TOP-CLASS WOMEN’S MILE races on the track are hard to come by, certainly in comparison to the number of men’s events, so when one appeared on the program for the London DL it was no surprise that a sizeable number of the middle-distance world were clamoring to be in it.
In the end, 17 were crammed onto the start line in London — switched at relatively short notice from a 1500, inspired by the headlines garnered by Faith Kipyegon’s sub-4 attempt. Among them was a sole American, ’22 USATF 1500 winner Sinclaire Johnson.
It proved to be a long but profitable trip across the Atlantic for the Portland-based 6th-placer at both the ’22 World Championships and ’25 World Indoor. Johnson added to those credentials a 1000 PR of 2:31.30 in Monaco 8 days before and in London snagged her first American Record.
The 27-year-old, who won the ’19 NCAA 1500 title as an Oklahoma Stater, shaved 0.03 off Nikki Hiltz’s 2-year-old mark when finishing 4th in 4:16.32.
London was Johnson’s fourth outdoor race of the year after also winning the 1500 at the Portland Track Festival in 4:01.46 last month before blazing to 3:56.93 at Pre, just 0.18 shy of her PR from last year’s Olympic Trials.
“I’m really stoked about the American Record as that was my goal going in,” Johnson says, “but it took me a while after I crossed the line to realize I’d got it as it was so close.
“I knew it was really tight. I didn’t know if I truly had it for a while as I saw the clock stop at 4:11 — obviously that was Gudaf Tsegay’s time — and then I sort of carried on counting in my head. I know I thought, ‘I can make it, I’ve got 4 seconds.’
“I came here thinking the record was possible and that’s what we were aiming at. I thought I was in the kind of shape to go for the record, but it took confidence to go with the pace, which was quicker than the American Record, so I was just hoping to hold on.
“We expected Tsegay would go out hard, so I just had to remain calm,” reflected Johnson after the race.
“I was just going to try to stick on Jess [Hull, of Australia, who finished 2nd in a 4:13.68 Oceania Record]. It’s been awe-inspiring to watch her attack every single race and I think she’s closed that gap [on Tsegay and Kipyegon]. I raced a bit timid at Pre and even in Monaco, so I wanted to see what happens when I go out that hard.”
Several of the other runners, including Hull, later admitted they were caught by surprise when Tsegay hared past the Australian pacer Catriona Bisset barely 120m into the race. Bisset had been asked to track the wavelights, which had been set for 4:10.
However, Johnson wasn’t spooked.
“I had a little bit of an idea she was going to go around the pacer. There was a bit of talk about that she wanted to go a little bit quicker [than the 4:10 pace, apparently harboring ambitions of attacking Kipyegon’s 4:07.64 WR] but our pacesetter was pretty set on doing what she was supposed to do, which was 2:05 pace at 800.
“However, even having the pacer go out at that pace, you have to go out hard and hang on. It’s a little intimidating when you haven’t done it that much, but I’m trying to get used to getting myself up to the front, turning off the mind and forgetting your fears.”
Tsegay went through 400 in a flying 59.93 and then 800 in 2:03.45 — still inside WR pace — before tiring ever so slightly on the always difficult third lap. The 1200 mark was passed in 3:07.98 before the Ethiopian crossed the line in 4:11.88 to move up to No. 2 on the all-time list.
Johnson produced splits of 62.9, 2:06.8 and 3:12.0 in her first outdoor mile since ’21.
Notably, no one finished quicker than Johnson with a 30.9 last furlong in London [although Tsegay had the same time on the published splits) and Johnson now sits 14th on the world list.
For comparison, Hiltz — one of the first to congratulate Johnson via Instagram — had splits of 64.6, 2:08.4 and 3:12.2 when she finished 6th behind Kipyegon in the Kenyan’s Monaco ’23 WR run.
“As I was the only American here, I guess everyone else was sitting at home on the couch watching the race,” joked Johnson.
Her performance also helped diminish the image of her only being able to run well in Oregon.
Her three fastest 1500 outings and, prior to London, her greatest successes, have all come at Hayward Field, although she did go sub-4:00 in Brussels 2 years ago as well as having an official 1500 split of 3:59.48 in London.
“My top times have been in Eugene, it’s true. It’s home to me, and I feel really comfortable there, but I knew the crowd was going to be amazing here. London was a bucket-list race for me.
“My path to this Diamond League meeting has been really encouraging and I’m just pleased to be going in the right direction ahead of the Nationals.”
It will be a shorter trip to Eugene than it was to London as Johnson decided to stay in Portland when Pete Julian’s Union Athletics Club lost its funding from Nike and relocated to Boulder at the end of last year.
Having also been part of the Bowerman TC prior to hooking up with Julian, she is now coached by her fiancé, Craig Nowak, a 3:57.97 miler and 8:27.18 steepler whom she met while the pair were at OSU.
It’s a set up that seems to be working in the wake of her just missing out on making the Paris Olympic team after finishing 4th at the Trials, despite running a PR of 3:56.75.
This year she has had stints at altitude in Flagstaff and Park City, Utah, and other than some mild knee tendinitis, she has remained healthy — a welcome contrast to the start of last year when she had a stress fracture which hampered her buildup to the Trials.
Regardless of how Eugene unfolds — there she will come head-to-head with Hiltz, whom she last beat when winning at the ’22 USATF as well as the likes of Heather MacLean, Josette Andrews, Helen Schlachtenhaufen and Emily Mackay — her London run will always be an abiding memory.
“In the U.S. most people still relate to the mile so whenever someone down at the track or a ‘normal person’ asks me what my mile time is, I have been having to do the math converting it from my 1500 times.
“The great thing about this record is that I can now give them a proper answer!” she grinned.
