The numbers don't lie.
Such have been the astonishing strides taken by Canberra schoolboy Cameron Myers in 2023 the comparisons with alltime great Jakob Ingebrigtsen have been both inevitable and valid.
Myers first shot to prominence in Melbourne in February when he clocked three minutes 55.44 seconds in the mile at the Maurie Plant meet.
It was the fastest-ever mile by a 16-year-old and made Myers the second-youngest runner ever to break the magical four-minute mark behind only Ingebrigtsen, the Tokyo Olympics 1500m gold medallist and two-time 5000m world champion.
Myers has already bettered the 1500m qualifying standard for the Paris Olympics, having clocked 3:33.26 in a race in Poland in July won by none other than the great Norwegian.
"I used to compare myself more to Jakob than I do now," Myers told AAP.
"Now I'm more comparing myself to myself and I'm not making that comparison to Jakob any more.
"Obviously he's a great athlete and it's cool to be in the same conversation as him.
"But I'm more about comparing myself to where I was 12 months ago and to keep on improving."
Now 17, Myers returns to Lakeside Stadium on Saturday night where he will be one of the star attractions of the Zatopek:10 meet in the 3000m.
He also plans to run a few 800m races over the domestic season, but the primary focus remains the 1500m, an event where Australia boasts enviable strength in depth.
Evergreen Stewart McSweyn, Adam Spencer and Myers have all bettered the Paris Olympics qualifying mark, while Commonwealth champ Olli Hoare is due back in action soon after recovering from a groin injury.
That flying run in Poland in July also earned Myers a spot at the world championships in Budapest.
But after consultation with coach Dick Telford, the Year 11 student turned down the invite.
"On one hand I wanted to run and I wanted to test myself, but on the other hand I would have to have stayed in Europe for another six weeks," Myers said.
"I was in peak form at the time I ran the qualifier so having to kick on for another six weeks would have been difficult and I may well not have been at my best.
"It was a difficult decison to make but it was the reality of the situation.
"Had I only run the world standard it might have been a different decision but having come away with the Olympic standard I was content with it."
The feature events of the Zatopek:10 are the 10,000m races which double as the national championships.
The men's field includes two-time defending champion Jack Rayner and Tokyo Olympian Patrick Tiernan.
The women's 10,000m lineup is headed by two-time winner Rose Davies and Caitlin Adams.
Now coached by Craig Mottram, the 23-year-old Bendere Oboya makes her competitive return in the women's 600m.
Olympic decathlon bronze medallist Ash Moloney will contest the pole vault and shot put.
