AT OSLO DIAMOND LEAGUE, INGEBRIGTSEN DELIVERS AGAIN
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2023 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved – Used with permission.
NOTE: This story was written remotely –Ed.
(15-Jun) — Just six days after setting a new world best for two miles, Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen came roaring back at tonight’s Bislett Games in Oslo, setting a new meeting and European Athletics 1500m record of 3:27.95. The Nike-sponsored athlete pulled away from his last rival, Spain’s Mohamed Katir, as he came out of the final bend to become the sixth-fastest 1500m runner in history. The home crowd roared in approval.
“The race went as expected, running by myself as usual and the crowd was amazing,” Ingebrigtsen said in the mixed zone. “It was amazing to perform this way in front of my home crowd, it’s a dream come true. I won it last year but this year running in my main event is an incredible experience.”
Unlike in Paris last Friday where meeting organizers set up his race for a world best attempt, the WaveLight system tonight was programmed to guide the athletes to Hicham El Guerrouj’s 1998 meeting record of 3:29.12. Behind pacemakers Mounir Akbache of France and Boaz Kiprugut of Kenya, Ingebrigtsen got off to a fast start with a 55.5-second opening 400-meter split. Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot, America’s Yared Nuguse, and Australia’s Oliver Hoare were close behind. Things slowed slightly for the next 400 meters (56.3), and after both Akbache and Kiprugut had left the track Ingebrigtsen took over at the front and refused to let the pace sag. He ran the third 400-meter segment in 55.3, and as he came into the final bend his lead over the talented Katir began to widen. In the end, Katir would have to settle for second in a season’s best 3:28.89 as Ingebrigtsen simply ran away from the Spaniard in the final 150 meters.
“I know that I was able to run fast like in Paris; that’s what it’s all about,” Ingebrigtsen said. He added: “I 100% have more left in me. It’s all about consistency and delivering good performances in all of the races. I’ve done it before and we have it all under control. I just have to keep focused on each race ahead in the build up to Budapest, where it really matters.”
Remarkably, a total of eight men broke 3:30. Nuguse, who finished second in 3:29.02, set a new North American record and Cheruiyot, the 2019 World Athletics 1500m champion, got a season’s best 3:29.08. Spain’s Mario Garcia Romo, who trains with Nuguse…
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