Cole Learn’s first individual race since his DQ in Stockholm was a reminder that we may have missed a genuine world-title contender back in June.
In Chiba, Japan, Cole turned the race into a time trial. He led from start to finish, was out of sight after the opening stations and eventually went sub-55 in a hot venue, winning by more than five and a half minutes.
Runs
His running was exceptional as he recorded the fastest time in 7 of the 8 splits and maintained a steady pace throughout.
| Run 1 | 3:27 (1st) |
| Run 2 | 3:30 (1st) |
| Run 3 | 3:36 (1st) |
| Run 4 | 3:37 (2nd) |
| Run 5 | 3:38 (1st) |
| Run 6 | 3:33 (1st) |
| Run 7 | 3:40 (1st) |
| Run 8 | 2:59 (1st) |
| Roxzone | 3:14 |
Stations
At the stations he was never outside the top 5 and recorded the fastest times on the Sled Push, Sled Pull and the Wall Balls.
| 1000m Ski Erg | 3:55 (2nd) |
| 50m Sled Push | 2:31 (1st) |
| 50m Sled Pull | 3:02 (1st) |
| 80m Burpee Broad Jumps | 2:19 (5th) |
| 1000m Row | 4:01 (2nd) |
| Farmer’s Carry | 1:25 (3rd) |
| 100m Sandbag Lunges | 2:44 (2nd) |
| Wall Balls | 3:31 (1st) |
Cole may have the fastest Wall Balls in the elite 15. If he’d had some competition it’s reasonable to expect he’d have gone sub-3:30, which is a pace few can get close to. He might not make it to the final station first against the Elite 15, but similar to Dylan Scott, he will make the end of those races very interesting.
The scale of his dominance in Chiba was clear at the finish. Cole had completed his Wall Balls a couple of minutes before Jake Williamson and Josh Van Zeeland even reached the final station as they fought for second.
Firmly inside the top 15 of the rankings, Cole looks set to compete at the first Major in Hamburg, provided he stays healthy. On this evidence, a first Elite 15 podium looks like a realistic target rather than an outside possibility.
