St. Pierre stuns Tsegay in monster 3,000
American outkicks Ethiopian great on night when Bol lowers world record in 400, Holloway extends dominance of 60 high hurdles, in World indoor champs
Femke Bol of the Netherlands set her second world record of the year in the women’s 400 meters and Grant Holloway of the U.S. missed his world record in the men’s 60-meter high hurdles by only two hundredths of a second in the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, on Saturday.
Yet no single performance was more exciting and dramatic to me than American Elle St. Pierre’s come-from-behind victory in the women’s 3,000 meters.
Bol’s time of 49.17 seconds in the 400 bettered the previous world record of 49.24 that she had run in winning the Dutch national title on Feb. 18. And Holloway’s 7.29 clocking in the 60 high hurdles narrowly missed equalling the 7.27 world record he had set in a heat of the USA Track & Field Indoor Championships on Feb. 17.
However, both of them were prohibitive favorites in their respective events on Saturday.
St. Pierre, who gave birth to her son on March 4 of last year, took down a heavyweight in winning a depth-laden 3,000 in the fourth-fastest time in indoor history.
Gudaf Tesgay of Ethiopia, who won the women’s 10,000 meters in last year’s World Athletics Championships in August before lowering the world record in the 5,000 to 14:00.21 in September, had narrowly missed the world indoor record in the 3,000 last month when she ran 8:17.11. She had also won the 5,000 and placed second in the 1,500 in the 2022 World outdoor championships and holds the world indoor record in the 1,500 at 3:53.09.
She was nearly as big a favorite in the women’s 3,000 as Bol was in the women’s 400 and Holloway was in the men’s high hurdles.
And yet, the 29-year-old St. Pierre moved past her in the final straightaway to set an American record of 8:20.87 that moved her to third on the all-time performer list while winning the deepest indoor race in history.
Behind St. Pierre, Tsegay finish second in 8:21.13, followed by Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya in 8:22.68, Jessica Hull of Australia in 8:24.39, and Laura Muir of Great Britain in 8:29.76.
Tsegay’s time was the fifth-fastest ever run, with Chepkoech’s at No. 8 and Hull’s at No. 12.
In addition, Chepkoech moved to fourth on the all-time performer list and Hull to eighth while running in a race in which the second- through 10th-place finishers recorded the fastest times ever for their respective places.
“It’s just a dream come true to be a World champion,” St. Pierre said to Lewis Johnson of NBC Sports. “It’s something that every athlete dreams of… It’s been a big year for me. And this is really emotional to think about. This is a big accomplishment and I’m so happy.”
While St. Pierre became the first U.S. woman to win the 3,000 in the World indoor championships after finishing second in the meet in Belgrade, Serbia, in 2022, Tsegay, Chepkoech, and Hull deserve a ton of credit for pushing the pace for most of the race while St. Pierre ran in fourth place.
Chepkoech, the world record-holder in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, led the field through the first kilometer in 2:48.83 before Tsegay moved to the fore going down the backstretch of the sixth lap on the 200-meter track.
Tsegay never trailed again until the last 20 meters of the race when St. Pierre passed her.
The Ethiopian, with Hull close behind her, came through 1,600 meters in 4:29.06, 2,000 in 5:35.78, 2,400 in 6:44.00, and 2,600 in 7:18.96.
Hull had fallen back to fourth place as Tsegay led Chepkoech and St. Pierre through the bell lap in 7:50.87. But St. Pierre passed Chepkoech going down the backstretch before closing the gap on Tsegay going around the final turn and eventually surging past her while running her final 200 meters in 29.76 seconds and cutting more than four seconds off her previous best of 8:25.25 that she had run while being outkicked by Hull in the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston in Feb. 4.
“I knew it would be a fast race,” St. Pierre said in an interview posted by Citius Mag. “I knew there was amazing athletes that I was going up against and I think that I was confident that that would work to my benefit. And so I just had to get myself into a good position and hang on to the pace and close as fast as I could. It was nice to not to be thinking about pace that much and just to be competing out there.”
The 24-year-old Bol, who had first lowered the world record in the indoor 400 to 49.26 last year before going on to win the 400 hurdles in the World championships last August, often trails quick-starting countrywoman Lieke Klaver for the first 130-140 meters of the two-lap race. But she was ahead of Klaver after the first 100 meters on Saturday.
She was a stride in front of second-place Klaver after the first lap and she increased her lead going down the backstretch for the second time before widening it further during the last 100 meters of the race.
Her 49.17 clocking, which was her seventh sub-50 effort indoors, left her nearly a second in front of Klaver (50.16), who just held off fast-closing Alexis Holmes of the U.S. (50.24) for the silver medal. Laviai Nielsen of Great Britain finished fourth in 50.89, followed by Talitha Diggs of the U.S. in 51.23.
“It was amazing,” Bol said in a World Athletics post. “It was such a strong race and I knew I had to go out fast.
“My coach said to me, 'You can run faster,' but to be honest I just wanted to win. This is great because I've not done hurdles for four weeks and it gives me confidence. And to get this with Lieke, it's so good for our sport and our team.”
While Bol’s dominance of the women’s indoor 400 has only occurred during the last two undercover seasons, Holloway has not lost a race in the 60-meter high hurdles since March of 2014 when he was a sophomore in high school.
Her ran 7.43 seconds and 7.32 in his qualifying heat and semifinal, respectively, on Saturday before running 7.29 in the final to finish well ahead of silver medalist Lorenzo Simonelli of Italy, who set a national record of 7.43 in second place.
Just Kwaou-Mathey of France placed third in 7.47. He was followed by Enrique Llopis of Spain in fourth, Jakub Szymanski of Poland in fifth, and Trey Cunnigham of the U.S. in sixth, as each of them ran 7.53.
Szymanski had actually beaten Holloway to the first hurdle in the semifinals, but the 26-year-old American was clear of everyone after clearing the first of five barriers in the final.
His winning time gave him his second consecutive World indoor title and tied the meet record that he had set in the semifinals of the 2022 championships. It also marked the third time he has run 7.29 and gave him the four fastest times in history, eight of the top nine, and 13 of the top 16.
He has now won five individual World titles as he is the three-time defending champion in the 110 high hurdles outdoors.
“This morning was little bit of a shake-up but to come out of here and go sub-7.3 is a good time,” Holloway said in a World Athletics post. “I'm happy to defend my title and let's see how the rest of the year plays out - I'm looking forward to it. I had good fun out here and achieved what I wanted to. It wasn't a record but that's OK.
“I know I'm in good shape for the summer. It was my fifth world title so I'm happy to keep racking them up. I'm in great shape so I'll be ready to hit it again.”
Holloway, Bol, and St. Pierre were three of nine athletes who won events on Saturday.
The others were Julien Alfred of St. Lucia in the women’s 60 meters, Molly Caudery and Josh Kerr of Great Britain in the women’s pole vault and men’s 3,000, respectively, Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece in the men’s long jump, Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso in the men’s triple jump, and Alexander Doom of Belgium in the men’s 400.
Alfred, who set a collegiate record of 6.94 in the 60 for the University of Texas last year, won the final in 6.98 on Saturday while becoming the first athlete from St. Lucia to ever win a medal in the World indoor or outdoor championships.
Fast-starting Ewa Swoboda of Poland finished second in 7.00, followed by Zaynab Dosso of Italy in 7.05, Zoe Hobbs of New Zealand in an Oceania record of 7.06, and 2022 silver medalist Mikiah Brisco of the U.S. in 7.08.
Aleia Hobbs of the U.S., who was regarded as a medal contender, lined up for the final but was helped off the track by medical personnel after she appeared to have sustained a injury to the backside of her lower left leg while doing some rapid knee lifts just before she was going to get into the starting blocks.
Swoboda, who had run a yearly world-leading time of 6.98 in her semifinal, was the first one out of the blocks in the final. But the 22-year-old Alfred was not far behind her and had pulled even with the Pole by 40 meters and inched ahead of her after that.
Alfred had finished fourth in the 200 and fifth in the 100 in last year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
“I think losing last season at the World Championships and coming that close to a medal in both the 100m and the 200m gave me a boost," Alfred said in a World Athletics post. “I was very hungry coming into this season. My coach came all the way from Austin to be with me here, so I wanted to make him proud. I’m just going to keep hungry and train hard and keep chasing what I want. I’ll trust in my coach and me.”
Caudery and Eliza McCartney of New Zealand each cleared 4.80 meters (15 feet 9 inches) in the pole vault, but Caudery won the gold medal because she cleared the height on her second attempt while McCartney made it on her third.
Katie Moon of the U.S. finished third at 4.75 (15-7), a height that was also cleared by fourth-place Angela Moser of Switzerland. Sandi Morris of the U.S., the two-time defending champion, placed fifth at 4.65 (15-3), a height also cleared by sixth-place Amalie Svabikova of the Czech Republic.
Moon, the defending Olympic champion and two-time defending World outdoor champion, won the bronze medal ahead of Moser because she cleared 4.75 on her second attempt, while Moser made it on her third.
Morris placed fifth in front of Svabikova because she cleared 4.65 on her first attempt and Svabikova made it on her third.
The 23-year-old Caudery lacked the big-meet experience of some of her competitors, but she had been on a personal best tear this season, with her most recent performances of 4.85 (15-11) and 4.86 (15-11¼) topping the yearly world list.
She cleared 4.55 (14-11) and 4.65 (15-3) on her first attempts on Saturday. But it took her two tries to get over 4.75 and 4.80. She missed three times at 4.85, but when McCartney missed her two final tries at 4.90 (16-0¾) after passing to that height following a single miss at 4.85, Caudery became Great Britain’s first World indoor champion in the women’s pole vault.
“I’m living my dream,” Caudery said in a World Athletics post. “I honestly can’t believe I’m a world champion in an Olympic year.
“To go from injury to world level was hard enough. To be a world indoor champion is astonishing to me. It’s not sunk in.
“It was so, so special. I’m loving absolutely every single moment of this journey.”
Kerr, a 26-year-old Scotsman, delighted the home crowd prior to Caudery’s victory by kicking to a runaway victory in the men’s 3,000 meters after the early pace was quite pedestrian, as often occurs in championship distance races.
After Yared Nuguse of the U.S. found himself in the lead after coming through the first 400 in 64.97 seconds, defending champion Selemon Barega of Ethiopia led at 1,000 meters in 2:39.15.
Compatriot Getnet Wale then led for a while before Barega was back at the front when he came through 2,000 meters in 5:17.74.
Wale had retaken the lead by 2,600 meters, but Barega and Kerr were close behind him.
Kerr, who had outkicked favored Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway to win the 1,500 in the World Championships in Budapest last August, moved into the lead just before the bell lap and the race for first place was essentially over as he ran his final 200 meters in a sizzling 25.21 seconds and his last 400 in 52.64 to cross the finish line in 7:42.98.
Nuguse, who had been in fifth place with a lap to go, ran his final 200 in 25.24 to edge Barega, 7:43.59 to 7:43.64, for the silver medal. Wale placed fourth in 7:44.77, followed by Olin Hacker of the U.S. in 7:45.40.
“For Scotland and for the UK, this is a huge championships,” Kerr said in a World Athletics post. “I needed to be at my best. It was a hard-fought race.”
Tentoglou won his second consecutive title in the men’s long jump by the narrowest of margins.
He and 19-year-old Italian Mattia Furlani each had a best jump of 8.22 (26-11¾), but Tentoglou won the gold medal because his second-farthest mark of 8.19 (26-10½) was better than Furlani’s No. 2-effort of 8.10 (26-7).
Corey McLeod of Jamaica finished third at 8.21 (26-11¼) after posting that mark in the fifth round, and he was followed by Simon Batz of Germany and Jarrion Lawson of the U.S., who each had a best of 8.06 (26-5½).
Batz placed fourth ahead of Lawson because his second-best effort of 7.97 (26-1¾) was better than Lawson’s No. 2-mark of 7.92 (26-0).
Tentoglou, the defending Olympic and World outdoor champion, and Furlani each jumped 8.22 on their first attempts, but could go no farther during the remainder of the competition.
“I jumped terrible,” the 25-year-old Tentoglou said in a World Athletics post. “It was very close, but I was lucky to win – I am just a lucky guy. It was exciting at the end. This track is one of my favourites and it feels similar to Budapest.”
Like Tentoglou in the long jump, Zango entered the meet as the favorite in the triple jump after winning a World title last year. But unlike Tentoglou, he had to come from behind for his victory.
Yasser Mohammed Triki of Algeria bounded a season best of 17.35 (56-11¼) to take the lead in the first round.
The 30-year-old Zango leaped 17.33 (56-10¼) in the second round and 17.31 (56-9½) in third, but it wasn’t until he hit 17.53 (57-6¼) on his fifth attempt that he took the lead.
Triki fouled on his second and third attempts before passing his final three jumps.
Tiago Pereira of Portugal finished third at 17.08 (56-0½), followed by Yaoqing Fang of China at 16.93 (55-6½) and Emmauel Ihemeje of Italy at 16.90 (55-5½).
Zango’s medal was the first for Burkina Faso in the World indoor championships.
“It’s never easy to win a championship,” he said in a World Athletics post. “When I came here, I thought I might be able to do something but my season wasn't what I wanted. Tonight, I tried and tried and on my fifth jump it finally happened - doing 17.53m is really crazy.
“I'm really happy for Burkina Faso, for Africa, because in the final we have two Africans on the podium.”
In the men’s 400 final, Doom came from behind to edge favored Karsten Warholm of Norway for the victory.
Warholm, the Olympic champion, three-time World champion, and world record-holder in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, had not raced indoors this season until he came to Glasgow. But he looked solid in his qualifying heat and semifinals on Friday and he was in the lead in the final after coming through the first lap in 21.30.
He maintained most of his advantage down the backstretch, but Doom begin to reduce his lead around the final turn and he could not stave off the 26-year-old Belgium’s challenge in the final 10 meters of the race.
Doom clocked a national record of 45.25, followed by Warholm in 45.34, Rusheen McDonald of Jamaica in 45.65, Joao Coelho of Portugal in 45.86, and Attila Molnar of Hungary in 46.11.
Doom had been a member of Belgium’s victorious 1,600 relay team in the 2022 World indoor meet, but he was understandably excited about winning the individual title in the 400.
“It's amazing. I never expected this, because we didn't really have this in our sights,” he said in a World Athletics post. “Usually I am just focused on the 4x400m, but I loved running individually.”
The first four events of the men’s heptathlon were also contested on Saturday.
Ken Mullings of the Bahamas was in first place with 3,637 points at the end of the first day. He was followed by Simon Ehammer of Switzerland with 3,558 points, Joahnnes Erm of Estonia with 3,552, and Norway’s Sander Skotheim and Markus Rooth with 3,547 and 3,441, respectively.
Mullings produced marks of 6.83 seconds in the 60, 7.69 (25-2¾) in the long jump, 14.49 (47-6½) in the shot put, and 2.16 (7-1) in the high jump.
The heptathlon will conclude on Sunday with the 60 high hurdles, pole vault, and 1,000-meter run.