How insanely fast was Friday’s men’s 10,000-meter race? American Nico Young’s time of 26 minutes, 58.11 seconds would have set the Olympic record at any other prior Games. Yet he finished 12th in what was a great first Olympics for the openly gay runner.
The gold medal was won by Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda in a time of 26:43.11. The silver went to Berihu Aregawi of Ethiopia with a time of 26:43.44 and the bronze to American Grant Fisher with a time of 26.43.46. It was the first medal for the U.S. in the event since 2012.
If one didn’t know much about distance racing, finishing 12th might seem disappointing but not Friday. Young stayed with the front pack of the 25-man field for the entirety of the race, which was impressive given the blistering pace set by the East African runners from Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya, the countries with the best distance athletes in the world.
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At 22 (his birthday was July 27), Young is the youngest U.S. Olympian in the race in 20 years. All of the runners who finished ahead of him are at least two years old, the majority at least five or more, so Young has a bright future ahead of him and hopefully more Olympics.
Justin Herbert, a cross-country coach who posts about racing on X, was very impressed with Young, writing: “Wild stat of the day: Nico Young ran 26:58.11 — which astonishingly was only good enough for 12th place. For reference, before today zero athletes had ever broken 27:00 for 10,000m. The Olympic Record before today was set by Kenenisa Bekele at 27:01.17 in 2008. WOW!!”
As good as Young is on the track, he is even better as a visible member of the LGBTQ sports community. Young came out in 2022, in part to be a role model for other LGBTQ athletes. “It means a lot to me,” Young said. “I hoped to be a voice for people who are struggling.”
“I am living proof that it is not a choice,” read part of his coming out message on Instagram. “It is something I have always known and been aware of, but have kept silent out of fear of rejection. I have struggled to accept myself, but I am becoming more proud and happy with who I am.”
After Friday’s race, seen around the world, Young should be even prouder.
