TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona's Lawi Lalang posted the fastest 5,000-meter time in collegiate history on Thursday while running at the IAAF Ostrava Golden Spike in the Czech Republi.
Lalang, a native of Kenya who will be a senior at Arizona, earned a third-place finish in the event with a personal-best time of 13:07.13. That time is the fastest ever by a collegiate athlete, although it is not the official collegiate record since it did not take place during the collegiate season.
Henry Rono, who ran 13:08.4, ran the previous fastest time in 1978. Lalang’s time is also a school record, his fifth school record. He also holds the program's indoor records in the mile, 3K and 5K as well as the outdoor 1,500 meters. The school's previous 5K outdoor record was 13:13.23, set by Robert Cheseret in Oslo, Norway, on July 17, 2005.
Overall, Lalang's time was the 12th-fastest in the world this year. Muktar Edris of Ethiopia won with a time of 13:03.69, and Augustine Kiprono Choge of Kenya earned a second-place finish with a time of 13:06.37.
