Praught-Leer attempting to eclipse 1994 mark of Mai-Graham in same mile race where world record could be challenged in Monaco, site of 1,500 global standard in 2015

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Perhaps the most anticipated storyline in the Brave Like Gabe women’s mile race Friday at the Monaco Diamond League meeting is the potential for The Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan or Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay to take aim at the world record.

For Aisha Praught-Leer, her record pursuit, although not for the all-time global mark of 4 minutes, 12.56 seconds held since 1996 by Russia’s Svetlana Masterkova, is one that also carries a tremendous amount of significance.

Not only is Praught-Leer attempting to eclipse the 1994 Jamaican national record of 4:24.64 belonging to Yvonne Mai-Graham, but she is hoping to do so as a tribute to her friend Gabe Grunewald, for whom the race is named to honor her memory after she lost a 10-year battle with cancer June 11.

“Gabe was a friend to me and my husband (Will Leer) for many years. The Diamond League naming an event after her means her memory not only lives on with us individually, but as an international community,” Praught-Leer said. “It’s such an honor to be in the inaugural race. I remember when she ran 4:01 here in 2013, it blew my mind. I love that the Diamond League is honoring her in a way she would love: a fast race with a loaded field. It’s incredibly special.”

Grunewald, then Gabriele Anderson, placed fifth in the 1,500 meters in a personal-best 4:01.48 in Monaco six years ago, one of four Americans to place in the top five. That race elevated Grunewald to the No. 12 all-time U.S. performer, right behind Brenda Martinez, who ran her personal-best 4:00.94 in the same race.

Monaco was also the site of the world and American 1,500 records in 2015, when Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba clocked 3:50.07 to eclipse the 1993 mark of 3:50.46 of China’s Yunxia Qu, and Shannon Rowbury ran 3:56.29 to place third behind Hassan (3:56.05), who has since lowered her personal best to 3:55.93 on June 16 in Morocco.

Hassan is the No. 3 all-time performer in the outdoor mile at 4:14.71 and Tsegay ranks sixth at 4:16.14.

Praught-Leer boasts a mile personal-best 4:27.6 from 2014 and has only run the distance once this year indoors in January. She hasn’t competed at the distance outdoors since 2016 in Italy, running 4:31.23.

But after shifting her focus away from the 3,000-meter steeplechase – the event in which she won the Commonwealth Games gold medal last year in Australia – to improve in other distances, Praught-Leer already broke Mai-Graham’s national 5,000 record May 16 by running 15:07.50 at the USATF Distance Classic at Occidental College in Los Angeles, and is hoping for another memorable achievement in Monaco.

“Breaking the Jamaican record in Gabe’s mile would be a beautiful thing,” Praught-Leer said. “The record has stood for 25 years, and I don’t get many opportunities to run a mile, let alone in a world-class field like this.”

Since breaking the Jamaican 5,000 record, Praught-Leer has run the 1,500 twice, clocking 4:06.22 on June 1 at the Music City Distance Carnival in Tennessee and posting a 4:06.11 on July 2 in Marseille, France, both just off her outdoor 1,500 personal-best 4:05.52 from 2015 in Japan. Praught-Leer’s fastest indoor 1,500 was last year in Boston, where she ran 4:04.95.

“Not all 4:06’s are created equal, and Marseille was more classic European racing — more physical, more lead changes, a bit more unpredictable — than my race in Nashville,” Praught-Leer said. “We closed harder off a slower first kilometer. I learn something new from every race, so it was another good experience.”

Praught-Leer plans on competing once more in Europe after racing in Monaco, before returning to train at the altitude of Boulder, Colo., in preparation for her next big challenge Aug. 9 in the 1,500 at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

But being part of such an emotional and potentially historic race Friday at the Louis II Stadium holds deep meaning for Praught-Leer.

“It’s an incredible opportunity,” Praught-Leer said. “The best way I know to honor her is to run my heart out, just like she would.”