Everything you need to know about Sunday’s premier indoor meeting at The Armory in New York City.
Many of the world’s top athletes will start their season at the Millrose Games this Sunday (February 1).
The 118th edition of the prestigious meeting boasts a stellar line-up once again, with a number of world and national record attempts expected at The Armory.
The stand-out event on paper is the men’s two-mile race, which sees world record-holder Josh Kerr face the likes Grant Fisher, Cole Hocker and Geordie Beamish.
Kerr ran 8:00.67 to win over two miles in the 2024 edition, bettering the world record of 8:03.40 that Mo Farah set in 2015.
Such was the calibre of the two-mile race at the Millrose Games two years ago that Fisher (8:03.62), Hocker (8:05.70) and Beamish (8:05.73) went third, sixth and seventh on the indoor all-time list.
Another athlete to watch out for is Jake Wightman, who last weekend set a British indoor 2000m record at the New Balance Grand Prix in Boston.
Wightman, who will be making his debut at the Millrose Games, has never raced over two miles before, either indoors or outdoors. He does however have a personal best of 7:37.81 over 3000m.
READ MORE: New Balance Grand Prix coverage
It also marks the first time that the Wightman and Kerr – the 2022 and 2023 world 1500m champions – have faced each other in an indoor environment, having already raced on the track, roads and over cross-country.
The two-mile showdown might be grabbing the headlines but it doesn’t mean that the Wanamaker Mile – a staple of the meeting and first ran over a mile in 1926 for men and 1982 for women – lacks any quality.
Las year Yared Nuguse set a world indoor mile record of 3:46.63, a mark which lasted just five days when Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran 3:45.14 in Liévin.
The US athlete will be going for a fourth consecutive victory in the Wanamaker Mile and the last male athlete to achieve that was Bernard Lagat, who himself secured six wins in a row between 2005 and 2010.
With the quickest indoor mile in the field, Nuguse will be one of the favourites but both Hobbs Kessler and Cameron Myers could quite easily triumph in New York City.
Kessler, who placed second behind Nuguse last year with 3:46.90, arrives in the Big Apple off the back of breaking Kenenisa Bekele’s world indoor 2000m record of 4:49.99 with 4:48.79 in Boston.
Myers meanwhile set an Australian indoor 3000m record of 7:27.57 in Boston, taking over two seconds off Ky Robinson’s mark of 7:30.38 from last year.
The women’s race could be equally as tight, with Elle St Pierre and Heather Maclean boasting the two fastest times in the field.
St Pierre is a three-time winner of the Wanamaker Mile (2020, 2022 and 2024) and set her indoor best of 4:16.41 – which is also the meet record – two years ago.
The American has started her season in fine form with a 8:26.54 victory in the indoor 3000m at the New Balance Grand Prix. This was even more impressive given it came eight months after having her second child.
Another athlete to watch will be Kenya’s Susan Ejore-Sanders, who boasts a best of 4:20.61 in the indoor mile and placed third in that 2024 race. Australia’s Linden Hall, part of her country’s gold medal winning 4x2km mixed relay team at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships, is also in the field.
There is a strong British contingent competing at the Millrose Games and it is headed by Dina Asher-Smith, who put in a commanding display to win the 60m in 7.08 in Boston.
To put that time into perspective Daryll Neita and Asha Philip are the only other two British female athletes to have gone quicker over the distance.
Asher-Smith, who is now being coached by Baylor University coach Michael Ford in Texas, has the second fastest time in the field, behind only Jacious Sears of the United States. Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred was in the provisional entries but she pulled out of the meeting.
World under-20 bronze 200m medallist Jake Odey-Jordan is down for the men’s 60m and will no doubt be looking for some speed work in New York City. The Brit will be confident of significantly lowering his personal best of 6.76, especially as he recorded a British indoor 300m record of 32.63 in Virginia two weeks ago.
The likely favourite in this race will be Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake, who has a best of 6.42. His compatriot Bryan Levell secured world 200m bronze in Tokyo and will also be a threat.
World 800m bronze medallist from 2023 Ben Pattison opens his season this Sunday and is part of a stellar field in the distance in the Big Apple.
Pattison last raced an indoor 800m in Manchester five years ago and, barring disaster, will no doubt slash a large chunk off his indoor best of 1:49.04.
The Brit faces a strong American contingent that includes Bryce Hoppel and Donavan Brazier, to name just a few. Cian McPhillips had a breakthrough season last year and became the first Irishman to make the 800m final at the World Athletics Championships. He ran 1:42.15 for fourth in that race – setting an Irish record – and has carried that form into this season, winning the 600m in Boston last weekend.
A highly competitive 3000m sees Hannah Nuttall and Elise Thorner take on the likes of Nozomi Tanaka, Courtney Wayment and Lauren Ryan. Nuttall ran a personal best of 8:38.96 indoors in Boston and, based off the bests in the field, may very well fancy her chances of winning in New York City.
Tanaka boasts the fastest time with 8:33.52, with Wayment and Ryan having respective bests of 8:46.11 and 8:41.80. The big anomaly in the field however is the US’ Jane Hedengren, who holds the US under-20 outdoor 3000m record of 8:40.03. The 19-year-old gained national attention after breaking nine high school records, and two months ago set a 5000m collegiate record of 14:44.79, the second fastest mark for the distance indoors by an American woman.
Jemma Reekie opens up her 2026 campaign in the 1000m and will aim to improve on her best of 2:39.74 from 2022. The Brit faces a strong field that is headed by Olympic 800m silver medallist Tsige Duguma, with the Ethiopian making her indoor debut in the 1000m.
If the race is fast and Reekie runs well, there could be the prospect of her getting near Kelly Holmes’ 2:32.96 or even Laura Muir’s national record of 2:31.93. They are tough marks to beat though, with Muir and Holmes second and seventh on the world indoor 1000m all-time list.
Other athletes to watch out for at the Millrose Games are Cooper Lutkenhaus in the men’s 600m, Joe Kovacs in the men’s shot put and Katerina Stefanidi in the women’s pole vault.
