Races - Places, Nico Young became an American record-holder. On Thursday, June 12, the 22-year-old raced like a veteran in his Diamond League debut in Oslo, winning the men’s 5,000 meters in 12:45.27. Young’s time improves on the previous outdoor American record (12:46.96) set by Grant Fisher in 2022.
With a stunning surge on the last lap, Young took down a stacked field of competitors in a race initially billed as a world record attempt. The 2024 Olympian took more than six seconds off his previous personal best (12:51.56), which he ran indoors earlier this year. He almost broke the overall U.S. record (12:44.09) run by Fisher indoors on February 14 in Boston.
“It was a crazy race. This surprised me a little bit, but I am really proud that I managed to stay on this pace all this time. Coming into the race, I was not 100 percent sure what I was going to do. There were so many scenarios of what could have happened,” Young told reporters in Norway, while explaining that he felt good around the 3,000-meter mark and decided to stick with it.
“The best is yet to come. Coming here, I knew that there was a possibility to run 12:45, but I did not know how I would have run,” he said. “Today was really good for the fitness I am in right now.”
Behind Young, Ethiopians Biniam Mehary (12:45.93) and Kuma Girma (12:46.41) placed second and third, respectively. Recent Harvard graduate Graham Blanks took 11 seconds off his previous personal best, finishing seventh in 12:48.20. He is now No. 3 on the U.S. all-time list in the event.
The Diamond League victory is the latest standout performance for Young this year. Almost two weeks ago, the Northern Arizona University graduate won the 3,000 meters at the A Part of Hearst Digital Media. During the indoor track season, Young also clocked personal bests in the mile (3:50.89) and 5,000 meters.
Last summer, Young made his first Olympics weeks after ending his collegiate career for the Lumberjacks with two NCAA titles. He finished third in the 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and went on to place 12th in the Olympic final in Paris.
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
