The start coordinates can be located in the 2016 Rio Games. There, Matthew Centrowitz became the first American to win the 1,500 meter test from London 1908, when athletics was another. His success did not come alone. In those games, … Jennifer Simpson was bronze in the female competition of 1,500; Paul Chelimo, of Kenyan origin, hung the silver in 5,000 meters, and Clayton Murphy, the bronze in 800. The US midfund and background, so many times residual compared to other tests, began to pee out his head.
They have spent almost nine years and, since then, the ‘American Distancy Runners’, as they call them in their country, have not stopped winning hierarchy. 2024 was the year of medals. Up to seven obtained in the World Cup in Glasgow covered, in tests between 800 and 3,000 meters, their best historical performance, almost at the height of the nine -metal record that achieved Ethiopia in 2022. Then the games arrived, with gold and gold the bronze of Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse in 1,500; Kenneth Rook’s silver in 3,000 obstacles and Grant Fisher’s historic double, bronze in both 5,000 and 10,000. An unlikely booty.
And 2025 is being the record season. This February, Nuguse beat the world mile plusmarca on the covered track, with 3: 46.63, while his compatriot Hobbs Kessler ended in 3: 46.90, also below the old record. That brand lasted a short time, it is true: a few days later, Jakob Ingebrigtsen sprayed it in Lievin (3: 45.15).
Even more spectacular has been the performance of Fisher, who also in New York destroyed the global plusmarca of 3,000 meters (7: 22.91), in a tight end to another American, the Olympic champion Hocker, which also remained below the previous record . Far from conforming, Fisher reduced the 5,000 record (12: 44.09) a week later. The American took six seconds from a plumass to Kenenisa Bekele’s chrono, in force since 2004.
It seems clear that this performance is no longer accidental or circumstantial. To find the reasons for this talent explosion, you have to look at the NCAA and the framework of the great American universities. Those who know that circuit emphasize that university sport, with their resources and their obsession with competitiveness, builds an ecosystem as fertile as a tropical jungle, where future Olympic medalists sprout.
Mario García Romo, European bronze in 2022, knows it well. In 2018 he left his little samanctino town of Villar de Gallimazo to study and train at the University of Mississippi, one of the most prominent. “Many of the current medalists have passed by,” he tells ABC. “It is a competition system that forces you to perform every week and in which, between 18 and 23, you face some of the best athletes in the world.” His statement reveals the essential engine that promotes this American assault.
While in other continents battle is to keep athletes with minimal scholarships, NCAA offers impeccable clues and unlimited access to physiotherapists, dietitians and personal coaches. But it is not a high -level spa, but an environment of continuous rivalry. Every weekend, the pressure of university events requires athletes to give one hundred percent, a wild learning that raises brands and temper nerves.
“A lot of money moves and that also attracts athletes,” Antonio Serrano, Spanish coach specialized in background and mentor, among others, of Adel Mechaal and Marta Pérez, a Spanish plusmarchist of 1,500, explains to this newspaper. «They win figures that in Spain are not seen even being Olympic champion. The brands have groups of twenty or thirty fondistas, with well -paid coaches and excellent training places ».
That specialized environment was what encouraged García Romo to continue in the United States after concluding his university stage. He also weighed the generous contract offered by the On Running brand to join the group led by Dathan Ritzenhein at the height of Boulder (Colorado). More and more international athletes who opt for that path are.
“It is true that in Europe things are being done better and better, but normally here the athletes have more opportunities,” says García Romo. «There is more media impact and, in addition, for a couple of years the university athletes are allowed to sign image contracts. Ethan Strand, university record of the mile and 3,000 meters this year, has just done. He and Parker Wolfe are the two great bets for the United States, spoiled to the extreme with a ten -year training plan, designed to avoid overloads and excessive competitions, and thus prolong their professional careers.
Africa, something else
There is also another piece that fits into the puzzle: the apparent withdrawal from Africans to the route. Those who follow the evolution of background powers such as Kenya or Ethiopia point out that the prestige (and economic profitability) of the marathon seduces them at an increasingly early ages. “It is hard to see the best on the track, especially in winter seasons,” says Serrano. Kenya, a great dominator of the last decades, now suffers the doping scourge, which reduces her hegemonic capacity.
And another factor could still fit, with Norwegian name: Jakob Ingebrigtsen. At least, that is the opinion of Grant Fisher himself: «He has changed the game in many ways. Many of us are following it. It is a kind of model to follow. Jakob has climbed the ribbon. Now the boys want to keep up. That is what happens when someone establishes a new standard, and it is fun to be part of this ».
The United States, with all its resources available, has launched for one of the few disciplines that escaped its control. “I have been there and I know that athletics is a priority for them,” concludes Serrano. «There is a huge base and is increasingly professionalized. And a very strong university sport gives rise to a very powerful professional athletics. It is a pyramid ». “We will see how they evolve in the coming years,” Garcia Romo has added. The scholarship system has changed and athletics has been harmed. I am interested in seeing how it will affect the future ».
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