by Larry Eder
The Women’s 3000 meters is always a stellar field. Ray Flynn, the meet director at the 118th Millrose Games, a fomer elite athlete ( Olympian, NR for Ireland), knows how to orchestrate great fields.
Here’s the real secret of putting together a great field. It is not just about getting fast people, anyone can do that. It is about putting together racers who like to race fearlessly, racers who will take chances and racers who are looking for that breakout race, with the established stars. In track & field, dear readers, one is only as good as their last race.
Consider Doris Lemngole.
Doris Lemngole is an exciting athlete from the University of Alabama via Kenya, who has impressed in NCAA Indoor, outdoor and cross country competitions. Doris has competed for three years at the University of Alabama.
Doris has now won two NCAA Cross-Country Championships, once in 2024, and second in 2025, defeating freshman phenom Jane Hedengren. In NCAA Outdoor, Doris Lemngole not only won the NCAA steeplechase, but also holds the Collegiate record in the 3,000 meter event with barriers and water jumps, becoming the first collegian to go under 9 minutes for the steeple, with her NCAA record of 8:58.15. Last summer, Doris also won the Zurich Weltklasse Steeplechase, against the very best in the world, in the pouring rain!
In September 2025, Doris competed against the very best in the steeplechase, representing her home country, Kenya, taking fifth in the final. Doris also recovered from a fall at the final water jump, something every steeplechaser goes through, sometime in their career.
On February 1, 2026, Doris lined up with a stellar field in the NIKE Armory, for the Millrose Games 3000 meters. There was Hannah Nuttal, a British internationalist, with a bruising kick, Jane Hedengren, the BYU frosh, who had just broken the 5,000m indoor collegiate record with a fine 14:4.79, run on December 6, at the Sharon Colyer-Danville Season Opener at always fast Boston University. It should be noted that Jane’s 5000m time broke the previous indoor record of one Doris Lemngole (14:52.57 indoors and 14:52.15 outdoors).
The race quickly came down to Hedengren leading, with Nuttal and Lemngole in pursuit.
Pacemaker Sadie Sargent took the field through 2:53.53 at 1000 meters and 4:37 at the 1,600 meters, then dropped out. Jane Hedengren took the lead, but then, Nozomi Tanaka, JPN, took the lead and Jane Hedengren finally took over the lead with 400 meters remaining. Hedengren was battling Nuttal, and Doris Lemngole, with one lap remaining ran hard, took the lead and covered the last lap in 30.93 for the win.
But it was much more than just a fast race. Doris Lemngole broke the NCAA record with her 8:31.39, breaking the old record of 835.20 in a decisive manner. Hannah Nuttal (daughter of the late John Nuttal a fine athlete and coach in his own right), ran a gutty 8:32.94 PB. And in third, Jane Hedengren ran a PB of 8:34.98, also a new American Collegiate record and a program record for Brigham Young University.
Check out the look on Doris Lemngole’s face in this victory! Doris put it all into that race! She, truly, #FinishedonEmpty, as the NIKE moniker notes.
I really like the quote she gave her collegiate newspaper the #CrimsonWhite: ” I love the work that goes in, and I want to get betterevery day and every meet! ” And then, if that was not enough, Doris Lemngole noted: “Getting to do it with my teammates, beside me also helps!”
For more on Doris Lemngole, please read this super piece by Manisha Ramachandran for the #CrimsonWhite:
https://thecrimsonwhite.com/124854/sports/doris-lemngole-finds-success-as-a-bama-runner/
