Woody Kincaid wins U.S. 10,000-meter title with his signature kick

Woody Kincaid (Nike) wins the men’s 10,000 meter race at the 2023 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on Thursday night. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

By Maddie Lang

Woody Kincaid’s kick worked in his favor once again when he won in the men’s 10,000 meter race at the 2023 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on Thursday night.

Kincaid finished in 28:23.01, a second and a half in front of Joe Klecker and nearly two seconds ahead of third-place finisher Sean McGorty. Kincaid and Klecker both have the standard for the World Athletics Championships and will represent the U.S. in Budapest in August. McGorty needs to see if his world ranking holds up to make the team, or he has until the end of the month to make the standard of 27:10.00.

“I was thinking about all of the ways this race could go, and it played into my kind of race,” said Kincaid, who also won the 10,000 meters at the Olympic Trials in 2021 with a big kick. “Not fast, not slow, it got a little windy, with a lap to go it shaved down to two people.” 

Kincaid remained in the pack of runners for almost the entire race until the final four laps, when the leaders began to take their positions. 

It was Conner Mantz and Paul Chelimo who led at this point, but the pace kept changing.

“When there were four more to go, they started to make a hard press,” Kincaid said. “I think that’s a little bit early for me, but I could do it.”

Kincaid rode the shoulder of Klecker for almost the entirety of the race.

“What I like about Joe is he’s very consistent,” Kincaid said. “I know if Joe is right there it’s almost like a safety. I know this guy is tough as nails, and if I’m with him, we’re in a good place.”

At the start of the bell lap, the real battle between the two began. 

Kincaid, who is known to have a tremendous kick, pushed the pace, and at the start of the 200, it was clear who would win. 

At this point in his career, Kincaid is still increasing his strength and increasing his miles as he trains. 

“I’ve never felt this strong,” he said. “I’m doing more miles. I’m doing longer, better workouts. So in a lot of ways, I feel really really strong.”

Kincaid isn’t finished with his season yet. He still has the men’s 5,000-meter final on Sunday night and the World Championships in Budapest in August.

In the 5K Sunday night, Kincaid will face many of the same faces he did today. Klecker will also be competing for that title along with McGorty, who took third, and Grant Fisher, who placed fourth. 

“I think there’s still work to be done,” Kincaid said. “There’s still a 5K. There’s still worlds, and I want to do well there.”