by Jeff BenjaminSo, at about 10 pm on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, our East senior writer, Jeff Benjamin, sends me a piece on the dark horses who could mess up the predictions for the Men’s 1,500m.
I looked over them, found their PBs and noted that while I am tired after editing twelve hours today, ten hours yesterday, this is a fun piece!
Enjoy!
Thanks, Jeff!
Men’s 1,500m at Portland Track Festival, photo by How Lao photography
“A Race For The Ages!”
The Dark Horses & Up & Comers In The Men’s 1500
By Jeff Benjamin
Beginning Thursday, 30 of America’s best Men’s milers will be lining up to begin their Olympic quests.
In a field with Olympians (including the defending Olympic Champion!) & World Champs competitors on the top, the unpredictability no doubt will come into play as there are others not as well-known who are striving to reach the top 3 and earn that Olympic trip to Tokyo.
With so much quality and depth out there, the men’s 1500 meters could very well turn out to be a “Race for the Ages.”
Here are 5 of those dark horses along with up and comers, who discussed their training and goals.
Vincent Ciattei, PB of 3:34.57, 1,500m.
“I’m very excited to be going into my first Olympic Trials next week. I’ve been living in Eugene since the fall of 2018, and running this meet in my own backyard has been my biggest motivation through good times and bad.
The build-up to the Trials has been unique, both mentally and physically. With my lack of races in 2019, I knew I wouldn’t have a great World ranking and therefore needed to achieve the Olympic standard. It was a huge relief to take care of that at the Portland Track Classic in May – it was nearly a 2 second PR for me, and it came organically within the training plan that ultimately focused on the Trials and Tokyo.
With so much focus on running a time standard over the past two years, it’s actually mentally refreshing to look forward to racing to win. I never ran great time trials in college but was always able to raise my game at championship meets. I’m excited to do the same at the Trials.”
Henry Wynne, 3:34.08 PB
“I’ve had some of the best training of my life these past few months! Our team recently came back from an extended altitude camp in Albuquerque where I was having great consistent training.
Our whole team has been rounding into form when it matters and that has helped the quality of training and overall morale. It has been easy to push myself with guys like Josh Kerr who just set the fastest 1500m ever run on US soil!
I believe what has been just as important as my actual running has been the work I’ve done to sharpen my mental approach to racing. This past year I started working with a sports psychologist who has helped me hone the mental practices that have made me successful so far in my career. Adding in this extra layer of training has been a fun challenge and I feel like I’m coming into the Trials with a whole new set of tools that will help me compete!
Everyone knows the trials are an extended weekend of racing so my first focus is making it safely through the rounds. It doesn’t matter how well you’ve been training or if you’re ranked highly in the US if you take getting through rounds for granted. I respect all of my competitors and I know how important it is to focus on every step of getting to that final.
With that being said my overarching goal for Trials is to make the Olympic Team and I’ve never been in a better spot to make that dream a reality. I may not be most people’s favorite but when I make it I’m sure there will be a lot of people looking back and realizing they missed the signs!”
Sam Prakel, 3:36.54 PB
“My training leading up to the Olympic Trials this year has been extremely consistent. No single workout stands out as being incredible or terrible, but I’ve been able to stick closely to the plan I made earlier this year and put in many quality weeks of training. My body continues to feel good as I check off the last couple of workouts this week and head down to Eugene.
I am very excited to race at Hayward Field and compete through the rounds of the 1500. The depth in 1500 this year is incredible, and making Team USA will be a challenge, but it is a challenge I am up for. All I can do is just take it one step at a time and focus on that first round on June 24th. Overall, I’m looking forward to having a fun week in Tracktown and will enjoy being back where it all started for me at UO.”
Jack Salisbury, 3:37.18 PB
“Things are going well. The focus has been the NCAA season and now that the racing there is over I am gearing up to compete at the trials. The fitness from the season is still there so the primary focus is just recovering both physically and mentally and maintaining that fitness. It has been a long season thus far but I have to credit Coach Bonsey for pulling the strings perfectly so that I have come to this point of the season in prime shape but not overworked or overraced. I am excited about this upcoming week and the goal is definitely to make 1500 final.”
Eric Holt, 3:36.62 PB
“My training at Empire Elite has been going great. Working out with elite runners like Johnny Gregorek, Colby Alexander, and Isaac Updike has gotten me ready for the big leagues. I think the best part about training with such high-caliber athletes is that I no longer fear other talented runners at big meets. Training with some of the best athletes out there shows me that I can handle the highest level of competition. The more I improve, the more my expectations have grown. But at the end of the day, I’m satisfied as long as I give it my all. That’s all I control.
Physically, I’ve trained harder than ever before in my career. But it took years of psychological training to be able to push myself this hard. I trained by myself for a few years, which challenged me and taught me how much I want to be great. That resiliency has made me tough enough to get through grueling workouts with Empire Elite. Honestly, I don’t know if I would be this mentally tough without those years of solo training.
Going into trials, I’m just going to treat the early rounds like many of my races this season. I’m going to position myself well and try to advance using as little energy as possible. If I make finals, I’ll have to go all out and run faster than ever before. However, I’m not alone; I have two of the best coaches in the country who believe in me and two teammates in the 1500m. We’ll work together to make finals, and we all believe we can.”
