Acosta's Sub-4:00 Attempt Is On

Acosta's Sub-4:00 Attempt Is A Go

by Steve Bailey
While the site of A.J. Acosta’s sub-4:00 attempt may need to be moved from East LA College, the event itself has received the approval of US track & field’s governing body, the USATF, says Sub-4:00 Mile Fest co-organizer (and Acosta’s coach) Tom Kloos.

“They have an event at the school that Saturday [July 1], so we may look for another venue. Marty [Pennell, co-organizer] is running around trying to find another track. We could run [in East LA] Friday, but we wanted another day of rest after the USATF meet, and we could run it Sunday, but we probably wouldn’t get as many people out for it.”

Kloos is hoping to find another fast track with an intimate setting that will help generate more excitement. Unfortunately, Acosta’s future home, Hayward Field, is a little far off for his current home crowd to travel on such short notice. “Mt. Sac offered us their track,” Kloos said, “but it is such a large stadium.”

The last high profile HS sub-4:00 attempt was in ’04 by Galen Rupp while at Central Catholic HS in Portland, Oregon. He ran 4:01.8 at a meet put together at the Nike Headquarters’ facility in Beaverton, Oregon on the 50th anniversary of Roger Bannister first breaking 4 minutes. Acosta will be joining Rupp at Oregon in the fall.

Before winning the California State 1600 in 4:04.95, Acosta had run a 4:03 equivalent in the 1500m (3:45.73) almost nabbing his first Hayward Field victory.

Acosta has already shown his speed with a relay split 1:51 for 800m in his first race of the outdoor season and now the Foot Locker National XC champion has shown his stamina with his two-mile win at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. His nearly wire-to-wire 8:46.32 there (#14 on the HS US all-time list) must have increased Vegas odds for his sub-4:00 finish considerably.

American mile master Steve Scott, who has run more sub-4:00 miles than anyone in his AR record setting career, seemed quite impressed by Acosta’s 2M. According to Tom Kloos, “Steve Scott said that a lot of people forget what kind of strength is needed to run under four minutes and that AJ’s 8:46 shows he has the strength.”

©Track & Field News, 2006