Lamecha Girma

The 117th Millrose Games are set for Saturday afternoon. When the professional races get underway at The Armory at 4 p.m., hold onto your hats for two straight hours of scintillating action.

Last year saw two world records and three American records fall. With even stronger fields in 2025, Millrose could outdo itself.

You can follow along with live results and watch on NBC Sports or Peacock (subscription required), and we’ll have live updates on all the CITIUS MAG social channels.

FULL PREVIEW HERE: https://citiusmag.com/articles/millrose-games-preview-2025-athletes-storylines

Storylines discussed:

💥 Hocker vs. Fisher (Men’s 3000m)

• Olympic 1500m champ Cole Hocker takes on double Olympic medalist Grant Fisher in a classic speed vs. strength battle.
• Fisher set an American record last year in the 2-mile at Millrose—can he take down Yared Nuguse’s 7:28.23 American record in the 3000m?
• World record watch: Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma’s indoor WR of 7:23.81 could be in danger.
• 
  

🔥 Nuguse vs. Kerr (Wanamaker Mile)

• Two-time defending champ Yared Nuguse looks for the three-peat against Olympic silver medalist Josh Kerr.
• Kerr is undefeated at Millrose over longer distances, but 0-3 in the Wanamaker Mile—will that change?
• World record chase: The 3:47.01 WR (Yomif Kejelcha, 2019) is in serious jeopardy.
• 
  

🚀 Can Nikki Hiltz hold off Georgia Bell (Women's Mile)?

• Hiltz has won four straight U.S. 1500m titles and outkicked rivals with ease.
• Olympic bronze medalist Georgia Bell (3:52 PB) is a different kind of challenge.

🏃‍♂️ Can Brandon Miller break the 600m world best?

• Miller is targeting Donavan Brazier’s WR (1:13.77) after a strong 800m opener.
• Quincy Wilson (16-year-old Olympic gold medalist) could also take down the high school record.

🏆 Women’s 3000m: Jessica Hull, Tuohy, and Whittni Morgan clash

• Olympic 1500m silver medalist Jessica Hull faces Katelyn Tuohy, who ran a collegiate record (8:35) here in 2023.
• Can Tuohy compete with top U.S. and international pros?

"I realized I was starting to open up a little bit of a gap and I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh, am I going to win?’ I probably was looking around way too much. But in my mind I was like, ‘Is this really happening right now? That’s what was going through my head. It was just adrenaline and just taking in the moment of, ‘Wow, this is incredible. Is this really happening?’ Then just trying to dig deep to finish the race."

Kenneth Rooks just brought home a silver medal in the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase at the Paris Olympics. How’d he do it? Well, if you haven’t watched the race yet. Go on NBC Sports’ YouTube channel, watch it and then pick this podcast back up because he comes from the back of the pack to nearly pull off one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history. His final time of 8:06.41 shattered his personal best by an astounding nine seconds and makes him the second-fastest American ever in this event.

Kenneth’s past 14 months have been amazing. Just a year ago, he was relatively unknown on the international stage, but after winning the NCAA title, the U.S. Championships in dramatic fashion by falling and getting back up and now an Olympic silver, he’s shown the world what he’s capable of. We have at least two past episodes with Kenneth that you can go back and listen to.

In a race dominated by the likes of world record holder Lamecha Girma and defending Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali, Kenneth’s surge in the final lap put everyone on notice. He boldly took the lead with 400 meters to go, and although El Bakkali eventually reclaimed the top spot, Kenneth’s audacious run secured him a place in history.

It was one of the biggest surprises of the Games but Kenneth takes us through why he believes it was possible, the training it took to get there and why he believes he can go a little faster. He’s just 24 years old and just getting started.

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Kenneth Rooks | ⁠⁠⁠@kenneth_rooks on Instagram

TIME STAMPS

5:35 - Reflecting on his experience at the Olympics

7:12 - The support he received from his family and the BYU community

10:09 - His improvement between the U.S. Trials and the Olympics

14:04 - What stood out most from the steeplechase prelim

16:06 - When he shifted his mindset to going for a medal + his race plan

19:41 - Rai Benjamin’s parting words to him before the final

20:26 - Breaking down the bell lap of the final

23:02 - “The Kenneth Rooks side-eye”

27:15 - Reactions after finishing the steeplechase final

30:05 - Coach Ed Eyestone’s reaction to him getting silver

31:12 - How he celebrated after

32:35 - What's next for him this season

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Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber, Jasmine Todd, and special guest Mitch Dyer recap Day 4 at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest! Day 4 was another action-packed evening – Laulauga Tausaga threw a massive personal best to win the women’s discus, Faith Kipyegon led the women’s 1500m final wire-to-wire, and Soufiane El Bakkali added another title to his name in the men’s 3000m steeplechase. Some of the highlights of Day 4 include:

–  Women’s discus: Laulauga Tausaga stole the show with an epic final throw to claim the gold medal + the U.S. goes 1-2 with Val Allman snagging the silver medal.

– Men’s 3000m steeplechase final: Championship veteran Soufiane El Bakkali won the title over world record holder Lamecha Girma + George Beamish placed 5th in his debut season.

– Women’s 1500m final: Faith Kipyegon dominated the final + Ciara Mageean continued her breakout season with a 4th place finish.

– Men’s high jump: Fans went nuts for Gianmarco Tamberini’s victory!

– Women’s 400m hurdles semifinal: Shamier Little ran the fastest qualifying time out of the semifinal + Femke Bol advanced to the final effortlessly.

– Much more

As an official partner of World Athletics, ASICS is proud to support all of CITIUS MAG’s content throughout this year’s World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023. CITIUS MAG is the premier destination for real-time competition updates, in-depth analysis and interviews with your favorite track and field athletes.

CITIUS MAG LIVE AT WORLDS: The show will air on the CITIUS MAG YouTube Channel between the morning and evening sessions of competition (Every day at 8 a.m. EST in the U.S.). 

CHAMPS CHATS ON THE CITIUS MAG PODCAST DAILY: The CITIUS MAG team of Chris, Kyle, David McCarthy, Jasmine Todd and Katelyn Hutchison will unpack all of the day’s biggest surprises and offer up their insights and analysis from being at the new National Athletics Centre and interviewing athletes each day. The podcast recording will be streamed on YouTube at the end of every day and will be also available on The CITIUS MAG Podcast feed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to shows. 

DAILY CITIUS MAG NEWSLETTER: David Melly will recap all of the biggest moments, highlighting his must-watch athletes and events for each day while also pulling together some of our best content, photos and social moments that the CITIUS MAG team captures.

On this week’s show, we had some fast times thrown down in Lievin, France where we saw several world-leading performances and a world record. We’re going to spend much of our time previewing the USATF Indoor Championships and the World Cross Country Championships this weekend.

Lievin World Indoor Tour: Lamecha Girma broke the indoor 3000m record with a 7:23.81; Meet records fell at the hands of Karsten Warholm, Keely Hodgkinson and Femke Bol. Jakob Ingebrigtsen is paying attention to the American stars now but says, 'I'm still the best.'

USATF Indoor Championships: Many of the top stars are absent from this meet since there is no World Indoor Championships this year. Noah Lyles is still the premier star showing up for the men's 60m. Major props to the likes of Aleia Hobbs, Anna Hall, Whittni Morgan, Cole Hocker, Clayton Murphy, Bryce Hoppel and others for contesting the meet.

World Cross Country Championships: The race will be held in Mount Panorama Circuit in Australia. If you want to watch, tune in on Friday, Feb. 17, at 11:30 p.m. ET on Peacock. It’s a 2K loop. People will be running through a vineyard at times. Possibly some kangaroo sightings. Very hot conditions. Should be spicy with Joshua Cheptegei, Selemon Barega, Letesenbet Gidey and Francine Niyonsaba among the stars competing.

+ our Buy or Sell segment...

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