On a hot Sunday in Chorzów, Poland, Jakob Ingebrigtsen attempted to break Daniel Komen’s 3,000-meter world record of 7:20.67 and did what he does best: he beat the record.
With impeccable pace and an effortless finish, Ingebrigtsen not only broke the record but surpassed it by over three seconds with a time of 7:17.55.
Although the Norwegian had already proven himself to be one of the strongest middle and long distance runners of his generation, by breaking the Komen record he continued a legacy that is sure to last.
It eases the pain of his recent defeat in the 1,500-meter race at the Paris Olympics, where he finished fourth.
Although the 3km race was the highlight of the evening, the Silesia Diamond League – and officially the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial Meet – was packed with performances and big names from the Olympics.
We had so many good races that they all didn’t fit into the TV window
Before the television broadcasts began, some excellent races took place. There was the men’s 100 metres, the men’s 400 metres hurdles and a world record attempt in the women’s 1,000 metres.
The women’s 1,000-meter world record was 2:28.98, the pace set by the Wavelights. The field, which consisted primarily of 800-meter runners seeking a personal best over the distance, had pacesetters of 58.5, 1:58 and 1:28.
In the last 200 meters, no one could keep up with the pace. Kenyan Nelly Chepchirchir won with a meeting record of 2:31.24. Behind her ran Jemma Reekie from Great Britain and Mary Moraa from Kenya.
American Nia Akins, who recently ran an 800-meter race in Lausanne, came last.
Kishaun Thompson did not manage to start the 100 m and Fred Kerley won with a narrow time of 9.87 seconds ahead of Ferdinand Omanyala with 9.88 seconds. Ackeem Blake (9.89) and Marcell Jacobs (9.93) also remained under 10 seconds.
It is almost inconceivable that the men’s 400-meter hurdles, featuring world record holder and Olympic silver medalist Karsten Warholm, took place before the broadcast slot.
Warholm won with a quick 46.95, slightly faster than his Olympic silver medal performance of 47.06. Frenchman Clement Ducos, who competes at the collegiate level for Tennessee, finished behind him with a personal best of 47.42.
Ducos has been criticised this year for his tendency to touch hurdles on the turn with his back leg, meaning he does not have to jump as high to clear the hurdles. This tendency was evident again in Silesia when Ducos clearly touched a hurdle but was still not disqualified.
The women’s 400m, which featured most of the field from the final in Paris, did not change history. Mariledy Paulino proved she is the best in the world with a time of 48.66. Salwa Eid Naser secured second place with 49.23. The outstanding Polish athlete Natalia Kaczmarek ran a moderate race and a fast last 100m to come in just third.
In the men’s 200-meter race, it was Letsile Tebogo against the rest of the world. His 19.83 did not seem to be particularly strenuous.
Alexander Ogando set a new national record for the Dominican Republic with a time of 19.86, while Americans Kenny Bednarek, Erriyon Knighton and Kyree King took the next three places with times of 20.00 and above.
Bednarek slowed down in the final meters, while King ran superbly in the first 20 meters. Knighton, on the other hand, continued his series of outstanding performances.
Men’s 3000 m steeplechase
Kenneth Rooks’ attempt to break an American sub-8 record was unsuccessful as he fell behind early and finished well behind with a time of 8:35.19.
The field was split by 2 kilometers, although he missed the world best time of 8:01.63 and the meeting record of 8:03.16.
Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali was considered the favorite here and won after a bizarre final lap in which there were several changes of lead.
His braking shortly before the finish line meant that he was practically tied with Kenyan Amos Serem.
World record missed in men’s 800m race
Marco Arop made up for his mistakes at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne three days earlier and ran the minimum distance in a true world record attempt.
With a time of 49.7 for the first 400 meters, he left the entire field behind, managed the 600 meters in 1:15.6, finished after 26.2 and finished the race with a time of 1:41.86, about one second slower than the world record.
For comparison, according to SpeedEndurance.com, David Rudisha ran 49.28 and 1:14.3 in his 2012 world record race. Rudisha finished the race in 26.6, meaning Arop was faster. But the crucial middle 400m proved to be a bit slow.
In this race, Olympic gold medalist Emmanuel Wanyonyi was expected to break the world record after running 1:41.11 in Lausanne, but he finished a distant second, almost caught by the dogged Bryce Hoppel, who finished in 1:43.32.
Duplantis World Raises the bar again and increases the world record to 6.26 m
Although Mondo Duplantis’s ploy to improve the world record inch by inch has the appeal of an accountant, he once again captivated the audience and dominated the field.
On his second attempt he reached a height of 6.26 m.
Behind him, Greek Emmanouil Karalis reached 6.00 m for the first time ever, while Sam Kendricks reached the same height for the first time this season.
In the preview of the men’s 3,000-meter race, there was no doubt that Ingebrigtsen could only lose this race.
Behind him was predicted to be an Ethiopian pack led by Yomif Kejelcha, Grant Fisher, perhaps Ronald Kwemoi, perhaps Mo Ahmed, perhaps George Mills.
Pacemakers Pietr Sisk and Vincent Ciattei brought the field through the 2 km mark in brilliant times of 2:27.5 and 4:55.
However, one kilometer from the finish, speculation about who might challenge Ingebrigtsen, who won the 1,500 m in Lausanne on Thursday, proved pointless.
Only Ingebrigtsen was left, Berihu Aregawei was hanging by a thread.
Of all the superlatives attributed to Ingebrigtsen’s performance in this race, his final 600 m deserves the highest praise. He finished the race with 28.7, 28.4 and 27.0, slamming the door on Aregawi (29.2, 28.5 and 29.2) and breaking the world record.
What underlines his sheer dominance here is the fact that after Aregawi’s heroic time of 7:21.28, no one came close. Yomif Kejelcha, who finished just behind Ingebrigtsen in setting his previous personal best for the distance, took third in 7:28.44.
Ronald Kwemoi, who won silver in the Olympic 5k behind Ingebritsen, finished well with 7:31 but was practically 15 seconds behind! Mo Ahmed ran a great personal best behind Kwemoi. Grant Fisher was last to finish. George Mills did not turn up to run.
The weather at the late afternoon race was reportedly oppressively hot, and Jakob had only a few days to recover from his impressive 1,500m lead in Lausanne. There were valid excuses on the day, but they will be used by Ingebrigtsen’s competitors, who will likely acknowledge him as the best 3,000m runner of all time.
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