Knight, Flanagan three and four at B.A.A 5K

Justyn Knight was third Saturday at the B.A.A 5K in a time of 13:46. He was third in a very respectable field, losing to Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia who’s an Olympic bronze medallist in the 5,000m and Ben True, one of the best American distance athletes on the roads. True was sixth at the 2015 World Championships in the 5,000m.

RELATED:Ben Flanagan and Justyn Knight: hypothetical marathoners

?‍♂️Male #BAA5K results:
?Hagos Gebrhiwet?? (13:42)
?@bentrue?? (13:44)
?Justyn Knight?? (13:46)

— B.A.A. (@BAA) April 13, 2019

Knight’s time is only 10 seconds off of Paul Williams Canadian 5K record of 13:36 which was set in 1986 and is one of the oldest records on the boards.

After what Knight describes as a lack-lustre indoor season, he’s had a very solid opener. Knight only ran one race in the 2019 indoor season and says he wasn’t in his ideal race shape through the winter. “My indoor season was what everyone saw, I was out of shape. I knew I wasn’t as fit as I would’ve like to be, but I still wanted to race and see where I was at relative to my fellow competitors. I wasn’t ready to run fast then, but I feel I’m in a completely different spot now.”

Training partner Ben Flanagan was fourth in Saturday’s race just behind Justyn in 13:49. Flanagan and Knight train together with the Reebok Boston Track Club. Knight’s next race will be Payton Jordan on May 2 in Palo Alto, California.

?‍♀️Female #BAA5K results:
?Monicah Ngige?? (15:16)
?Violah Lagat?? (15:29)
?Gotytom Gebreslase?? (15:35)

— B.A.A. (@BAA) April 13, 2019

On the women’s side, Monicah Ngige took the win in 15:16, second place went to Violah Lagat in 15:29. She’s related to Bernard Lagat and attended Florida State University. Third place went to Gotytom Gebreslace in 15:35.