After a short siesta in Spain on Saturday, we’re back in the beautiful Swiss Alps for tomorrow’s Lucerne Meeting which features a whole host of top Americans looking to right the ship after a disappointing US Championships.

 

Here’s what to watch. 

 

Men’s 3,000m 

The men’s 3K is chalked full of Americans eager to run fast after disappointing finishes at USAs two weeks ago in Eugene. Ben Blankenship and Garrett Heath each felt the pain of coming so very close to making the World Championship team, as they finished 4th in the 1500m and 5K, respectively. Blankenship will run his first race since USAs, while Heath is coming off a solid 3:36 1500m last week in Barcelona.

Ben Blankenship will run his first race since his close 4th place finish in the 1500m at USAs

Blankenship, who has been on fire in 2015, was just out-leaned at the line by Leo Manzano, only .02 away from a trip to Beijing. Heath was gaining on Galen Rupp in the final meters of the 5K, but ultimately came up just .07 short. Finishing 4th is always tough in this type of championship, and no pair in the distance events knows that feeling better than these two. 

 

Blankenship talks about his USAs disappointment below: 



One of the most surprising names that failed to qualify to Beijing was 40-year-old Bernard Lagat, who finished 10th in the 5K after winning the event in the two previous championships. Lagat’s poor finish in Eugene was viewed by some as a sign that his age had finally caught up with him, but I’m not ready to make that assumption just yet.

The five-time World champion (twice outdoor, three times indoor) has still shown remarkable form in 2015 despite his shortcoming at USAs, with a 7:37 3K in February and a 13:14 5K at Pre in May among the highlights this year. Father time may be closer than it was a few years ago for Lagat, but it still hasn’t caught up with him either. If he’s on in Lucerne, Lagat is the favorite.

Several other big names will line up in Lucerne with an eye on a sub-7:40 performance. 3:51 miler Will Leer has had a bumpy 2015 due to an injury that prevented him from racing in May and June leading into USAs, but the 30-year-old feels confident that he’s ready for a fast result in Switzerland. The pacer is targeting 5:06 through 2K (7:39 pace), and Leer is hoping to latch on. 

 

Will Leer feeling good for PBs this summer after dealing with injury this spring: 

 

 

Men’s 800m

Speaking of disappointing USA finishes, 22-year-old Boris Berian will be coming off his own tough finish in Eugene, where the fastest American over 800m in 2015 failed to reach the final. Still though, the former D2 champ at Adams State has had an incredible year, lowering his PR by a whopping five seconds from 1:48.89 to 1:43.84. 

 

Berian should have good company in Lucerne, with 1:43 man Abdulrahman Musaeb Balla of Qatar lining up on Tuesday after breaking his own national record last Wednesday in Barcelona (1:43.82). A solid group of Kenyans, plus OTC Elite’s Charles Jock will do their best to track down Berian and Balla tomorrow. 

 

Women’s 800m

Americans Molly Ludlow and Chanelle Price have each had solid starts to their European racing seasons since finishing fourth and fifth at USAs, with both ladies setting PBs in Paris on July 4th. Ludlow (1:58.68) and Price (1:59.10) are the fifth and ninth fastest women in the World for 2015, respectively.

 

The pair will have their hands full with Canadian Melissa Bishop, who just beat Price in Madrid in a new season’s best of 2:00.13. American Lauren Wallace will also be in Lucerne, looking for her first sub-2:00 after setting her 2:00.48 PB at USA’s. 

Lauren Wallace on chasing sub-2:00 in Lucerne: 



FloTrack will have archived race footage from the 2015 Lucerne Meeting in Switzerland! Check back tomorrow for all the action.