It may go mostly unnoticed, but that doesn’t mean it should. Justyn Knight will make his return to the 5K in the slow heat at Sound Running’s Track Fest.
It will be his the first 5,000m race in nearly four years.
In fact, it will be his first 5,000m race since his seventh place finish at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, when Knight was just 25-years-old. So what happened?
A Devastating Injury Prior To Tokyo 2021
Knight’s career was derailed by an injury ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. He suffered a partially torn achilles tendon and ran on the injury in Tokyo. After qualifying for the Olympic Final, he ran 13:04.38 for seventh and concluded the best year of his career.
Earlier in 2021, he ran a 12:51 5K at the Diamond League Meeting in Rome and posted a 3:33.41 1500m at the USATF Golden Games.
Yet, his achilles injury halted his career at a dead-stop.
Knight spent the next three years trying to recover and eventually underwent surgery to repair the partially torn ligament in 2023.
Around that time, he also transitioned to Bowerman Track Club, which has now effectively become Swoosh Track Club.
Back For Track Fest
Now, at age 28, Knight will return to the 5,000m distance for the first time since Tokyo. On Saturday evening (May 24), he will run in the second section of the 5,000m at 10:40 PM ET LIVE on FloTrack.
For Knight, this race is less about the times or standards, and more about getting repetitions in a race setting.
“I’m just grateful to have the opportunity to be racing again against my talented peers,” Knight told FloTrack’s John Davern. “Repetition and consistency is truly the key to regaining fitness and that will come over time.”
“Right now I’m trying to refresh my senses and work on tactics so that when I get to the big stage again, I’ll be ready to be competitive.”
Knight’s section is packed full of runners with personal bests in the 13:15-13:40 range. The heat is currently slated to be paced by Jamie Moreland and Brett Meyer, but a tempo is not currently set.
Sound Running Track Fest 2025 Schedule
Early Session
6:20pm PT / 9:20pm ET – Women’s 800m (section 3)6:25pm PT / 9:25pm ET – Men’s 800m (section 3)6:30pm PT / 9:30pm ET – Women’s 800m (section 2)6:35pm PT / 9:35pm ET – Men’s 800m (section 2)6:50pm PT / 9:50pm ET – Men’s 1500m (section 3)7:00pm PT / 10:00pm ET – Women’s 1500m (section 2)7:10pm PT / 10:10pm ET – Men’s 1500m (section 2)7:20pm PT / 10:20pm ET – Women’s 5000m (section 2)7:40pm PT / 10:40pm ET – Men’s 5000m (section 2)
Main Program
8:00pm PT / 11:00pm ET – NOW SPORTS Women’s 800m8:05pm PT / 11:05pm ET – NOW SPORTS Men’s 800m8:10pm PT / 11:10pm ET – USATF Women’s 1500m8:20pm PT / 11:20pm ET – USATF Men’s 1500m8:30pm PT / 11:30pm ET – USATF Women’s 5000m8:50pm PT / 11:50pm ET – USATF Men’s 5000m9:10pm PT / 12:10am ET – USATF Women’s Steeple9:25pm PT / 12:25am ET – USATF Men’s Steeple9:40pm PT / 12:40am ET – Men’s Steeple (section 2)Don’t Miss A Second Of The 2025 Diamond League
This year, the Diamond League is streaming live on FloTrack and the FloSports app, and FloTrack is giving fans more Diamond League access than ever before.
For the first time ever, the Diamond League is streaming every feed to fans, not just the traditional world feed.
Fans will have uninterrupted coverage for every throw, leap and run during the meets, as well as the traditional broadcast.
FloTrack Is The Streaming Home For Many Track And Field Meets Each Year
Don’t miss all the track and field season action streaming on FloTrack. Check out the FloTrack schedule for more events.
FloTrack Archived Footage
Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloTrack subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.
Join The Track & Field Conversation On Social
AloJapan.com