Mary Cain, America's Teenage Phenom, Advances To 1,500m Final

By Eyder Peralta

Published August 13, 2013 at 2:17 PM EDT

Mary Cain of the United States competes in the Women's 1500 metres heats during Day Two of the 14th IAAF World Athletics Championships Moscow.

Mary Cain, the 17-year-old phenom who was the youngest female runner at the IAAF World Championships in track and field in Moscow, has stunned again by qualifying for the 1,500 meters final.

Perhaps Jason Gay, a sports columnist for The Wall Street Journal put it best, when he tweeted:

"Just amazing. The first Rio superstar is born. RT @ScottCacciola It looks like 17-year-old Mary Cain advances to the women's 1,500m final."

Cain came in fourth today with a time of 4:05.21. As Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated explained "that is just .59 off her [personal record] and her 2nd-fastest ever."

Just this weekend, The Wall Street Journal profiled the New Yorker. The paper explained:

"For Cain, running in the world championships will mark the capstone of a season so stellar that she really can't lose Sunday. This year, she broke high school records in the 800 meters, the 1,500 meters, the mile, the 3,000 meters and the 5,000 meters.

"Then, at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Des Moines in June, she finished second in the 1,500 meters, earning a trip to Moscow."

Now, she'll run in the final on Thursday at 1:20 p.m. ET.