Olympic silver medalist Paul Chelimo joins Sub-4 Club at Camel City Elite
Rachel Schneider defends, Edward Cheserek sets facility & state record and world leading time in the Mile
By Eddie Wooten, News & Record
WINSTON-SALEM — Add UNC-Greensboro alumnus Paul Chelimo to the list of American runners to break 4 minutes in the Mile.
And he did it close to his second home.
On Saturday afternoon, Chelimo, a 2016 Rio Olympic silver medalist who earned multiple All-American honors for the Spartans, turned in a 3:58.59 at JDL Fast Track in his second race of the day, finishing second in the Camel City Elite Mile behind 17-time NCAA champion Edward Cheserek and his facility and state record 3:53.85 (and world leading time).
"I was so excited," Chelimo said. "I saw the time, and I saw 3:58. I was so happy because my main goal was to come out here and get a workout in and break four minutes. I wasn't coming in trying to win it, but I was just doing my best. If I could get the win, fine. If I could get last and break four minutes, it would be fine with me. That was the big goal today."
At the 6th event edition, Chelimo, representing the U.S. Army's World Class Athlete Program, broke the coveted 4-minute barrier on JDL's flat Mondo surface less than an hour after leading the way in the 3000 meters, successfully defending his 2017 title. Chelimo finished in 7:52.88, holding off Brooks Beast runner Izaic Yorks (7:53.54).
Pfafftown's Craig Engels, a Reagan High School graduate who runs with the Nike Oregon Project, finished fourth in the Mile but cranked out a sub-4 minute Mile for the second straight weekend, running a 3:58.81. Engels, who began his college career at NC State and finished at Mississippi, ran a 3:57.35 last Saturday at the Dr. Sander Invitational at the Armory in New York.
Continue reading at (includes video): greensboro.com
