Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran a world leading time in the men’s 1500m race at the Zurich Diamond League Meeting which was the final stop on the Wanda Diamond League held on Thursday (08) in Zurich, Switzerland.
The 21-year-old hasn’t shown any visible signs of fatigue from doubling up in the 1500m and 5000m at both the World Athletics Championships and the European Athletics Championships, lived to his expectations as he beat the Olympic silver medallist, Timothy Cheruiyot from Kenya as he eclipsed his world leading time of 3:29.02 which is his third sub-3:30 clocking of the year and the sixth of his career. This made the Norwegian to lay his hands on his first Diamond Trophy
“I would have loved to get more races, but we are going to have to wait for next year. I will get a couple of weeks relaxing now, but I want to keep on working, and keep on training – it is tough mentally, training and sleeping, but definitely need to relax a bit,” said Ingebrigtsen.
Cheruiyot was forced to close his track season in second place in a time of 3:30.27 with Commonwealth Games 1500m champion, Oliver Hoare from Australia closing the podium three finishes in 3:30.59.
World Indoor 1500m bronze medallist, Abel Kipsang came home in fourth in 3:31.36 with Stewart Mcsweyn from Australia finishing in fifth place in 3:31.34.
World silver medallist, Jacob Krop produced the sixth fastest time at the Brussels Diamond League Meeting, held on Friday (02) in Brussels, Belgium.
The 21 year-old young star who came to this race with a personal best of 12:46.79 that he got this year at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in Italy where he finished in second position, held off strong deep field that included the 2019 World 10,000m silver medallist Yomif Kejelcha from Ethiopia, World 10,000m bronze medallist Stanley Mburu and South Sudan’s Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu who had the second fastest time on paper this year of 7:29.48.
Kejelcha took the charge of the lead group, passing through the 3000m in 7:41.74 but Krop surged ahead of him with 300m remaining while maintaining the pace as the field began to drop allowing to forge ahead with Grant Fisher sticking with him but he could not hold the fast pace of the Kenyan who crossed the finish line a new personal best of 12:45.71which made him the second fastest Kenyan in history.
Canadian-born American, Fisher who holds the American outdoor record in the 10,000m and the Indoor record in the 5000m of 26:33.84 and 12:53.73 respectively, made a huge statement when he broke the North American record and moving to twelfth on the world all-time list.
Commonwealth silver medallist Nicholas Kipkorir was forced to settle in third place in a time of12:46.96 with Lobalu setting a South Sudanese record of 12:52.15.
Commonwealth Games 10,000m silver medallist Daniel Ebenyo found the going too tough for him as he came home in fifth place with a personal best of 12:54.90.
Mburu finished in fourteenth place in 13:24.43 with Kejelcha failing to finish the race.
Olympic 1500m Champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen destroyed and completely blew the field away with a world leading time at Lausanne Diamond League held on Friday night in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The 21 year-old smoked a strong deep field that included Olympic 1500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot and the World Indoor bronze medallist Abel Kipsang.
Ingebrigtsen made a huge statement ahead of the final in Zurich in two weeks time when he crossed the finish line when he dipped under the 3:20 mark in a world leading time 3:29..05 with Kipsang coming home in second place in a season best of 3:29.93.
Newly crowned Africa 1500m, champion Abel Kipsang leads a strong field that includes Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen at the Oslo Diamond League that will be held on Thursday (16) at Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway.
Kipsang who is also the World Indoor bronze medallist will take on the world Indoor silver medallist in the famous Dream Mile.
Ingerbrigtsen holds the fastest mile time on paper of 3:47.24 that he got last year at the Hayward Field which is also a National record while Kipsang holds 3:50.87 that he got this year also at the same venue.
Kipsang will also take the likes of Spain’s Mohammed Katir, Australia’s Stewart McSweyn.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be out to deliver for the home crowd when he lines up in a stellar men’s mile field at the sixth Wanda Diamond League meeting of the season in Oslo on June 16th.
Ingebrigtsen will take on the likes of Spain’s Mohammed Katir, Australia’s Stewart McSweyn and Kenya’s Abel Kipsang in the showpiece event at Oslo’s Bislett Games.
Though there is a long tradition of world class milers shining in Oslo, none of the Ingebrigtsen brothers have ever won the event at their home stadium. As reigning Olympic and European champion in the men’s 1500m, Ingebrigtsen is best placed to change that this month.
HIs older brother Henrik, meanwhile, is set to compete in a strong men’s 5000m field against the likes of Getnet Wale, Jacob Kiplimo and 1500m world indoor champion Samuel Tefera.
The women’s 5000m also promises fireworks, as reigning Diamond League champion Francine Niyonsaba takes on Britain’s Eilish McColgan, Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen and home hero Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal.
World Indoor 1500m bronze medallist, Abel Kipsang will battle with the World Indoor 1500m champion Samuel Tefera at the Müller Diamond League that will be held on Saturday 21 May, at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.
The Olympic record holder over the distance, who has been in great shape in recent times, beat last week Olympic 1500m silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot for the second time in a row and will carry his great shape to muller as he will take on Tefera who holds the world indoor record of 3:31.04.
Kipsang who is the current world leader will also face-off with the Olympic 1500m bronze medallist and Scottish record holder Josh Kerr.
Other title contenders includes Great Britain’s Piers Copeland, who is the British indoor champion and Welsh indoor record holder and George Mills the 2016 European under-18 champion.
Olympic 1500m finalist and Australian national record holder, Stewart McSweyn from Australia and his compatriot Ollie Hoare, Olympic 1500m finalist and the Australian national record holder have also been included on the star studded start list.
Distance running legend returns to the roads of London and Manchester in May but what else does the summer of 2022 hold in store?
After signing up to race the Vitality London 10,000 on the roads of the British capital on May 2, Mo Farah has now announced he will be running the Great Manchester Run on May 22.
Despite turning 39 years old today (March 23) and enduring an injury-hit summer in 2021 which saw him fail to make the British Olympic team for Tokyo, there are signs he could be entering a surprisingly busy racing period.
After his disappointing season last year he talked about having one last hurrah – a big farewell race somewhere to mark the end of a career that has brought him, among other things, 10 global track titles. But there is now speculation he could be involved in this summer’s major championships on the track. Who knows, a return to the London Marathon in October could even be on the cards too.
Firstly, let’s stick to what we know. As Farah is racing 10km on the roads of London on May 2 and Manchester on May 22, this means we can pretty much rule him out of racing in the Müller Birmingham Diamond League on May 21.
Farah does not seem afraid of putting his reputation on the line either, incidentally, as the Great Manchester Run is also set to feature Stewart McSweyn, the Australian who holds the Oceania record for 1500m, mile and 3000m in addition to having clocked 27:23.80 for 10,000m on the track.
In addition, Andy Butchart is set to race and has been in good shape recently after having run 27:36.77 for 10,000m in California this month to break Ian Stewart’s 45-year-old Scottish record.
So if Farah’s road races in May go well, what are his options? Surprisingly he has never won a Commonwealth title and with the event on home soil in Birmingham it must be tempting.
The consensus is that he would struggle on the track against the likes of Joshua Cheptegei and Selemon Barega in the World Championships in Oregon in July. But Christian Malcolm, the head coach of the British team, has suggested it is “50/50”.
Speaking as last weekend’s World Indoor Championships in Belgrade drew to a close, Malcolm said: “Sir Mo is working hard and training. We will see how he goes in the summer. But he’s at that age now where you have to take it week-by-week, month-by-month, see where you are at in training.”
On the chances of him competing in Oregon, Malcolm added: “It’s possible. We don’t know at the moment. It’s 50-50 if I am being honest with you. Hopefully we will know a little bit more over the next six weeks.
“Does he still have a talent? Yes, he does. So let’s see if his body can handle it. Like I said, over the next six weeks Mo will know a little bit more about where he is at.”
As for the Great Manchester Run, Farah last took part in the event in 2018 when he outkicked Moses Kipsiro to clock 28:27.
Farah said: “I’m pleased to say the injury problems I had last year are now behind me, training has been going well and I am happy with the shape I am showing.
“Any time I race in the UK it is exciting for me because I love running in front of my home fans and I want to give my best for them. I had an amazing reception in Manchester when I won the event in 2018 so I’m looking forward to racing on the streets of the city again later this year.”
It will be fascinating to see if Farah’s form during May is close to his best or whether there is little improvement on last year when he struggled at the British 10,000m Championships in Birmingham to clock 27:50.64 before barely improving three weeks later to run 27:47.04 in an invitation 10,000m at the Olympic trials in Manchester.
How will he fare, too, if he comes up against the rising force of Marc Scott, who beat Farah in Birmingham last year despite not being 100% fit himself and has since won the Great North Run, clocked 12:57.08 for 5000m indoors and on Saturday won bronze in the 3000m at the World Indoor Championships?
Olympic silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot cemented his legacy as the world 1500m veteran when he beat his perennial rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen at the finals of the Wanda Diamond League series that were held on Thursday (9) in Zurich.
Cheruiyot held off his rival to win his fourth Diamond League trophy in 3:31.37.
Cheruiyot of late has been grappling with an injury and has also been nursing a sick child, factors that have also contributed to his sub-par performance.
His coach Bernard Ouma said people sometimes forget that athletes are human beings too.
“On a podium, people see athletes, others see machines that are running and have to be position one. At the back of my mind as a coach, I see a human being with social challenges as well, the family perspective and personal as well,” he said.
Norwagian wonder boy, Ingebrigtsen was left with no option but to settle in second place in 3:31.45
Australia’s Stewart Mcsweyn took the third spot in a time of 3:32.14.
Kenya’s Ronald Kwemoi and Charles Simotwo finished in sixth and seventh place in 3:33.34 season best and 3:34.24 respectively. Bethwell Birgen also from Kenya finished last in 3:46.01
The 2012 Olympic Games gold medallist in 10,000m Galen Rupp will be the star to watch at the 40th edition of the Great North Run that will be held on Sunday (12) from Newcastle to South Shields in England.
The 2016 Rio marathon bronze medallist is coming off of an eighth place finish in the Olympic Marathon in Sapporo last month. A veteran of seven half-marathons, the former Oregon Duck carries on his shoulder a personal best of 59:47 that he got at the 2018 Roma-Ostia half-marathon in Italy.
The 35 year-old American will battle for the top honors as he faces off with the recently crowned bronze medallist in the marathon at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Somali-born Belgian Bashir Abdi who knows this streets well having participated in this race in 2018 where he finished in third place in 1:01.42. The 32 year-old has a personal best of 1:01.50 that he got in 2017 at the Lille Half Marathon in France.
Other established athletes slated to run are Britain’s Marc Scott who has a personal best of 1:00.35 and Jake Smith of 1:00.31 and Belgium’s Soufiane Bouchikhi of 1:02.59 are also competing on the men’s side, as is Britain’s Charlotte Purdue (1:08:23).
This year’s race has the inclusion of several track athletes making their half-marathon debuts. Those include Stewart McSweyn, the Australian record holder for both the mile (3:48.37) and 10,000m (27:23.80); Eilish McColgan, the British record holder for 5000m (14:28.55); Edward Cheserek, the Kenyan record holder for the indoor mile (3:49.44); and Dominique Scott, the South African record holder for 3000m indoors (8:41.18).
The assembled elite athletes will be fighting to try and lower the race course record of 58:56 that was set in 2011Kenya’s Martin Mathathi.
World 1,500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot will renew his rivalry with Olympic 1,500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen at the Zurich Diamond League.
The duo, who have been battling in various championships across the world will be meeting for the 15th time with Norwegian Ingebrigtsen with Kenyan losing twice to the young star.
Ingebrigtsen has become the centre of attraction international more after beating Cheruiyot to win the Olympic title at the concluded Games in Tokyo, Japan.
The European 1500m champion was on fire during the Prefontaine Classic meet in Eugene, as he trounced Cheruiyot in 3:47.24 in a world leading, National Record and Diamond League Record which placed him as the ninth fastest outdoor performer in history.
Cheruiyot of late has been grappling with an injury and has also been nursing a sick child, factors that have also contributed to his sub-par performance.
His coach Bernard Ouma said people sometimes forget that athletes are human beings too.
“On a podium, people see athletes, others see machines that are running and have to be position one. At the back of my mind as a coach, I see a human being with social challenges as well, the family perspective and personal as well,” he said.
This race has some of the fastest runners ever assembled as the top five athletes are sub 3:30 with the rest being sub3:34 like Spaniard Mohamed Katir, Australia’s Stewart Mcsweyn and Abel Kipsang from Kenya have the fastest time on paper as they carry seasons best of 3:28.76, 3:29.51 and 3:29.56 respectively.
Others yearning for the title are Kenyan Charles Simotwo (93:30.30), Australia’s Oliver Hoare (3:33.19) Spain’s Ignacio Fontes (3:33.27) Ronald Kwemoi fromKenya (3:33.53) and Matthew Ramsden (3:34.08) from Australia.
Kenya and Australia has the highest number of athletes in this race as they both are represented by three athletes
