Grant Fisher, Cooper Teare And Ky Robinson Weigh In On The Expectation, And Difficulty, Of Sub-4 Pace For 2 Miles

By Lori Shontz Special to DyeStat

Photo by Diamond League AG

The question was put to the three athletes entered in Friday night’s 2-mile race at The Prefontaine Classic who appeared at a Thursday press conference: Will someone in the field break the 8-minute barrier?

Cooper Teare: Yes.

Ky Robinson: Yes.

Grant Fisher, laughing: “I can’t say no now. So I’ll say yes.”

Regardless of whether anyone breaks the barrier, the final event of the first day of the Pre Classic is shaping up to be an intriguing race.

Many of the competitors are looking to break national records, potentially including Fisher, who holds the absolute American record, 8:03.62, which he ran at the 2024 Millrose Games.

“Breaking 8 minutes is incredibly difficult,” said Fisher, who won his first Diamond League event just last weekend in Paris. “A lot of things have to go right for that to happen.”

Daniel Komen became the first man to break the 8-minute barrier in 1997, running back-to-back sub-4 minute miles and finishing in 7:58.61, considered a “world’s best.”

A week after Komen set the mark, Pete Cava of USATF told the Los Angeles Times, “What Komen did was like throwing a one-hit shutout in the first game of a doubleheader and then coming up for the second game and throwing a no-hitter. It’s phenomenal.”

The record stood for 26 years until 2023, when Jakob Ingebrigtsen smashed it with a 7:54.10 at the Diamond League meet in Paris.

“For it to become commonplace, I think the sport will have to move along a lot,” Fisher said. “The times that we talk about now in 10 years will not be as far-fetched. Just like 10 years ago … the Komen world record was considered untouchable – that’s gone. Times change. Everyone gets faster.

“The times that we run by the time we retire, I’m sure, will be a lot more commonplace. But that’s the sport. It gets faster. Tech gets better. Nutrition gets better. Training gets better. It’s a good thing.”

Teare, one of five other Americans entered in the race, along with Parker Wolfe, Marco Langon, Abdi Nur and Sam Gilman, noted another intangible: The race will start at 9:16 p.m.

“Hayward under the lights is something you don’t see that often,” said Teare, pointing out that USATF and NCAA meets are generally held in an East Coast television window, when it’s still daylight in Eugene. “When you get the chance to really get under the lights, Hayward kinda collapses in on you. You feel like you’re in the little bubble.”

Sion Believes Big Throw Is Coming

Val Sion estimates that she’s thrown the discus 100,000 times. “But I feel like I’m still chasing that one,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve met my potential. I know there’s more whether it’s the technique, the power or the strength. I know there’s more to chase. That’s what keeps me going.”

She’ll be attempting to win at the Pre Classic for the fifth consecutive time on Friday, and her best marks are far ahead of the rest of the field. She’s thrown a world-leading 73.1m (239-10) this season, two meters farther than her competition.

A year ago, she set the meet record at 71.45m (234-5), and she believe she’s in position for a big throw. She’s also got the competition she needs, with Jorinde Van Klinken and Alida Van Daalen, ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the world, in the field.

“I think I’m at my best when I do compete a lot,” she said. “There's a different competitive edge you can only earn by going up against great people. I really feel like I’m ready to put those technique pieces with a competitive edge together.”

Lutkenhaus Returns to Hayward Field

When he was last seen at Hayward Field, Cooper Lutkenhaus was unleashing a ferocious kick to finish second at the USATF Outdoor Championships, beating a slew of fast, veteran runners and making the U.S. team for worlds … as a 16-year-old.

Since then, he’s turned professional, won a national indoor title, won a world indoor title and won two Diamond League events.

And now he’ll be among the favorites in Friday night’s 800 meters, and he’s come a long way in strategy and his approach to the race.

“You have to hurt to win the race now,” he said. “I would say almost two years ago I was almost a little bit scared to make moves further out because I knew what the pain was going to be. But now there’s no fear in getting up for a race with some of the best runners in the world. That’s what you have to do to be able to compete and try to win, and every race I’m going into I’m trying to win."

Lincoln Ready To Test Herself Against Pros

She’s the only high schooler in the women’s 1,500-meter field, but Ellery Lincoln knows she can’t think about that.

“A really big part of being successful in a race like this as the youngest in the field is to believe that I belong here, not taking myself out of it before the gun goes off,” said Lincoln, who runs for Portland’s Lincoln High and who qualified for the U20 World Championships two weeks ago at Hayward. “I’m excited to run in the pack. I have some really awesome women to be able to pull the best out of me.”

What Lincoln calls “the most competitive field I’ve ever run in” also includes professionals Gracie Morris and Lindsey Butler, who finished two-three at USATF Indoors, and three NCAA finalists, Salma Elbadra, Wilma Nielsen and Carlee Hansen.