“I still got ways to go”, said Graham Blanks in his interview with Letsrundotcom, following his 2023 10k run in the NCAA championship. He finished sixth in the race, and then we didn’t see him there. The man won the NCAA cross country title back to back in 2023 and 2024, but the 10k races missed him. Guess what? He finally did return to them. What’s more, he didn’t just come back, he came back with a bang, claiming positions among the likes of Grant Fisher.
CITIUS MAG tweeted on March 29, 2025, positing a picture from Sound Running’s The TEN. The tweet started with, “Eyes on Tokyo” clearly indicating that the 22-year-old has qualified for the 2025 World Athletics Championships that are to be held in the Japanese capital from 13th to 21st September 2025. How did that happen? The tweet tells itself. It further read, “In his first 10k on the track since the 2023 NCAA Championships, Graham Blanks makes a statement with a 26:57.30 clocking! His 5th-place finish secures the standard for the World Championships.” The automatic qualifying time set for the World Championships in the men’s 10k is 27 minutes. Blanks did it 2.30 seconds earlier. What’s more, he has earned his place among the best.
The mag further told in the tweet, “Blanks joins Grant Fisher, Nico Young and Woody Kincaid as the only American men with the standard. He’s the 6th American ever to dip under 27 minutes.” In 2022, Grant Fisher ran 26:33.84, setting a North American record of the time. The 2024 Ten saw 8 men run under 27:00, which included middle-distance star Nico Young (26:52.72). When Young finished that time in 2024, he created NCAA history. The Northern Arizona University athlete bettered the previous NCAA record of 27:08.39 held by Sam Chelanga from 2010 to become the fastest 10k runner in the NCAA.
Eyes on Tokyo
In his first 10k on the track since the 2023 NCAA Championships, Graham Blanks makes a statement with a 26:57.30 clocking! His 5th-place finish secures the standard for the World Championships.
Blanks joins Grant Fisher, Nico Young and Woody Kincaid as the only… pic.twitter.com/Lygqzb9wm0
— CITIUS MAG (@CitiusMag) March 30, 2025
The TEN 2025
Reflecting on the race, Blanks said, “Despite my best efforts to sabotage myself, I was able to get the standard.” He probably might be right because the top 5 of this race were racing in a different league of their own. They led the race as a pack of five wolves in the front for a major part of the race until Blanks fell out with one lap to go.
Finishing ahead of Blanks was Telahun Haile Bekele. He was a debutant on the 10,000-meter track and finished fourth with a time of 26:52.79. Adrian Wildschutt came in third, clocking a time of 26:51.27, and Habtom Samuel came in second with 26:51.06.
The number one position was an interesting affair. For a moment, Wildschutt is leading the race, and for a second it felt like Samuel. But all of a sudden Ishmael Kipkurrui had a sudden burst of energy and took such a lead in the final seconds that nobody could catch up to him. Now that they all have qualified for the Worlds, who do you think will win it?
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