Ingebrigtsen, Duplantis set world records
Norwegian runs 7:17.55 in 3,000, Swede clears 6.26 (20-6½) in pole vault in Chorzow
Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway and Mondo Duplantis of Sweden, two track and field athletes familiar with producing best-ever marks, combined to set a pair of world records in the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial Diamond League meet in Chorzow, Poland, on Sunday.
Ingebrigtsen, 23, clocked 7 minutes 17.55 seconds in the men’s 3,000 meters to crush the previous world record of 8:20.67 set by Kenyan Daniel Komen in 1996.
Duplantis, 24, cleared 6.26 meters (20 feet 6½ inches) in the men’s pole vault to better the world record of 6.25 (20-6) that he had set in the Olympic Games in Paris on August 5. It was the tenth world record of Duplantis’ illustrious career and gave him the 10 highest vaults in history.
Ingebrigtsen had set a world best of 7:54.10 in the two mile in Paris last June and a world record of 4:43.13 for 2,000 meters in Brussels last September. But his performance on Sunday might have topped those efforts as he took down a hallowed record that had stood for just under 28 years.
His time also slashed more than six seconds off his previous European record of 7:23.63 that he had set in the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, last September when he edged Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia by a hundredth of a second after winning the mile in a European record of 3:43.73 the previous day.
“It feels special, amazing,” Ingebrigtsen said in quotes on the meet website. “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. 3000 is a tough distance. After 4-5 laps you feel the lactic acid, but you need to get going.”
Although there had been little talk of a world-record attempt earlier in the week, that had changed in the previous day or two as the two pacesetters had instructions to pass the first kilometer in 2:27.50 and the second in 4:55.00 on Sunday.
After coming through 1,000 meters in 2:27.06, Pieter Sisk of Belgium led the field through four laps in a hand-held time of 3:55.7.
American Vincent Ciattei then took over the pacesetting chores for a little while, but Ingebrigtsen was in the lead when he came through 2,000 meters in 4:55.21.
The Ethiopian trio of Kejelcha, Berihu Aregawi, and Addisu Yihune were not far behind the Norwegian at that point in the race, but Olympic 10,000-meter silver medalist Aregawi was the only one of the three who gave Ingebrigtsen any kind of competition during the remainder of the race.
Ingebrigtsen was nine tenths of a second ahead of Aregawi when he came through 2,400 meters in 5:53.4 and his advantage had grown to a second and a half when he passed 2,800 in 6:50.5. But he more than doubled his lead during the last-half of the race as he was credited with a split of 27.0 seconds for his final 200, compared to Aregawi’s 29.2.
Although Ingebrigtsen did his usual superb job of maintaining his form during the final straightaway, the effort he was putting forth was written all over his face. But that grimace turned to a look of shock and gleeful astonishment after he crossed the finish line and saw his time on a video display on the infield.
Aregawi finished second in 7:21.28 to record the third-fastest time in history and cut more than two seconds off Kejelcha’s national record of 7:23.64 from last year.
Kejelcha placed third in 7:28.44, followed by compatriot Telahun Bekele in 7:30.97 and Kenyan Ronald Kwemoi in 7:31.57. Yihune finished 10th in a personal best of 7:33.94.
Ingebrigtsen had finished a disappointing fourth in the 1,500 in the Olympic Games on August 6 after entering the meet as the defending champion and co-favorite, but since then he has won the 5,000 in the Olympics on August 10, clocked 3:27.83 in winning the 1,500 in the Athletissima Diamond League meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday, and set the world record in the 3,000 on Sunday.
His performance in Lausanne had left him more than two seconds ahead of Olympic 1,500-meter champion Cole Hocker of the U.S.
Hot temperatures made for less-than-ideal conditions in Chorzow, but Ingebrigtsen said they were the same for everyone.
“I have a good team,” he added. “We use ice vests, we make sure I stay hydrated and I am prepared. This meeting is great. The organisers make sure we feel appreciated and are comfortable and that really allows us to perform. Now I want to challenge world records at all distances, but it is one step at a time.”
Duplantis had set a meet record in Lausanne on Wednesday when he cleared 6.15 (20-2) on his third attempt while jumping at a venue outside of the main stadium. But he had not taken any more jumps after that because the breezy conditions were far from ideal. Wind was not a factor on Sunday and he cleared 5.62 (18-5¼), 5.92 (19-5), and 6.00 (19-8¼) on his first attempts.
He passed at 6.08 (19-11¼), and after Sam Kendricks of the U.S. missed all three of his tries at that height that would have been an American record, Duplantis had the bar raised to 6.26.
His first attempt was not close as he bailed out of the jump part of the way through the vault and was two feet under the bar before he started his descent to the mat. But his second try was successful.
He brushed the bar with his right knee as he was going over it, but when it stayed up, he had raised the world record for the tenth time.
Kendricks and Emmanouil Karalis of Greece, the Olympic sliver and bronze medalists, each cleared 6.00, with Kendricks placing second because he made it on his second attempt and Karalis did it on his third. It was the first meet in history in which three men had cleared 6.00 or higher.
It was Kendricks’ best performance since 2020 and Karalis bettered his previous Greek record of 5.93 (19-5½) that he set earlier this year.
KC Lightfoot of the U.S. placed fourth at 5.92, followed by Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines at 5.82 (19-1).
Duplantis had set his first world record in an indoor meet in Torun, Poland, in February of 2020 when he cleared 6.17 (20-2¾) to top the previous best of 6.16 (20-2½) that Renaud Lavillenie of France had cleared in 2014.
In all of his world records since then, he has bettered the previous height by a centimeter.
Afterward, he expressed deep appreciation for the support he received from the announced meet-record crowd of 42,357 during the competition.
“It almost feels weird and unnatural to get so much love and support from the crowds when I compete,” he said in quotes on the meet website. “I see that especially in Poland. The energy in this stadium just keeps getting better every year. My first world record also came in Poland, indoors in Torun, so I have great memories from here.”
He then added that the “track here is wonderful, the conditions today were perfect, everything just came together to allow me to do this. I know a lot of people came here to see me jump, so I wanted to put in a good showing for them.
“This year I focused on the Olympics, records just came naturally because I was in good shape. So I am not surprised with the record today, but I am thankful. It is just about being in good shape and believing you can do it. I always want to jump as high as I possibly can and to keep pushing. I have never hit a jump that felt absolutely perfect, so I always feel like I can do better.”
The men’s pole vault was one of six events in the meet that included the gold, silver, and bronze medalists from the Olympic Games.
The others were the women’s 400 meters, along with the men’s 3,000 steeplechase, 110 high hurdles, shot put, and hammer throw.
The women’s 400 actually included the top four finishers and the order was the same on Sunday as it had been in Paris on August 9 as Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic placed first in a meet record of 48.66 seconds, followed by Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain in 49.23, Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland in 49.95, and Rhasidat Adeleke of Ireland in 50.00.
Adeleke and Naser were the ones pushing the pace for the first 200 meters of the race, but Paulino began to make up ground on the leaders midway through the second turn and she pulled away from everyone in the home straightaway while winning her seventh final of the year without a loss.
Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco won his 14th consecutive race in the men’s steeplechase, but he was nearly beaten at the finish line after he eased up with three or four strides left in the contest.
The two-time defending Olympic and World champion appeared to have the victory in hand after spurting away from Amos Serem of Kenya after the final barrier, but they were both credited with times of 8:04.29 after Serem came oh so close to passing El Bakkali as the Moroccan stepped off the accelerator in the final 10 meters of the race.
Samuel Firewu of Ethiopia finished just behind those two with a personal best of 8:04.34 and Olympic bronze medalist Abraham Kibiwott of Kenya placed fourth in 8:08.21. Kenneth Rooks of the U.S., who had finished a surprising second in the Olympics, placed 16th in 8:35.19 in Chorzow after taking a hard fall on the fourth lap of the race.
Olympic champion Grant Holloway of the U.S. had suffered his first loss of the season in the men’s high hurdles in the Athletissima meet on Thursday when bronze medalist Rasheed Broadbell of Jamaica beat him by four hundredths of a second. But the three-time defending World champion edged Broadbell, 13.04 to 13.05, on Sunday, with silver medalist Daniel Roberts of the U.S. third in 13.24.
Ryan Crouser the U.S. had produced the three farthest marks of the competition in winning an unprecedented third consecutive Olympic title in the men’s shot put, but compatriot and three-time silver medalist Joe Kovacs edged him by two centimeters in Chorzow with a best of 22.14 (72-7¾). Crouser had briefly moved from third place to first with his fifth-round put of 22.12 (72-7), but Kovacs responded with his 22.14 effort two throwers later.
Leonardo Fabbri of Italy placed third at 22.03 (72-3½).
Olympic champion Ethan Katzberg of Canada won his 11th meet of the season without a loss in the men’s hammer throw, but his margin of victory was smaller than has been typical during his winning streak.
Katzberg recorded his winning mark of 80.03 (262-6) in the second round and also had a secondary throw of 79.98 (262-5) on his sixth attempt that would have been good enough to win the competition. Olympic bronze medalist Mykhaylo Kokhan of Ukraine placed second with a sixth-round effort of 79.85 (261-11) and Wojciech Nowicki of Poland, the Olympic champion in 2021, placed third at 76.05 (249-6).
Defending World champion Katzberg had won the Olympic title with a mark of 84.12 (276-0), followed by silver medalist Bence Halasz of Hungary at 79.97 (262-4).
The men’s 800 and 200 meters, as well as the women’s 100 hurdles, included the gold and silver medalists from the Games.
In the 800, Olympic silver medalist Marco Arop of Canada scored a decisive victory over gold medalist Emmanuel Wanyonyi when his meet record of 1:41.86 left him well ahead of second-place Wanyonyi at 1:43.23 and third-place Bryce Hoppel of the U.S. at 1:43.32.
Wanyoni had edged defending World champion Arop by a hundredth of a second when he ran 1:41.19 in the Olympic final and he had followed that victory with a personal best of 1:41.11 in the Athletissima meet that moved him into a tie for second on the all-time performer list and left him comfortably ahead of second-place Arop at 1:41.72.
However, Arop turned the tables on his Kenyan rival on Sunday.
He was five meters in front of Wanyonyi after pacesetter Patryk Sieradzki of Poland came through 400 meters in 49.39.
Arop assumed the lead after Sieradzki dropped out and his advantage over Wanyoni was seven to eight meters when he came through 600 meters in 1:15.52. The Kenyan never made a serious run at him after that as the Canadian widened his margin significantly in the home straightaway while winning a race in which the top eight finishers ran under 1:44.
Arop, who had a personal best of 1:42.85 heading into the Olympic final on August 10, has now broken 1:42 in three consecutive races.
“Finally, I get the win,” Arop said in quotes on the meet website. “I think this is my first win over Wanyonyi since last year at the World champs, so it was a good race today. Fast track and amazing atmosphere. I managed to run fast - just wanted to see how fast I could go. Pacing was perfect… I am just glad I am able to step on the line and to be able to compete.”
In the men’s 200, Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana did not run a strong turn, but he managed to come from behind to win the race with a 19.83 to 19.86 victory over Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic, who set a national record while finishing second. Olympic silver medalist Kenny Bednarek of the U.S. placed third in 20.00, followed by compatriot and Olympic fourth-place finisher Erriyon Knighton in 20.07.
Ogando had finished fifth in 20.02 in the Olympics, more than half a second behind Tebogo and his winning time of 19.46. But the Botswanan was in no better that third place coming off the turn in Chorzow.
He passed second-place Bednarek midway down the home straightaway, but did not catch Ogando until about 15 meters were left in the race.
“I feel great about having run sub 19.90, I have to thank God to enabling me to run this pace,” Ogando said. “Honestly, I am over the moon. In Paris, we did not really achieve what we had worked for, but I am very thankful for this opportunity to compete here and to give it my all.”
Ackera Nugent of Jamaica had failed to finish the Olympic final in the women’s 100 hurdles after smacking the seventh hurdle and veering off the track. But she put together a pair of high-quality races on Sunday and her winning time of 12.29 in the final was only a hundredth of a second off her personal best of 12.28 that she had run in winning her country’s national championships in late June.
After clocking 12.30 in her qualifying heat, Nugent was not far behind typically fast-starting compatriot Danielle Williams after the first three flights of hurdles in the final, and she was running even with Williams by the fourth hurdle and was in the lead after five.
She then widened her advantage during the second half of the race to finish well in front of second-place Grace Stark of the U.S. in 12.37, third-place Williams in 12.38, and Olympic champion Masai Russell of the U.S. in 12.40.
Other notable winners in the meet were Fred Kerley of the U.S. in the men’s 100 meters, Karsten Warholm of Norway in the men’s 400 intermediate hurdles, Femke Bol of the Netherlands in the women’s 400 hurdles, and Adriana Vilagos of Serbia in the women’s javelin.
The men’s 100 lost some of its luster when Olympic silver medalist Kishane Thompson of Jamaica did not run, but bronze medalist Kerley defeated a quality field when he ran 9.87 seconds to finish ahead of second-place Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya in 9.88 and third-place Ackeem Blake of Jamaica in 9.89.
Marcell Jacobs of Italy, who placed fifth in the Olympics in Paris after winning the gold medal in Tokyo in 2021, placed fourth in 9.93.
Warholm won the men’s intermediate hurdles with a 46.95 clocking that left the world record-holder nearly half a second in front of Clement Ducos of France, who ran a personal best of 47.42. Abderrahman Samba of Qatar finished third in 47.69 in the race in which the top five finishers ran under 48 seconds.
Warholm has now run under 47 seconds a record 13 times during his career. Olympic champion Rai Benjamin of the U.S. has the second-most sub-47 clockings with 10.
Anna Cockrell of the U.S. had overtaken a fading Bol while on her way to a silver medal in the women’s 400 hurdles in Paris, but Bol was a clear winner on Sunday as her meet record of 52.13 left her well clear of Cockrell in second place in 52.88 and Rushell Clayton of Jamaica in third in 53.11.
Clayton had a lead over Bol, compatriot Andrenette Knight, and Cockrell when they cleared the seventh of 10 barriers, but Bol was in the lead when she cleared the eighth hurdle and her advantage grew during the remainder of the race.
Vilagos had been eliminated in the qualifying round of the women’s javelin in the Olympic Games, but she raised her Serbian record to 65.60 (215-2) on her first throw in Chorzow and also had an effort of 65.07 (213-6) in the second round that would been good enough to win the competition.
Olympic silver medalist Jo-Ane van Dyk of South Africa finished second with a best of 62.81 (206-1) and bronze medalist Nikola Ogrodnikova of Czechia placed third with a mark of 61.84 (202-10).
You can click here for complete results of the meet.