Oregon 22 World Athletics Champs, Day Four: Evan Jager finishes sixth in a tactical steeplechase

Evan Jager, a 33-year-old steeplechaser, competed in the men’s final on day four of the World Athletics Championships and finished in sixth, which was not quite where he had been expecting to place. The championships marked the final step in his road to recovery this season.

Jager suffered a season-ending stress fracture in 2019 and had not considered himself fully back until the United States Championships, where he finished second with a time of 8:23.57.

“I started building so much momentum that I started to believe that something cool could happen, and the rest of Team USA is doing so good that they let me believe it too,” Jager said. “Actually, I feel pretty fit right now. I was surprised with how good I felt.”

This race was his return to the world stage after not competing at this level for five years, and it was far from a flawless race. At one point during the 3000 meters, a cameraman was even caught in the middle of the track causing the runners to have to weave around him.

“I was pretty disappointed with that. It’s a little JV. It doesn’t look great,” Jager said.

After the final, Jager shared that he hadn’t even thought about qualifying for the championships, and certainly not the finals, until the prelims of the USATF preliminary heat this year. He crossed the finish line in 8:29.40 – not his season best but just under four seconds behind the first place finisher.

Jager’s coach at the Bowerman Track Club, Jerry Schumacher, recently accepted a job as the new head coach for the University of Oregon’s track and field program.

Soufiane El Bakkali of Morroco, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games last summer, finished first with a time of 8:25.13, earning his country yet another gold medal in the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase.

Read the published version here.