Seventh for Jager in Birmingham

In his first outing since the World Championships in London, Evan Jager finished seventh in the Emsley Carr mile in Birmingham on Sunday afternoon, coming home in 3:57.39. 

The race was won by Jake Wightman of Britain in 3:54.92 ahead of compatriot Chris O'Hare (3:55.01). Jager, the 3000m steeplechase bronze medalist in London, took up the pace shortly after the 800m mark, reached in 1:57.36, with the American leading through 1200m in 2:59.32. 

However, he didn't have the pace to match the mile specialists over the final 200m and had to settle for seventh on this occasion. 

Jager claims historic bronze in London

Evan Jager created history for American distance running by becoming the first US man to win a medal in the steeplechase at the World Championships in London on Tuesday night, the 28-year-old Illinois native coming home third in 8:15.33 in a race won by Olympic champion Conseslus Kipruto of Kenya.

“I’m a little disappointed I didn’t come away with the win but happy I stayed in the top three and got a medal,” Jager said afterward. “I’m a little bummed.”

The early pace was slow, the athletes virtually jogging through the first kilometer in 2:51.81, which left all 15 athletes bunched together. With just more than a mile to run, Jager finally broke, powering to the front and injecting a huge surge.

“I wanted to make it hard,” he said. “We thought it was going to go slow the first kilometer and we said if that happens it’s better for me to get rid of guys by going hard with three or four laps to go to make it a strength race.”

“I was like: Oh my gosh, I hope I have enough left,” Jager said, recalling his thoughts up the home stretch as he hung on for bronze.

Kipruto took gold in 8:14.12 ahead of Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco to maintain Kenya’s stranglehold on the event, with Jager taking the first ever world medal in the event by an American.

For a full story on Jager’s feat and to watch his reaction, check out Runner’s World.

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.