A 5k faster than Mo's gold medal time in London and a 1500 faster than Centro's gold in Rio. Both were painfully slow (for elite runners that is), tactical races, but still...

So in 2020, does he try and make the Norwegian team for both events or just focus on one?

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Matt

He ran the last 800m in 2.03.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfhGe-x3i7s

Don't rule out the steeple too. That's just outright impressive to have times like that across the board.

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USAT Level II- Ironman U Certified Coach

Very impressive. In that video he sure looked like he had plenty left in the tank at the finish line!

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

Very impressive times for a 16 year old for sure! But I do think it would be in his best interest to be racing a lot less than he is at this age. He ran an 800 the night before running this 5k. As for 2020...remember Mary Cain? Great success at age 16 does not guarantee success at 20. I hope he has good guidance and can stay well grounded.

Not sure what you mean by racing less.
If you look at his season compare to a USA HS runner, Jakob is running fewer races over a longer season.
He does not have a HS coach(or a NCAA coach) thinking about team score.

Yes, running fast as 16 is no guarantee. But running slow as 16 is not a guarantee either. Rupp was a HS star, so was most of the good runners today.
You can also look at swimming or any other endurance sport.

That's good to hear. I hope he has an experienced coach who can guide him with long term goals and are working in the athlete's best interests that way. He obviously has world class ability, I just hope it hasn't been achieved at such a young age at a sacrifice for his future. If one looks at age group records like world youth (U17) you would find that very few achieved the success that would be expected in later years. I hope Jakob is an exception to this, would love to see him continually improve!

In case you do not know Jakob's family. He is coached by his dad. His oldest brother is Henrik and his middle brother is Filip. Filip just got third in the world championship in 1500m.

Wow, that is impressive, quite the family stable of great runners! Makes me think of Seb Coe, coached by his dad from a young age... and he had an okay career :) Jakob is obviously quite a talent, hope he has a great, long career.

Dan
Just to keep you updated on some high school track.
Jakob had two races today.
First a 400m flat in 51s.

Then later he ran solo (no one could keep up) a 3,000m in 8.00.01.

All this in the Norwegian youth championship.