in the final that I had never raced before and I knew the shape that my teammates Dan (Huling) and Andy (Bayer) were in. I knew that I couldn’t be overly confident or cocky going into the race because that is when poor performances happen.
Against my better judgment, I allowed Jerry and Pascal (my coaches) to give me a pre race talk just before bed the night before the final. Of course, just as I thought it would, that kept my mind racing until about 3am when I was finally able to fall asleep. The little amount of sleep that I got only added to the nerves that I already had over the weekend. Dan, Andy and I all had our own race plans going into the race and thankfully the race played out how I had hoped.
Cory Leslie took the race out at an honest pace for the first four laps of the race until I took over the lead just before three laps to go. My goal was to continuously squeeze the pace down over the last three laps. After throwing in a 62 second penultimate lap, I was nervous and surprised seeing three or four guys still within striking distance of me. I just tried to keep the pedal down over the last lap and save something for the homestretch in case one of the guys had gotten back up on my shoulder.
I was happy and relieved to cross that finish line first for the fourth consecutive year. I feel there is some pressure to keep the streak going, but I love that. The idea of continuing a streak like that at the U.S. Champs makes such an important meet even more exciting and I want to keep it going as long as I can. This year’s steeple title was definitely the hardest one to win. Donn and Dan finishing as close as they did to me definitely kept the pressure on me over the last three laps and I think it says a lot about where the U.S. steeple field is at right now, as well as where I think it is going!
I am excited and optimistic about the rest of my season and it starts with the Paris Diamond League steeplechase tonight. Here We Go!
Evan w/ teammate Daniel Huling (photo by TrackTown Photo)
Taking the lead with over half the race left, Evan inched ahead of the field lap-by-lap, kicking home to his fourth-straight national title at the USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships over the weekend. Evan, along with fellow Olympian Donn Cabral and fellow Bowerman Track Club teammate Daniel Huling, comprise a strong U.S. squad headed to the IAAF Outdoor Championships in Beijing.
Evan's winning performance of 8:12.29 also set a U.S. championships record, eclipsing the previous mark of 8:15.02 set by Daniel Lincoln in 2004.
(via Flotrack)
8:12.29 - Evan Jager - NATIONAL CHAMPION
8:13.37 - Donn Cabral
8:14.11 - Daniel Huling
8:21.44 - Andrew Bayer
8:26.79 - Stanley Kebenei
