Can U.S. Track and Field Finally Go the Distance?

Published by the Wall Street Journal on August 19, 2015

Since the track-and-field world championships made its debut in 1983, no American man has ever medaled in the 10,000 meters, and no woman in the 5,000. No American has stood atop the world-championships podium in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, either.

Those are the three most important distance-running events at the worlds, and the U.S. team is hoping for improvement as it enters the 2015 installment that starts Saturday in Beijing.

An obvious candidate to break the medal drought in the men’s 10,000 is Galen Rupp, who in 2012 took silver in that event on a larger stage: the London Olympics. Meanwhile, Evan Jager and Emma Coburn each stand the chance of ending America’s frustration in the steeplechase, an event typically dominated by East Africans.

Since his 2012 debut in the steeplechase, the 26-year-old Jager has consistently ranked in the top 10 in the world. At the London Olympics, he finished sixth. Coburn, 24, a 2012 Olympian, won the event at the elite Shanghai Diamond League meet in 2014.