The women’s 3000 meters is always a stellar field. Ray Flynn, meeting director of the 118th Millrose Games, a former elite athlete (Olympian, NR for Ireland), knows how to organize big fields.
Here’s the real secret to creating a great field. It’s not just about getting people fast, anyone can do it. It’s about bringing together racers who love fearless racing, racers who take risks and racers looking for that breakthrough race with established stars. In athletics, dear readers, one is only as good as their last race.
Consider Doris Lemgol.
Doris Lemgole is an exciting athlete from the University of Alabama by way of Kenya who has impressed in NCAA indoor, outdoor and cross country competitions. Doris competed for three years at the University of Alabama.
Dorris has now won the NCAA Cross-Country Championships twice, once in 2024 and again in 2025, defeating freshman phenom Jane Hedengren. At NCAA Outdoor, Doris Lemgoli not only won the NCAA track meet, but also set the collegiate record in the 3,000-meter hurdles and water jump, becoming the first collegian to break under 9 minutes for the steeplechase with her NCAA record of 8:58.15. Last summer Doris also won the Weltklasse Steeplechase in Zurich against the world’s best in pouring rain.
In September 2025, Doris competed against the best in the steeplechase, representing her home country of Kenya, finishing fifth in the final. Doris also recovered from a fall during the last water jump, something every jockey goes through during their career.
On February 1, 2026, Dorris lined up with a star-studded field at the NIKE Armory for the 3,000 meters at the Millrose Games. British international Hannah Nuttall hit a bruising Jane Hedengren, a BYU freshman who had just broken the 5,000m indoor collegiate record with a fine 14:4.79, running Dec. 6 in the always-quick Sharon Collier-Danville season opener at Boston University. It should be noted that Jane’s 5000m time broke Doris Lemgol’s previous single room record (14:52.57 indoors and 14:52.15 outdoors).
The race quickly came down to Hedengren’s lead, with Natal and Lemgoley in hot pursuit.
Pacemaker Sadie Sargent ran 2:53.53 for 1,000 meters and 4:37 for 1,600 meters before dropping out. Jane Hedengren took the lead but then Nozomi Tanaka (JPN) took the lead and Jane Hedengren finally took the lead with 400 meters to go. Hedengren battled with Nuttall and Doris Lemgole, running hard with one lap to go, took the lead and covered the final lap in 30.93 for the win.
But it was much more than just a fast race. Doris Lemgole broke the NCAA record with her time of 8:31.39, decisively breaking the old record of 835.20. Hannah Nuttall (daughter of the late John Nuttall, a great athlete and coach) ran a PB of 8:32.94. And in third, Jane Hedengren ran a PB of 8:34.98, which is also a new American college record and a program record for Brigham Young University.
See Doris Lemgol’s face in this victory. Doris put everything into that race. He really #CompletedEmptyas the nickname NIKE indicates.
I love the quote he gave to his collegiate paper #CrimsonWhite. “I love the work that is being done and I want to get better every day and every match.” And then, if that wasn’t enough, Doris Lemgole “With my teammates around me, that helps, too.”
For more on Doris Lemgol, read this super piece by Manisha Ramachandran for #CrimsonWhite:
https://thecrimsonwhite.com/124854/sports/doris-lemngole-finds-success-as-a-bama-runner/
