At the Silesia Diamond League, Jakob Ingebrigtsen broke the world mark for the 3,000 metres. The athlete broke the Kenyan record set in 1996 by more than three seconds finishing in an astounding performance time of 7:15.77.
With his victory, he declared: “It feels special, amazing… I was hoping to challenge the world record here, but based on my training, I can never predict exactly what kind of time I am capable of… I would not have imagined I could run 7:17, though. At the beginning, the pace felt really fast, but then I started to feel my way into the race and found a good rhythm.”
He added: “3,000 is a tough distance. After four to five laps, you feel the lactic acid, but you need to get going. The conditions were difficult with the heat today, but it is the same for everyone.”
In a social media post, Ingebrigtsen shared his achievement with a caption: “Making history. What it’s all about! Three down, seven to go! What’s next?”
The 23-year-old Norwegian took home the gold in the 5,000m at the Olympics in Paris earlier this month, after placing fourth in his attempt to retain his 1,500m championship.
However, his performance in Poland solidified his dominance in middle-distance events when he defeated Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi on the last lap, adding to his indoor 1,500m and 2,000m world records.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway won the men’s senior title with ease for the third time in four years at the European Cross Country Championships in Turkey.
Despite not competing in the event last year, the 24-year-old Olympic 5,000-meter champion reclaimed his title with a strong performance at the Dokuma Park, Antalya.
With a performance record of 22 minutes and 16 seconds, he won eight seconds ahead of Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy, who placed second, and Thierry Ndikumwenayo of Spain, who ranked third.
The athlete shared with European Athletics: “Cross country is something that I really enjoy… It’s very different from my other competitions, there’s something special and exciting about around 100 people being at the starting line, going for the first turn…”
He added: “There’s a lot of fighting and pushing and shoving, there’s a lot of things that could happen. The course was so challenging and tactical, as well as technical…. It’s all about using the energy wisely and trying to manoeuvre.”
In a social media post, he stated: “Last year, at this specific time, I spent the weekend running in a swimming pool full of pensioners. I like this better. Proud to represent Team Norway 🇳🇴 in the European Cross Country Championship in Antalya. 🇹🇷 And congrats to the Norwegian U20 team for bringing home the team gold medal! 🏆🔥”
In ninth place, Rory Leonard was the first Briton to cross the finish line, helping the men’s team win bronze.
Moreover, in the women’s senior event, which was won by Nadia Battocletti of Italy, Kate Axford finished in 10th place and helped the British team win silver. In the first-ever mixed relay, the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team took home bronze.
On Friday, September 8, the King Baudouin Stadium crowd went absolutely wild as they watched Norwegian athlete Jakob Ingebrigtsen set a brand-new world record. The 22-year-old ran the 2000 meters in 4:43:13, breaking Hicham El Guerrouj’s previous world record.
El Gerrouj achieved three world records in a span of two years, in 1998 and 1999. He established the 1500-meter world record in Rome at 3:26:00, the mile record at 3:43:13 in Rome, and the 2000-meter world record at 4:44:79 in Berlin. And for almost a quarter of a century, no athlete has ever broken any of his records.
Well, at least not until Ingebrigsten came onto the scene.
The Norwegian athlete first declared his intention to try and break the record set by El Guerrouj on August 15. His strategy was to aim for 57-second laps and then go for a strong finish on the last lap.
Nearly a month later, he has now achieved his goal, proving once again that no dream is ever too big for anyone.
The Ingebrigtsen record
The target time to reach halfway was 2:21, but at the time that was reached, Ingebrigsen had already gone over 2:22:28. Nevertheless, Ingebrigtsen still gave off a calm and laid-back vibe. Following his strategy, he then accelerated his strides. When he passed the 1300 mark, he had managed to place a sizeable gap between himself and his competitors.
As he rounded the final lap, he was met with a roar from the crowd, which had stood to support him as he sought to break the previous 24-year-old world record held by El Guerrroj. In the end, he achieved his goal, clocking 54.9 seconds on the penultimate lap to complete the race in a time of 4:43.13.
“It’s always fun to break a record,” Ingebrigtsen said. “This one qualifies as a world record and not as a world best. I knew I was able to break this one, but I had some kind of virus 10 days ago and I didn’t really know how I would be feeling today.”, Ingebrigtsen said.
“However, I felt really good and ran a good race. To be honest, this record wasn’t a difficult one for me. Sure, when you have to do it alone, it’s really tough, but I got great help from the pacemakers. Actually, they were able to help me more than I expected.”, Ingebrigsten added.
The only disappointment of the 2023 season is probably the one he wanted to win the most: the 1500m at the World Championships. Unfortunately, he lost out to Great Britain’s Josh Kerr for the second year in a row.
Nonetheless, this latest record was just the latest brilliant performance in what has so far been a near flawless 2023 season for Ingebretsen, who has won 10 out of 11 races, including 5 out of 6 in Diamond League point events.
Along with Ingebrigsten’s world record, there were numerous personal bests in the mix:
1 Jakob INGEBRIGTSEN NOR 4:43.13 – World Record
2 Reynold Kipkorir CHERUIYOT KEN 4:48.14 -World U20 best
3 Stewart MCSWEYN AUS 4:48.77- Oceanian record
4 Niels LAROS NED 4:49.68- European U20 record
5 Mario GARCÍA ESP 4:49.85- Spanish record
6 Narve Gilje NORDÅS NOR 4:50.64 – Personal best
7 Abel KIPSANG KEN 4:50.68
8 Charles PHILIBERT-THIBOUTOT CAN 4:51.54 AR- North American record
9 Ruben VERHEYDEN BEL 4:52.37- Belgian record
10 Samuel TANNER NZL 4:53.09
11 Jochem VERMEULEN BEL 5:03.24
Mounir AKBACHE FRA DNF
Ismael DEBJANI BEL DNF
Boaz KIPRUGUT KEN DNF
Cornelius TUWEI KEN DNF
While the Olympic motto “Faster, higher, stronger” continues to inspire athletes bracing to set new records at the Paris Games, their preparations are certainly paying off. Thirteen men ran the gruelling 5,000 metres in under 13 minutes for only the second time. The phenomenal event took the sports world by storm at the Bislett Games, the Oslo edition of the Diamond League, in the Norwegian capital on May 20.
What’s more, Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia almost broke the 5000-metre world record set by the Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda in Monaco in 2020. Gebrhiwet won the men’s 5000 metres in 12 minutes and 36.73 seconds, just a second longer than Cheptegei’s record of 12 minutes and 35.36 seconds.
Cheptegei finished ninth with a time of 12 minutes and 51.94 seconds. The Ugandan was close behind the leaders as 4000 metres was reached but then fell back. Last year’s Bislett Games winner Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia finished second with 12 minutes and 38.95 seconds and two-time world cross-country champion Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda finished third with 12 minutes and 40.96 seconds.
The winner Gebrhiwet stunned the viewers completing the final lap in an astounding 54.99 seconds. The scintillating display had people raving. The 5000 metre looks extremely vulnerable, said a commentator, anticipating more fireworks at the Paris Games.
“I’m really happy with my time,” said Gebrhiwet, the world road 5 km champion. “I set a PB when I first ran in Oslo, and now it’s even better. The conditions and the crowd were great. It was a very fast race and it wasn’t easy for me, but it went very well. I’ll now try to qualify for the Olympics in the 10,000 m too.”
The hometown crowd had reason to celebrate, too.
Dramatic photo finish
Jakob Ingebrigtsen sent fellow Norwegians home happy, winning the men’s 1500 metres in a dramatic photo finish.
Ingebrigtsen, the 1500 and 2000 metre indoor world record holder, controlled the pace in the second half, but couldn’t shake off the 2019 world champion Timothy Cheruiyot even on the final lap. The Kenyan challenged the Norwegian down the home straight and appeared to be gaining ground, but Ingebrigtsen took a dive to reach the line first, winning the race with a world-leading time of 3 minutes and 29.74 seconds, 0.03 seconds faster than Cheruiyot.
The local fans expected their homegrown hero, the Tokyo Olympics 400 metres hurdles champion Karsten Warholm, to win, too.
But he was beaten by the Brazilian Alison Dos Santos. Warholm clipped the final barrier and was overtaken by the 2022 world champion.
“It was a tough race, but I wanted to show I am there, I am ready and in good shape, and that I can go even faster,” said Dos Santos, who finished with a time of 46.63.
The Dominican Marileidy Paulino, the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, won the women’s 400 metres, edging out the world silver medallist Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland.
Meanwhile, the Jamaican two-time world champion Shericka Jackson’s two-year 200 metre reign came to an end as she finished a distant fifth. The 2019 world silver medallist Brittany Brown of the USA won the race with a time of 22.32 with the Ivorian sprinter Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith running a close second (22.36).
Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Olympic champion, is renowned for preferring to win races “the hard way.” He led going into the last lap in the Prefontaine Classic Bowerman Mile previous week, but Josh Kerr, who was unwavering in his determination, took the win.
Ingebrigtsen expressed satisfaction with his good finish even after losing the title; this was especially true once he recovered from an Achilles ailment. Under pressure to maintain his reputation, Ingebrigtsen made an unexpected move in the Oslo Diamond League, demonstrating his unwavering pursuit of perfection.
In the 1500 meters, Jakob Ingebrigtsen beat Timothy Cheruiyot by 0.3 a minute to take the top spot in the world at the Bislett Olympic Stadium today.
His timing of 3:29.74 minutes was impressive. Ingebrigtsen stunned Cheruiyot with a stunning last-minute jump that kept him ahead. The track and field world is having a heated discussion over whether or not this move is suitable.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen keeps playing the “hard way” by repeating it.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who is well-known for his direct comment, “If I’m not trying to win, then I’ll read a book,” quoted on essentially sports, was fully committed on Thursday even though he had just recovered from an Achilles tendon injury that kept him out of competition for the entire indoor season.
Fans were taken aback by his determination, with one commenting, “This is not the kind of fall I’m expecting from Ingebrigtsen,” and another asking, “How do you possibly injure yourself like this when it’s not even the Olympics?!”
Even though some race fans are clamoring for the race to be made illegal, the results are in, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen is the clear winner. Many are eager to celebrate Ingebrigtsen’s victorious return to the track, despite a small number of people who are still unhappy.
A comical note was added by track and field raconteur Jonathan Gault, who simultaneously congratulated “the Viking” on his triumph and predicted that “the track burn will hurt tomorrow but it will be worth it.” This is a moment that Jakob Ingebrigtsen will always cherish since it represents his triumphant return to the sport he loves.
Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia holds the new world half-marathon record
Ethiopian athlete Yomif Kejelcha set a new world record at the Valencia Half-Marathon.
Kejelcha, who also owns the world record for the indoor mile established in Boston last year, finished his race in a record 57 minutes and 30 seconds. The time clocked by the 27-year-old Ethiopian athlete was a second quicker than the record set by Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda in Lisbon three years ago.
In a social media post, Kejelcha said: “Thank you so much to Valencia for putting on a great race and helping me to break the world record and I’m so happy because the Valencia people helped me so much today for this record.”
He added: “I also want to thank my Coach and organizers for putting on a brilliant race today… Thank you also to my family for giving me great support over the years.🙏🙏… Adidas running my management all thank you 🙏 I really appreciate it.”
Kejelcha, who was just running his sixth half-marathon, trailed the pacemakers in the beginning. He made his move at the three-kilometre mark and eventually got ahead of Kenyans Daniel Mateiko and Isaia Kipkoech to secure his win.
Despite being a two-time global indoor 3000m champion, Kejelcha only managed to place sixth in the 10,000-metre final at the Paris Olympics earlier this year.
In similar news, Agnes Ngetich of Kenya dominated the women’s race and moved to be the second in the world all-time rankings with a time of 63:04.
