My story from Eugene on Simeon Birnbaum, who followed in the footsteps of Andrew Wheating, Matthew Centrowitz, and Cole Hocker with an emphatic -- and iconic -- victory in Friday's NCAA 1500 final at Hayward Field.
https://t.co/tMryYDjUyJ
BIG KICK ENERGY 🦵
Colin Sahlman didn’t just win the #NCAATF 800m title— he did it by going from last to first in the final lap, clocking the fastest split in the field by nearly half a second to break the tape in 1:44.22.
Domination by Oregon’s Simeon Birnbaum to win the NCAA 1500m title in 3:36.05.
Closed his final lap in 52.08 and had plenty of time to celebrate in front of the Hayward Field faithful. 🦆
WELCOME BACK DAVE WOTTLE 🤯
Colin Sahlman of @NAUTrackFieldXC hit 400m of the #NCAATF 800m final in DEAD LAST before overhauling the eight men in front of him, including indoor champ Tyrice Taylor, to claim the national title in 1:44.22.
Sahlman’s mark is a lifetime best and moves him up to NCAA #6 all-time.
CROWN HIM.
After breaking the world record, Auburn’s Ja'Kobe Tharp runs 12.90s to win the men's 110m hurdles NCAA title.
Texas’ Kendrick Smallwood moves to No. 2 on the all-time NCAA list with a 12.95 run.
Hayward is the home of hurdle greatness.
43.38!!
ALABAMA’S SAMUEL OGAZI JUST DID THAT IN THE NCAA 400M FINAL.
COLLEGIATE RECORD ✅
NCAA CHAMPION ✅
NO. 4 ON THE ALL-TIME LIST
NIGERIAN NATIONAL RECORD 🇳🇬 ✅
Previous NCAA record was 43.61 by Michael Norman.
THE FUTURE IS HERE 😳
Cooper Lutkenhaus 🇺🇸 continues to exceed even the highest of expectations, battling reigning World/Olympic champ Emmanuel Wanyonyi 🇰🇪 to the line in the #OsloDL 800m and coming out with the win by 0.01 seconds, running 1:42.08 to improve his own U18 world record in the event.
At 17 years old, Lutkenhaus has now beaten the last two World champions and moved into the top-15 all-time, becoming one of only three American distance runners with multiple Diamond League wins in his second DL appearance.
This is literally insane.
His PR was 13.01. He dropped 0.26 seconds in a sprint race to break the long standing world record by 0.05 seconds...in a prelim.
Auburn’s Ja’Kobe Tharp just ran 12.75 to break the 110m hurdles world record in the NCAA PRELIMS.
Aries Merritt’s prior record of 12.80 had stood for almost 14 years.
He’s still only 20 years old.
THE WORLD RECORD NO ONE SAW COMING 🤯
Ja’Kobe Tharp makes HISTORY in the first round of the #NCAATF 110m hurdles, improving his personal best by a ridiculous 0.26 seconds to become the first man in history under 12.80 seconds and break Aries Merritt’s 2012 world record.
Tharp, the defending NCAA and U.S. champ, had only run 13.05 during the collegiate season prior, and now he’s heading into the final having destroyed a record that’d stood for over a decade.
Cooper Lutkenhaus after running a 1:42.08 personal best to win in Oslo and remain undefeated at 800m in 2026:
“Every time I think I’ve reached a limit, I feel like I’m able to break it the next race I run.”
COOPER WOULD NOT BE DENIED ‼️
Cooper Lutkenhaus edges out 2024 Olympic Champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi to win in Olso in 1:42.08. Cooper’s time is the world lead and US #3 all-time!! 😭
#DiamondLeague and #OsloDL coverage presented by @On_Running and @FleetFeetSports
OH MY HEAVENS!
🇺🇸 Cooper Lutkenhaus beats Olympic and World champion 🇰🇪 Emmanuel Wanyonyi 1:42.08 to 1:42.09 at the Oslo Diamond League.
The best 800m runner in the world is 17 years old. Fearless running by him.