It is being billed as the match race of the Commonwealth Games when emerging Australian sensation Cameron Myers clashes with the miraculous mile star Josh Kerr in Glasgow on Saturday night.
But Glasgow’s golden mile race, which begins with heats on Wednesday at Scotstoun Stadium, is only another step in what shapes as an exciting time to come for the Canberran, who has been in dazzling form this season.
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That is the belief of Australian Athletics high performance director Andrew Faichney, who said the rising star of middle-distance running has an extremely bright future and shapes a frontline contender for many years to come.
A blazing winner of the 1500m at the Australian Championships in April, the 20-year-old has transferred his form to the international circuit in stunning fashion leading into the Glasgow games.
After winning over 800m in Karlsruhe in late May, he placed in Diamond League events in Stockholm and Oslo before brilliant wins in Paris and at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon.
In a chat with foxsports.com.au after he sprinted away to beat elite Aussie middle-distance runners Ollie Hoare and Adam Spencer in Sydney, Faichney predicted big things for Myers.
“Cam Myers winning the 1500m at the national championships was world-class and I think we will see him do phenomenally well on the international stage over the next two years leading into the LA Olympics,” he said.
“To see that level of performance, just running away from Ollie Hoare and Adam Spencer, who are world class themselves – Adam had just won a bronze medal in the World Indoors – for Cam to run away from them in the way that he did at the nationals was exceptional.
“He’s just a phenomenal athlete and I think the Comm Games this year will be a great opportunity for him. That’s just the start of the next two years with the World Championships in ‘27 leading into the LA Olympics, and we will start seeing the best of him right at the front of those races.
“I would suggest he’ll have a fantastic period leading into the 2028 Olympics, but for 2032 in Brisbane, his home Olympics, Cam will be right in the peak age bracket for success in that event, so we’ve got a really exciting six or seven years ahead of us watching Cam at the front of races.”
The rival soaring close to the sun
The immediate challenge ahead of Myers, who breaks the heart of his rivals from the front of the field, shapes as the toughest of his career given the brilliance of the local hero Kerr and the incredible depth in the Commonwealth Games mile.
A world champion in 2023 who has finished on the podium in both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, Kerr created a sensation a fortnight ago in London.
The 28-year-old smashed the world record for a mile by more than three seconds when clocking 3:42.66 to break a mark set 27 years prior by the iconic Hicham El Guerrouj.
To see the manner with which the Scotsman surged clear of his rivals while smashing the clock sits the run among the most breathtaking athletic performances in recent years.
But as incredible as the record-breaking run was, it did not quite match the mark the Edinburgh native was aiming for, as outlined in a pitch to his sponsor Brooks earlier this year via a goal titled Project 2:22.
That equates to running 222 seconds for the mile – he fell agonisingly short – but an effective branding strategy his bold bid captured the imagination of the athletics world.
The Flying Scotsman’s team also believes he is capable of breaking the longstanding world record for the 1500m held by El Guerrouj of 3:26, with his recent dash equating to a blink behind it.
But his coach Danny Mackey told the Track Talk podcast that with the Commonwealth Games on home soil, the preference was chasing a monster mile in Glasgow.
“He’s riding pretty close to the sun right now,” Mackey said.
The icons backing the Aussie
That demonstrates the enormity of the challenge facing Myers but there are those who believe the Australian athletic freak has the capacity to dominate the world.
Coached by octogenarian Dick Telford, a former VFL footballer and leading sports scientist who set up the Australian Institute of Sport, Myers has been a revelation in recent years.
His junior times have bettered the records set by Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigsten, the 1500m gold medallist in Tokyo and reigning Olympics 5000m champion.
That provides a form guide to his potential and also a reference to his chances against Kerr.
Although the Scotsman’s boasts an inferior head-to-head against Ingebrigsten, who coincidentally is about to return to the track in Birmingham next month after Achilles surgery, Kerr has beaten him home in three of their four most recent runs.
But the potential of Myers is exceptional and his runs at the highest level this year have matched the hype surrounding him, prompting some to believe he can clinch the gold and derail the hometown hero.
Australian marathon legend Steve Moneghetti told Code Sports Telford and Myers formed a “dream team” that, combined with the 20-year-old’s belief, could prove decisive if the match race unfolds as anticipated on the weekend in Glasgow.
“I think being young, sometimes you have that brashness, but he’s also now raced and is experienced enough to blend that with a bit of maturity,” Moneghetti said.
“And that’s showing in his race results … the ability for him and his team to try different tactics that whatever (way the) race is run, he can handle. That’s brave because you’ve got to lay it on the line.”
Australian broadcasting doyen Bruce McAvaney, who is in Scotland for the Commonwealth Games, also believes Myers is capable of pulling off “a miracle”.
“I think for me, the men’s mile is the big event. It could be the ‘Miracle Mile’ all over again,” he told Seven News.
“We’ve got the world record holder (and) three world champions up against two Australians, in particular, but one Cam Myers.
“He’s just 20. I think he is going to pull off a miracle and beat the world record holder and win the mile. So that’s my big event for the games.”
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