Kimani Jack and Kristian Imroth flew the flag for Britain at the NCAA Championships in Eugene. Having entered the competition as the favourite following his impressive 2.31m personal best earlier this season, Jack lived up to expectations by securing the NCAA high jump crown. Earlier in the day, Kristian Imroth produced a superb performance to finish third in the men’s 3000m steeplechase. Both results cap off an excellent season for the British athletes competing within the American collegiate system.
Kimani Jack delivers historic NCAA title
Having already produced the performance of his career with a 2.31m clearance in early May, Jack arrived in Oregon carrying the weight of expectation as the leading contender for the title. It is a label that can often prove difficult to handle at major championships, where personal bests count for little compared to the ability to deliver when it matters most.
However, Jack never allowed any doubt to creep into the competition. A winning clearance of 2.28m saw the Brit triumph ahead of Americans Scottie Vines (2.25m) and Grant Campbell (2.25m). The victory makes him the first British athlete, male or female, and only the third European athlete in history to win the NCAA men’s high jump title.
Beyond the title itself, the performance further underlines his emergence as one of Europe’s leading high jumpers. His 2.31m personal best already ranks him third on the European list this season, but backing it up with another world-class performance at the most important meeting of his collegiate campaign may be even more significant.
Major championships are rarely won through personal bests alone. More often, success belongs to athletes capable of consistently reproducing performances close to their peak when the pressure is at its highest. By winning the NCAA title with 2.28m, just three centimetres shy of his lifetime best, Jack has established himself as a genuine medal contender ahead of the 2026 European Championships in Birmingham.
The second British highlight of the championships came in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, where Kristian Imroth secured an impressive bronze medal. In a race that developed at a relatively conservative pace through the opening stages, the Watford athlete produced a strong finish to claim third place in 8:20.91.
Despite the slow early tempo, Imroth finished less than half a second outside his personal best of 8:20.50, which he set during the NCAA East Regional Championships earlier this season. The bronze medal sees him join a select group of British athletes to have reached the NCAA steeplechase podium, following in the footsteps of Eddie Wedderburn and Luke Gunn. More importantly, it brings the curtain down on an outstanding 2026 campaign.
Since moving to the United States, Imroth has made steady and significant progress. His personal best has improved from 8:35.32 in 2024 to 8:30.65 in 2025, before dropping again to 8:20.50 this season. An improvement of more than ten seconds in just two years has now propelled him into the British all-time top ten, where he currently sits in tenth place.
His development is also beginning to attract attention on the European stage. With his personal best, Imroth currently ranks among the ten fastest European steeplechasers of the season. The gap between himself and the athletes occupying the leading positions behind the untouchable Frederik Ruppert remains relatively small.
Given the way the NCAA final unfolded, it is reasonable to suggest that Imroth is already capable of running somewhere in the region of 8:15 in a faster race. Should that prove to be the case over the course of the summer, the Brit could soon find himself challenging some of Europe’s established steeplechase names.
