Running's Class Clown Is Back And He Wants to Be THE BEST IN THE WORLD

Back from the brink of retirement, Craig Engels & is doubling down on his commitment to everything that makes him different.

- JESSICA TAYLOR PRICE

CRAIG ENGELS WAS RUNNING OUT OF CHANCES to meet the 2020 Olympic standard in the 1500 meters, and one of his best opportunities-the competitive Diamond League series final-was almost within reach. Engels sat one spot below the meet's qualification cutoff, and he had just one race left to move up: the Meeting de Paris. Many runners would have channeled the high stakes and ticking clock as extra motivation, and the cards were in Engels's favor. He was training in nearby St. Moritz, Switzerland-just a few train rides away from Paris-and he was in the best shape of his life. It seemed all he had to do to make the final and presumably hit the standard was show up.

But when the runners approached the Paris track, Engels was 4,000 miles away, trying on a suit to go with his trademark mullet and mustache. He had skipped the race to attend a friend's wedding in Nashville.

As Engels posed for photos with the other groomsmen, Uganda's Ronald Musagala crossed the Paris finish line, and Engels's chance at the Diamond League final seemingly disappeared. "Everyone around me was like, 'Dude, you're dumb," Engels says. But was he? The following month, he ran in the race anyway as an alternate after another athlete dropped out-torching his way to a 3:34.04 PR and beating the Olympic standard by almost a full second.