Magnificent night in Monaco

Evan Jager turned in an outstanding performance to win the Monaco Diamond League on Friday night in 8:01.29, the fastest time in the world this year and his quickest in more than two years. Coming less than two weeks before the beginning of the IAAF World Championships in London, it served as the perfect confidence boost for the 28-year-old Olympic silver medalist.

Jager seized command of the race shortly after the 2000m mark, which was reached in a sensible 5:25.40, which means he ran his last kilometer in a blazing 2:35.89. He wound up the pace over the final three laps with relentless power, finally breaking the trio chasing behind with 500m to run. From there, he accelerated all the way to the finish, sprinting to the line to just miss out on the eight-minute barrier, not that he will have been bothered.

“It was our plan to run only the steeple on the Diamond League circuit now,” said Jager, who was running his first race in Europe this year. “The previous ones did not fit into our plans with training camp and altitude.”

However, despite beating the best Kenya had to offer on the night, the Bowerman Track Club athlete will not be resting on his laurels over the upcoming fortnight. After all, a late withdrawal from the race was the man who beat him to gold in Rio last year, Conseslus Kipruto, who erred on the side of caution while nursing a foot injury. The pair met afterwards in the mixed zone, with Jager reportedly telling Kipruto that he was sorry not to have him out there and that they’d see each other in London.

“We are keeping our options open for the best possible tactical plan for the worlds,” said Jager. “But one thing is clear: I’m going for gold.”

STATEMENT REGARDING FANCY BEARS DOCUMENT

I woke up this morning to find out that my name had been published as a part of a list released by the 'Fancy Bears' and they are saying that I had an abnormal blood passport test result. I was incredibly shocked to see my name amongst a list of athletes believed to be “likely doping.” I have so many questions as to how and why my name got on that list. I have never taken any banned substance and have always prided myself on doing things the right way and being a clean athlete.

I have gone through my records looking for the test results or test notification from February 9, 2016 (the date listed as my “last ABP test date”) and cannot find any notification of having taken a drug test on that day. I also was not contacted by USADA/WADA/IAAF regarding an abnormal blood panel test result. There is a possibility that I did take a test that day, but I have no record of it. I am trying to contact the authorities to determine if I was tested that day and how my name could have ended up on such a list.

Though the IAAF has clearly determined that there was no anti-doping rule violation committed, I’m still very saddened about the idea that people might think that I have broken the rules when I, and all those close to me, know that I have not. It has always been important to me to not just do things the right way, but to have the trust of my fans and competitors and to prove to people that you can reach the top of the sport clean. I have never and will never break or try to bend an anti-doping rule. I hope this gets cleared up very quickly and that I can maintain the trust I have worked so hard to build in the running community.

Evan Wins Sixth Straight U.S. Steeple Title

With a killer last lap of 56.70, Evan Jager won Sunday’s USATF steeplechase final in 8:16.88. Evan entered the bell lap leading a pack of four, but dispensed of them with his unmatchable finish; second finisher Stanley Kebenei was more than a second and a half back at the end.

The victory not only earned Evan a spot at August’s World Championships but was also his sixth straight U.S. steeple title, dating to 2012, his first year in the event. The only longer streak in modern times is Henry Marsh’s 7-year run from 1981 through 1987.

“I knew it was going to be hard,” Evan said afterward. “It was a little windy, so I didn’t want to be out in the lead for four and a half laps like last year. I wanted to wait and kind of trusted my speed and my hurdling form, my technique, against the rest of the guys.”

Evan is most likely far from his peak, given that Friday’s qualifying round was his first steeple of the year. Looking forward to London, where he’ll be joined by Bowerman Track Club teammates Amy Cragg (marathon), Emily Infeld (10,000), and Courtney Frerichs and Colleen Quigley (steeplechase).

Evan Ranked #2 in the World for 2016

For the second time in the last three years, Track & Field News has ranked Evan second in the world in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The ranking was pretty much a no-brainer, given Evan's Olympic silver behind Kenya's Conseslus Kipruto, who got the gold in Rio and the 2016 #1 spot.

Evan, of course, got the top U.S. ranking in the steeple. It was his fifth straight such ranking since 2012, the year he took up the event. The last American man to have a longer streak at #1 in the steeple was Henry Marsh, who was ranked the top U.S. steepler from 1978 through 1983.

Evan also picked up a #7 ranking on the U.S. 5K list, and tied with 1500-meter Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz for 5th in the overall U.S. rankings.

Evan Ends Season With Yearly Best

Evan finished out the best season of his career in great style on Friday, placing second in the steeplechase in Brussels in 8:04.01, his fastest time of the year. Evan was just behind Olympic champion Conseslus Kipruto, who capped his undefeated season with the victory in 8:03.74.

Evan and Kipruto broke free of the rest of the pack in the second kilometer. Evan ran just off Kipruto’s shoulder into the last lap. He started to come even over the last water jump, but then stumbled a bit coming out of the pit. Evan regrouped and again almost pulled even approaching the final barrier, but was unable to close the gap over the last 50 meters.

Back in March Evan said he had only two goals for the year: make the Olympic team, then medal in Rio. He accomplished both, and then some, repeating as Trials champion, followed by earning the Olympic silver medal, the best Olympic showing by an American steepler since 1952.

Evan Takes 3rd in Zurich Weltklasse 5,000

After making a bold front-running bid for victory, Evan placed third in the 5,000 at Zurich's Weltklasse meet on September 1. He finished in 13:16.86, behind Olympic bronze medalist Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia and Olympic silver medalist Paul Chelimo of the United States.

Evan was the only one to go with the two pacemakers, Hillary Maiyo and Cornelius Kangogo of Kenya. They passed through the first kilometer in 2:34.44, the pace assigned to the rabbits before the race. Nonetheless, after 1,600 meters Evan and the pacemakers had almost 100 meters on the chase pack.

"I was ready for a really fast, really hard race," Evan told Race Results Weekly. "We thought the race was going to go fast, thought everyone wanted to run fast. I just tried to get off the line pretty hard and set myself in... But no one went out, it was the weirdest thing."

Evan took possession of the lead in the fourth kilometer, but was unable to keep building his lead on his own. The hard-charging Gebrhiwet passed Evan entering the final straight.

"I just came up 100 meters short, which is brutal, but I'm happy with how I raced for sure," Evan said.

Evan will conclude his outdoor season with one last steeplechase in Brussels, on Friday, September 9.