Record Book Did Not Lie Dormant In 2020 As Elite Athletes Found Ways To Improve And Inspire

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

John Nepolitan (Brazier), Chuck Utash (Grijalva) and Laura Duffy (Newbury Park) photos

The global pandemic wrecked havoc on track and field in 2020, but some things are just unsinkable.

Armand Duplantis arrived, on schedule, as the new world record holder in the pole vault.

Ryan Crouser lobbed more 22-meter puts in one year than any other man has done in a lifetime.

Joshua Cheptegei, practically out of nowhere, became arguably the greatest distance runner of all-time with world records in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. 

If there is an Olympic Games in 2021, these three men and many others will have a chance to show the work that went into a challenging year. Even without the usual array of meets, athletes got important things done by remaining ambitious and making the rare opportunities count.

Here are 20 athletes or teams who excelled in 2020 at the high school, college and professional levels, in alphabetical order:

Donavan Brazier: After winning the 800-meter gold medal and setting the American record at last year’s World Outdoor Championships, Brazier continued his momentum early in the year by achieving the U.S. all-time indoor mark in the 800 by clocking 1:44.22 on Feb. 8 at the NYRR Millrose Games at The Armory in New York City. He also produced the fastest outdoor 800 time in the world with a 1:43.15 effort Aug. 14 in Monaco.

Joshua Cheptegei: Only 24, the Ugandan star achieved one of the greatest years by any distance runner, producing memorable moments at multiple distances and several venues, beginning Feb. 16 in Monaco by clocking 12:51 to achieve the all-time fastest performance in a 5-kilometer road race. During the fall, Cheptegei was exceptional in a pair of high-profile track races, setting world records Aug. 14 in the 5,000 meters (12:35.36) and Oct. 7 in the 10,000 (26:11) to eclipse the marks that both stood for more than 15 years by Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele.

Ryan Crouser: The pursuit of world indoor and outdoor shot put records continued in multiple states and countries for Crouser, who produced the most significant depth and consistency in the history of the event. He achieved the No. 2 all-time indoor mark of 74-1.75 (22.60m) on Feb. 15 to win the U.S. title in Albuquerque and launched the No. 4 outdoor effort in history July 18 in Georgia with his 75-2 (22.91m) performance, part of his overall haul for the year of 37 shot puts that surpassed the 22-meter mark, including 32 outdoors, increasing his career total to a record 105 overall.

Leo Daschbach: Although his senior year at Highland High was filled with mostly time trials in Arizona, including a 1:49.85 effort April 25 in the 800 meters, Daschbach did make the most of a mile race May 23 at Oak Ridge High in Northern California by becoming only the 11th prep athlete in history to produce a sub-4 performance by clocking 3:59.54. The Washington commit covered the final lap in 56.8 seconds to elevate to the No. 9 all-time high school mile performer.

Tyler Day: The Northern Arizona standout showcased his impressive range from a mile to the half marathon, but his most significant achievement came Jan. 24 in Boston when Day ran the American indoor collegiate record by clocking 13:16.95 in the 5,000 meters. Day ascended to the No. 3 overall NCAA indoor performer, trailing only former Arizona stars and Kenyan-born athletes Lawi Lalang (13:08.28) and Stephen Sambu (13:13.74).

Sean Dixon-Bodie: Without the presence of a high school national indoor championship meet as a result of the meet cancellation at the outset of the pandemic in March, the senior from Bloomfield High in Connecticut could only wonder what might have been in his quest to eclipse the all-time prep triple jump mark. Dixon-Bodie, an LSU commit, bounded to the top indoor mark in 22 years with his 52-1.75 (15.89m) effort Feb. 8 at the NYRR Millrose Games to soar to the No. 3 all-time high school performer, less than six inches shy of the 1988 record of 52-7.50 (16.04m) belonging to Keith Holley of Bayside High in Virginia.

Armand “Mondo” Duplantis: Already the world indoor and outdoor record holder in the pole vault at age 21, the Swedish superstar still appears to have plenty of upside and potential to reach even more rarefied air after an incredibly consistent and inspiring set of performances throughout Europe. During an eight-day stretch in February, he cleared 20-2.75 (6.17m) in Poland and 20-3.25 (6.18m) in Scotland to surpass mentor and friend Renaud Lavillenie of France as the all-time indoor performer, and his penultimate outdoor performance showcased a 20-2 (6.15m) clearance Sept. 17 in Rome to elevate above legend Sergey Bubka of Ukraine with the highest outdoor mark in the history of the event.

Mo Farah: Although the Olympic gold medalist and World champion had previously announced his retirement from track competition in 2017, Farah found his way back to the oval Sept. 4 in Belgium and added the men’s one-hour world record to an already-decorated career resume. The popular British athlete covered 21,330 meters to break the 2007 standard of 21,285 meters achieved by Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie, rallying in the final minute to surge past Belgian competitor Bashir Abdi, who held the lead over Farah at 20,000 meters.

Luis Grijalva: Despite Northern Arizona not having the opportunity to chase an NCAA Division 1 indoor team title in March, or attempt to secure another national cross country championship in November, Grijalva enjoyed some of the most significant results of his career during the fall, winning an 8-kilometer cross country race in 23:30.2 at Oklahoma State, in addition to running 7:42 in the 3,000 meters Nov. 21 at Chandler High in Arizona and 13:16.75 in the 5,000 meters Dec. 4 at the Sound Running Track Meet in Southern California. Both track marks would rank among the top three outdoor performances on the all-dates collegiate lists.

Rhonex Kipruto: Before he had even turned 21, the Kenyan athlete had already set the 10-kilometer road race world record Jan. 12 in Spain, clocking 26:24 to lower the previous all-time mark set six weeks earlier by Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei by 14 seconds. He also ran 57:49 in the half marathon Dec. 6 in the same city of Valencia, finishing third in a race that produced the top four marks in history, all under 58 minutes.

Trey Knight: The environment June 27 at Concordia University in Portland matched Knight’s low-key personality, but the performance was anything but, as the Ridgefield High graduate was finally able to fulfill a career goal by throwing the 12-pound hammer 261 feet, 7 inches (79.73m) to secure the national prep record. Knight, a USC signee, added more than five feet to his personal best to surpass the 2013 mark of 260-5 (79.37m) established by Rudy Winkler of Averill Park Central High in New York.

Newbury Park boys team: The indoor 3,000-meter national prep all-time mark of 7:56.97 and outdoor 5,000-meter state record of 13:50.55 achieved by Nico Young would have been enough for the reigning Nike Cross Nationals champions to be recognized for their excellence this year, but the fall success of the entire lineup following Young’s graduation in cross country and track made what the Panthers accomplished even more incredible. Before Newbury Park became the only high school team to have five athletes run under 15 minutes in the same 5,000-meter track race, with Colin Sahlman, Lex Young, Christian Simone, Leo Young and Nick Goldstein all achieving the feat Dec. 5 at Eastmark High in Arizona, the group delivered dominant performances at two of the elite cross country invitationals of the year at the Desert Twilight Festival in October in San Tan Valley, Ariz., and at the XC Town USA Meet of Champions in November in Indiana.

Chris Nilsen: The opportunities to capture additional NCAA Division 1 pole vault titles and add to his remarkable legacy at South Dakota didn’t materialize due to the pandemic cutting his Coyotes’ career short, but Nilsen didn’t depart the collegiate ranks without one last record-setting performance Feb. 21 in Nebraska. Nilsen cleared 19-5.50 (5.93m) to move slightly ahead of the 19-5 (5.92m) mark achieved a year earlier by Armand “Mondo” Duplantis during his only year competing at LSU before pursuing a professional career.

Jacory Patterson: The beginning of his second season at Virginia Tech began with a bang, as Patterson took down a decade-old collegiate record by clocking 32.28 seconds in the indoor 300 meters at the Hokies’ home facility. Patterson eclipsed the 2010 mark of 32.32 held by Georgia’s Torrin Lawrence to secure the World U-20 indoor 300 record after running 32.49 as a freshman, in addition to improving to the No. 6 performer in U.S. history and 11th all-time.

Justin Robinson: Following a great indoor 300-meter battle with Cameron Rose of Hickory Ridge High in North Carolina at The Virginia Showcase in January, Robinson made one more significant statement outdoors in the 400 meters before heading to Arizona State. The graduate of Hazelwood West High in Missouri ran 44.91 seconds Aug. 15 in Georgia to produce the world-leading mark, in addition to becoming the only prep athlete in history with multiple sub-45 performances, along with clocking 44.84 at last year’s Great Southwest Classic in New Mexico.

Galen Rupp: With his place on the U.S. roster to compete in Tokyo already secure after winning the Marathon Trials on Feb. 29 in Atlanta by clocking 2:09:20, Rupp added another outstanding achievement at the Row River Half Marathon in Oregon. The three-time Olympian, including a pair of medals in the 10,000 meters and marathon, Rupp ran 45:54 to set the American 10-mile record Oct. 30 en route to his overall mark of 60:23.

Johannes Vetter: The javelin world record of 323-1 (98.48m) held for nearly a quarter-century by Jan Zelezny of the Czech Republic had appeared untouchable by Vetter or any of the other elite throwers around the world. That was, until the German star unleashed a third-round throw Sept. 6 of 320-9 (97.76m) at the Skolimowska Memorial in Poland, adding more than 10 feet to his previous-best performance of 309-10 (94.44m) from 2017. Vetter added a fourth-round mark of 311-2 (94.84m) to give him three of the top eight throws in history.

Karsten Warholm: An all-time best performance of 33.78 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles highlighted a return to competition in Norway for the national hero June 11 at the Impossible Games, but Warholm was just getting warmed up. He added the No. 2 mark in history in the 400-meter hurdles by running 46.87 on Aug. 23 in Stockholm, in addition to demonstrating exceptional consistency with three more performances of 47.10 or faster, giving Warholm four of the top 11 efforts ever achieved in the event.

James West: The rising British talent left a lasting impression during his final indoor season at Oregon, first contributing to the collegiate distance medley relay record Jan. 31 in Arkansas by teaming with Charlie Hunter, Jacob Miller and Cooper Teare to clock 9:24.52, to shave more than a second off the 2008 mark established by Texas. West added the collegiate indoor 1,500-meter record Feb. 27 in Boston by running 3:36.93, replacing Ducks’ all-time great Edward Cheserek, who ran 3:37.01 in 2017, at the top of the list of fastest NCAA competitors.

Rudy Winkler: It wasn’t just the fact that Winkler became the first American to surpass the 80-meter mark in the hammer throw since 2011, it was his ability to achieve the feat in three separate fall competitions with little fanfare in New York. Winkler ascended to the No. 3 all-time U.S. competitor July 26 when he let loose with a 264-9 (80.70m) throw. He added to his world-leading mark by throwing 264-10 (80.72) on Sept. 13 and concluded his brief competition schedule Sept. 27 with a 262-8 (80.07m) effort, although the latter two marks were both acknowledged as being recorded on a downhill slope. Prior to this year, Winkler’s top career throw was at 252-10 (77.06m) from the World Championships prelims in Doha, Qatar.