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Simeon Birnbaum of Oregon broke the collegiate 1,500-meter record on April 18 at the Oregon Team Invitational. This achievement highlights his impressive performance this spring.
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Simeon Birnbaum woke up Saturday morning feeling ready to conquer records.
Then he got a call from his coach telling him to do just that.
The Oregon junior has never been faster than he has been this spring and he showed it once again April 18 when he broke the collegiate record in the menās 1,500 meters during the final day of the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field.
Long jumpers gather on the field for warmups to kick off the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
Men's long jumpers gather on the field for warmups to kick off the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
Oregon football wide receiver Dakorien Moore competes in the men's long jump during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
Kansas Stateās Tafadzwa Chikomba, right, leaps in the air after moving into the lead of the men's long jump during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
Simeon Birnbaum set a new collegiate record in the menās 1,500 meters during the Oregon Team Invitational, although the exact time is not specified.
Simeon Birnbaum broke the 1,500-meter record on April 18 during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet.
He broke the record at Hayward Field during the Oregon Team Invitational.
Simeon Birnbaum has been performing exceptionally well this spring, showcasing his fastest times yet.

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Oregonās Titouan Bizet competes in the men's long jump during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
Oregon football wide receiver Dakorien Moore, right, is congratulated by football teammates including Dante Moore, left, after making it into the final round of the men's long jump during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
Oregonās Greyson Glivinski competes in the women's javelin throw during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
Oregon's Hayden Williams-Downing competes in the women's javelin during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
Oregon Stateās Havana Alonso in the women's javelin throw during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
Oregonās Tyler Burns competes in the men's pole vault during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
Oregonās Tyler Burns reacts to failing to clear the bar in men's pole vault during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
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Long jumpers gather on the field for warmups to kick off the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
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Long jumpers gather on the field for warmups to kick off the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
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Men's long jumpers gather on the field for warmups to kick off the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
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Oregon football wide receiver Dakorien Moore competes in the men's long jump during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
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Kansas Stateās Tafadzwa Chikomba, right, leaps in the air after moving into the lead of the men's long jump during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
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Oregonās Titouan Bizet competes in the men's long jump during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
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Oregon football wide receiver Dakorien Moore, right, is congratulated by football teammates including Dante Moore, left, after making it into the final round of the men's long jump during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
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Oregonās Greyson Glivinski competes in the women's javelin throw during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
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Oregon's Hayden Williams-Downing competes in the women's javelin during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
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Oregon Stateās Havana Alonso in the women's javelin throw during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
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Oregonās Tyler Burns competes in the men's pole vault during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
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Oregonās Tyler Burns reacts to failing to clear the bar in men's pole vault during the Oregon Team Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field April 17, 2026.
Paced by teammate Tomas Palfrey and challenged by absolutely no one, Birnbaum crossed the finish in 3 minutes, 31.69 seconds ā more than five seconds faster than his previous best and nearly two seconds faster than the previous collegiate record of 3:33.02 set by Villanovaās Liam Murphy in 2025.
āIāve been looking at the national NCAA record for a while now and it was just recently where I was feeling in shape enough to get it,ā Birnbaum said. āSo I talked to my coach and I said āI think Iām ready to do it,ā and he agreed with me."
Not before sleeping on it, however.
Jerry Schumacher said it took a night of contemplation and a clear weather report when he woke up to agree to Birnbaum's request to "run fast" on Saturday.
"I was like, it's not a matter of whether you can run fast, it's is this the time?" Schumacher said. "Is this the time to uncork it? ... He said, 'I'm going to be in a lot of different races this season, and a lot of them are going to be tactical. I just feel like this is the moment and the right time to do it.' I said, OK, I'll call you in the morning."
Schumacher woke up and gave the thumbs up to an ecstatic Birnbaum, who followed with his historically fast performance.
āYou canāt always know when youāre gonna feel this good and Iāve just been feeling really, really good the past month, and when youāre feeling that good you donāt want to waste it," he said. "So, when you look at the weather and you see a 70-degree day, itās time to run fast.ā
Birnbaum recorded the fastest collegiate 5,000 time of the season April 3 when he ran a personal-record 13:19.73 at the Stanford Invitational.
That distance base ā plus a full year of healthy running ā had Birnbaum firing on all cylinders Saturday.
Oregonās Simon Birnbaum crosses the finish line for the men's 1,500 meters in an NCAA-record time of 3 minutes, 31.69 seconds April 18 at the Oregon Team Invitational at Hayward Field. Birnbaum ran the fastest collegiate 5,000 of the season earlier in the month.
His last full lap was his fastest as he clocked a 53.59-second final 400.
āShout out to Tom for agreeing to pace and kind of sacrifice his own race,ā Birnbaum said. āWe went out here ready to feel pain and run fast. ⦠We came through 300, I took a peek at the clock, right on pace, and then you just kind of wait for your body to start feeling the pain. I got really deep into the race, even with 400 to go I still felt like I had a lot left.ā
Birnbaumās effort helped many runners behind him also finish with PR times, including teammates Tayson Echohawk (3:39.48), James Harding (3:39.85) and Anthony Fasthorse (3:40.29), who were third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Oklahoma Stateās Brian Musau was second in a PR 3:39.27.
"I knew he was gonna run well," Schumacher said of Birnbaum. "... Obviously 3:31 is rare air in collegiate 1,500-meter running. I'm excited for him. It couldn't happen to a better kid. He works hard and I think there's more to go, too."
Emily Fitzsimmons was born in 2003, the same year Becky Holliday cleared 14 feet, 8 inches to set the Oregon womenās pole vault record.
Saturday, Fitzsimmons moved to the top of the record book when she went over 14-8¾ in a winning effort. It was a PR by two inches for the senior.
āI kind of knew I was capable,ā Fitzsimmons said. āWe had attempted at that height a few times in practice, if not higher, so it was more like a relief and a moment of appreciation of it all coming together. Iām just really grateful.ā
Fitzsimmonsā previous best was 14-6¾ from last season, a mark that had her as the third all-time performer at Oregon behind Holliday and Melissa Gergel (14-7¼).
āItās really satisfying,ā she said of the school record. āIām just really proud to be a part of this team and feel like Iām contributing at the level I expect us to be at Oregon.ā
Oregon's women's team won seven events en route to a 303-point weekend and first-place finish in the team standings.
Kansas State was second with 288.5 and Oklahoma State third with 241.
The Duck men won eight events and finished with 168 points, good for third place behind Kansas State (217) and Wichita State (196).
Oregonās Kai Graves-Blanks celebrates his win in the men's 110-meter hurdles in 13,42 seconds, good for third on the school's all-time list.
Oregonās Greyson Glivinski won the women's javelin at 169 feet even to move to eighth on the Ducks' all-time list.
Chris Hansen covers University of Oregon football, menās basketball, track and field, cross country and softball for The Register-Guard. You can reach him at chansen@registerguard.com.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon's Simeon Birnbaum sets new 1,500-meter record