Olympic Silver Medalist And Defending Champion Josh Kerr Returning To New York City; Emma Coburn Returns To Racing; Melissa Courtney-Bryant Top Returner For Women; Katelyn Tuohy Makes Debut

By Oliver Hinson for DyeStat

John Nepolitan photo

This year’s New Balance 5th Avenue Mile only needs one selling point: There are 20 Olympians on the famed Manhattan street on the same day. 

Now in its 43rd year, the event has long been a premier American road race, and this year’s installment is no exception.

On the men’s side, Josh Kerr will look to defend his title from last year’s race, in which he ran 3:47.9 in a downpour to beat fellow Brit George Mills and New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish. Kerr is racing the 1,500 at the Zurich Diamond League on Thursday, just 72 hours before this race.

Vincent Ciattei finished fourth in the 2023 edition, and he is back this year after narrowly missing a spot on the US Olympic team in the 1500 in June.

Kerr’s Brooks Beast teammate, Henry Wynne, also returns after finishing 10th in last year’s race, and Eric Holt, who signed his first pro contract with Puma in June, is back in the elite field for the fourth straight year.

Neil Gourley hasn’t been in the race since 2018, but his 3:47.74 mile PB is the second fastest behind Kerr. Gourley finished 10th in the 1,500 at the Paris Games, and he finished fourth in this year’s Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic, one of the most stacked mile races in recent history.

Kerr and Gourley will face serious competition from Hobbs Kessler, the 21-year-old American who has spent the last several months establishing himself as one of the best middle distance runners in the world. Kessler made the U.S. Olympic team in both the 800 and the 1,500, and he finished fifth in the latter with a 3:29.45 performance in the final.

Kessler’s teammate, Bryce Hoppel, will also be lining up for his first 5th Avenue Mile. Hoppel, the American record holder in the 800, is almost exclusively a half-miler and he has never broken four minutes in the mile on a track. However, he has expressed confidence about his fitness, stating that David Rudisha’s 800-meter world record may be within reach.

Four other Olympians will toe the line for the men’s race: Ireland’s Cathal Doyle, Germany’s Robert Farken, Kenya’s Edwin Kurgat and American steeplechaser Matthew Wilkinson.

On the women’s side, the field is even more stacked, with 12 total Olympians. However, the favorite may not even be one of those.

Great Britain’s Melissa Courtney-Bryant, who missed the Olympics in the 1,500 after two bad performances at the UK Championships, is the highest finishing returner from last year’s race (third place) and has the fastest mile PB in the field (4:16.38). While she hasn’t been in the spotlight much this year, it’s worth noting that British athletes have swept the titles for the last three years.

Emma Coburn, who also missed this year’s Olympics (her absence was due to a broken ankle), will make her return to racing less than five months after suffering the injury in a Diamond League race in China. Prior to this year, Coburn had represented the United States in every global outdoor championship since 2015. She is primarily a steeplechase runner, but boasts a 4:23.65 best in the mile, and she has finished as high as fourth in this race.

A third non-Olympian with a strong shot at winning is Kenya’s Dorcas Ewoi, who has the second best mile personal record in the field with a 4:19.71, which she set at the Sir Walter Miler in Raleigh in August.

Of the Olympians, Kenya’s Susan Ejore owns the fastest mile with a time of 4:20.61. Ejore is the only woman in the field who made the Olympic 1,500 final, and she finished sixth in that race. Spain’s Esther Guerrero and American Emily Mackay made the Olympic semifinals. Mackay has the fastest 1,500 PR in the field at 3:55.90, which she set in the final of the U.S. Olympic Trials, one of the most hyped 1,500 races of the year.

Fellow American Karissa Schweizer, who finished in the top 10 in the 5,000 and 10,000 at the Olympics, will also be on the starting line. Schweizer has been dominant at the distance events throughout her career, but she recently threw down an impressive 3,000 at the Lausanne Diamond League meet, finishing seventh in 8:34.96. Her 1,500 best is 4:00.02.

Eight other Olympians will be in the women’s race: America’s Marisa Howard, Whittni Morgan, and Courtney Wayment, Germany’s Lea Meyer and Nele Wessel, Ireland’s Sarah Healey, Mexico’s Laura Galvan, and Australia’s Lauren Ryan.

In her first year as a pro, Katelyn Tuohy will join the veterans on the start line. In 2023, Tuohy capped off one of the best collegiate careers in recent memory with a team victory at the NCAA XC Championships, and this summer, she finished 12th in the 5,000 at the Olympic Trials.

Both races will be broadcast on ABC7/WABC-TV in the New York Tri-State area, as well as on ESPN+. Coverage begins at noon Eastern; the women’s professional race will start at 12:30, and the men will race at 12:40.