Week in Review: Thiam rises to the occasion
Belgium's two-time Olympic heptathlon champion sets world record in pentathlon in European Indoor Championships
In her first major competition since parting ways with her long-time coach, Nafi Thiam of Belgium set a world record in winning the five-event women’s pentathlon in the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Turkey last week.
Competing on the second day of the four-day, bi-annual meet that ran from March 2-5, the 28-year-old Thiam totaled 5,055 points to better the previous world record of 5,013 that Nataliya Dobrynska of Ukraine had set in 2012 while competing in a meet that was also held at Atakoy Arena.
Adrianna Sulek of Poland also bettered the previous record with a second-place total of 5,014 points. The bronze medal went to Noor Vidts of Belgium, who totaled 4,823 points.
“Coming here, I felt very confident, I have done a lot of good work and of course, the record was in my mind,” Thiam said on quotes posted on the istanbul2023 site. “But you need a good competition, to feel good and to perform well.”
The two-time Olympic and World champion in the two-day, seven-event heptathlon outdoors, Thiam was pushed throughout the competition by Sulek, who produced four personal bests and tied a fifth in adding 154 points to the previous national record of 4,860 points that she had set while finishing first in the Copernicus Cup meet in Torun, Poland 13 days earlier.
Silek and Vidts produced the fastest times in the 13-competitor field when they ran 8.21 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles to begin the competition. But Thiam was close behind them with an 8.23 clocking that tied her personal best and gave her 1,077 points in the event.
Thiam took a 34-point lead over Sulek in the standings when she cleared 1.92 meters (6-3½) in the high jump to the Pole’s 1.89 (6-2¼), and she increased her advantage to 144 points after registering a personal best of 15.54 (51-0) in the shotput.
But Sulek, who had put the shot 13.89 (45-7), picked up 10 points on Thiam in the long jump when her top effort of 6.62 (21-8¾) was three centimeters better than Thiam’s 6.59 (21-7½).
That led to an interesting situation entering the 800 meters, the final event of the competition.
Thiam, with 4,142 points, seemed headed to a new world record as a time of 2 minutes 20.14 seconds in the 800 would give her a record total and she had run a personal best of 2:13.00 in the 800 at the end of her gold medal performance in the heptathlon in the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon last July.
However, the 23-year-old Sulek would also top the world record if she ran 2:07.23 or faster in the 800.
When she crossed the finish line in 2:07.17, she had topped the previous world record by a point. But when Thiam finished in 2:13.60 – or 6.43 seconds later – the 913 points she was awarded in the event brought her total to 5,055 and gave her her second consecutive European Indoor title and third of her career.
“It is good information for me that I managed to show this result despite the fact that not all events were perfect today,” she said. “The jump — the long jump, high jump — could have been better. So I can still build on this. It is a big motivation for me to move further.”
She said that after the 60-meter hurdles, she thought it could be her day.
She then added that when “you have good competitors like we had today, they just push you to show your best. At the 800, I did not watch anyone, I knew I have to get a good time and I will be first.”
Although Sulek’s score topped the previous world record, she was disappointed at finishing in second place.
“I really wanted to have a world record and I have done everything,” she said. “I didn't expect that Nafissatou will [be] fighting in this style today. I have ambitions. I will still work. It's my little fail today. I hope that in the future I will be the best in the world.”
Thiam, who has been coached by Thomas Van der Plaetsen for the last few months after working with Roger Lespagnard for the previous 14 years, posted on Instagram:
“‼️ WORLD RECORD ‼️🤯🥹
first and only indoor competition of the year, gotta love the efficiency 🤭
Curious to see what outdoors holds in store 👀 so let’s get back to work 🫡”
Comparing notes: Nafi Thiam’s world-record performance of 5,055 points in the pentathlon in the European Indoor Championships last Friday came 15 days after Anna Hall had set an American record of 5,004 points in the event in the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Taking advantage of the elevation of Albuquerque, which at nearly 5,000 feet (1,525 meters) helps performances in the sprint, hurdle, and jumping events, Hall ran 8.04 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles before clearing a personal best of 1.91 (6-3¼) in the high jump.
She then followed those performances with marks of 13.80 (45-3½) in the shotput, 6.34 (20-9¾) in the long jump, and 2:05.70 in the 800.
Hall, 21, totaled a personal best of 6,755 points to finish third in the heptathlon in the World Championships last year. Belgian Thiam won the gold medal with a score of 6,947 points, followed by silver medalist Anouk Vetter of the Netherlands with 6,867.
Rosemary Wanjiru of Kenya and Deso Gelmisa of Ethiopia won the women’s and men’s races, respectively, in the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday. You can click here for a detailed report about their performances.
Horizontal jump duo shines: Pedro Pichardo of Portugal and Jazmin Sawyers of Great Britain, two athletes with vastly different pedigrees, produced yearly world-leading marks in the men’s triple jump and women’s long jump, respectively, in the European Indoor Championships.
Pichardo, the defending Olympic and World champion, bounded a national record of 17.60 (57-9) in the third round to win his second consecutive title in the meet. The 29-year-old opened up with a jump of 17.26 before passing his second attempt and then moving to 10th on the all-time European performer list in the third round. He passed his jumps in the fourth and fifth round before fouling on his final attempt in the sixth stanza.
Nikolas Adrikopoulos of Greece placed second with a best of 16.58 (54-4¾), followed by Max Heb of Germany at 16.57 (54-4½).
Sawyers, who had finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in the women’s long jump in the Olympics and World Championships, entered the meet with an indoor best of 6.75 (22-1 ¾) set last month. But the 28-year-old Brit topped that mark on all three of her final attempts.
Her fourth-round jump of 6.76 (22-2¼) left her in fourth place, but she took over the lead with a leap of 7.00 (22-11¾) in round five before closing with an effort of 6.84 (22-5¼).
Larissa Iapichino of Italy finished second with a national record of 6.97 (22-10½) that she hit on her final jump. World indoor champion Ivana Vuleta of Serbia finished third at 6.91 (22-8), with defending Olympic and two-time defending World outdoor champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany fourth at 6.82 (22-4½).
“I am still a little bit in shock,” Sawyers said. “I have been trying it for years and I could not jump seven meters. And today, it was not even in the back of my mind. When it happened, I was like, I do not know what it is but please, be enough.”
Going out in style: Femke Bol of the Netherlands concluded her tremendous indoor season by winning her second-consecutive title in the women’s 400 — with the seventh-fastest time in history — and anchoring the Dutch team to a runaway victory in the 1,600 relay in the European Championships.
The 23-year-old Bol, who ran 52.35 and 52.19 in her heat and semifinal on March 3, trailed countrywoman Lieke Klaver when she came through the first 100 meters of the final the following day. But she had the lead when she passed 200 meters in 23.78 and her advantage grew progressively larger after that. Her final time of 49.85 was the second-fastest of her career and gave her a comfortable margin of victory over Klaver (50.57). Anna Kielbasinka of Poland finished third in 51.25.
In the 1,600 relay that was run on Sunday, Klaver ran 50.67 on the first leg to give the Netherlands the lead and the team was not seriously challenged after that as Eveline Saalberg ran 52.27 on the second leg, Cathelijn Peeters clocked 53.14 on the third carry, and Bol anchored in 49.58.
Bol’s season included three sub-50 clockings in the 400, topped by her world record of 49.26, a world best of 1:05.63 in the 500, and a national record of 22.87 in the 200.
“Coming to Istanbul with a world record, I could feel that everybody wanted me to go even faster, and expected that I could ´easily´ run a world record again,” Bol said after winning the 400. “Unfortunately, it is harder than it might look like.”
After the 1,600 relay the silver medalist in the 400 hurdles in last year’s World Championships said she had achieved everything she wanted this season and could not ask for more. But she followed that by saying “it is just an indoor season and I miss my hurdles.”
Unbeaten campaign: Like Femke Bol of the Netherlands, Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain completed an undefeated indoor season in the European Championships after opening the year with a world best.
The silver medalist in the women’s 800 meters in both the Olympic Games and World Championships, Hodgkinson won her second consecutive title in that event in Istanbul with a nearly a wire-to-wire victory.
She was in second place after the first 100 meters of the race, but led the field through the 200 in 28.36, through 400 in 58.22, and past 600 in 1:28.58.
Her winning time of 1:58.66 was her fourth sub-1:59 clocking of the season and gave her a large margin of victory over Anita Horvat of Slovenia, who placed second in 2:00.54. Agnes Raharolahy of France finished third in 2:00.85.
Hodgkinson, who turned 21 last Friday, had lowered her national record to 1:57.18 in the 800 on Feb. 25 and set a world best of 1:23.41 in the 600 on Jan. 28.
Another double: Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway was slowed by a virus for about a month earlier in the season, but he was still able to win the men’s 1,500 meters and 3,000 in the European Indoor Championships.
The 22-year-old Ingebrigtsen ran 3:33.95 to win the 1,500 last Friday before setting a national record of 7:40.32 to take the 3,000 on Sunday.
It was his second consecutive 1,500-3,000 double in the meet and he has now won three consecutive titles in the 3,000 dating back to the 2019 championships in Glasgow, Scotland.
As he often does, the Olympic champion in the 1,500 and the World champion in the 5,000 ran from the front for both of his races in Istanbul before repelling the charge of his closest pursuers during the final lap of the 200-meter track.
Azeddine Habz of France led the field through the first 800 in 1:55.47 in the 1,500, but Ingebrigtsen was in the lead 100 meters later and never trailed again, clocking 2:38.47 at 1,100 meters and 2:52.78 at 1,200.
Neil Gourley of Great Britain was nipping at Ingebrigtsen’s heels with a lap to go, but the Norwegian ran his final 200 in 26.82 seconds to cross the finish line in 3:33.95, followed by Gourley in second (3:34.23) and Habz in third (3:35.39).
Adel Mechaal of Spain led the field through the first kilometer of the 3,000 in 2:41.87, but Ingebrigtsen moved into the lead shortly after that. He clocked 5:15.45 at 2,000 meters and 6:45.28 at 2,600 before running his final 400 meters in 55.04.
Mechaal, who won the 3,000 title in the 2017 European Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, trailed Ingebrigtsen by two tenths of a second with 400 meters left in the race, but finished nearly a second and a half behind him in 7:41.75. Elzan Bibic of Serbia placed third in 7:44.03.
“I love to compete and to collect medals,” Ingebrigtsen said after his victory in the 1,500. “That is what drives me and other athletes. It is not only about the winning, it's about winning time after time. My main goal is to become the best runner that ever existed. To do that, I will need to win more races and the next one is tomorrow.”
Historic victory: Like Ingebrigtsen, Laura Muir of Great Britain left the European Indoor Championships with her fifth gold medal from the bi-annual event. But her victory in the women’s 1,500 meters came four years after she had completed her second consecutive 1,500-3,000 double in Glasgow.
The 29-year-old Scot entered the meet as a heavy favorite, but 30-year-old Claudia Mihaela Bobocea of Romania gave her a good race before finishing second.
Bobocea led the field through 400 meters in 64.42, 800 in 2:10.87, and 1,200 in 3:16.47, but Muir had the lead at the bell lap in 3:32.16 and went on to win the race in 4:03.40. Bobocea placed second with a personal best of 4:03.76 and Sofia Ennaoui of Poland finished third in a personal best of 4:04.06.
The win by Muir, bronze medalist in the 1,500 in the World Championships last July, made her the first British athlete to have won five gold medals in the European Indoor Championships.
“I put quite some pressure on myself to win another gold, so I am very happy to actually win a gold medal,” Muir said. “Ten years ago, as a junior, I finished last in the final. It is kind of crazy how my career has changed, but I just hope that I can be an example to other athletes. You do not have to be best in the world when you are a junior, but you just see whatever stage you are at. You can do it.”
Historic victory II: Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece won the men’s long jump in Istanbul to become the first man in history to win three consecutive titles in that event in the European Indoor Championships.
The 24-year-old Tentoglou produced his best mark of 8.30 (27-2¾) in the first round and he also had a leap of 8.29 (27-2½) on his final effort.
Thobias Montler of Sweden placed second at 8.19 (26-10½), followed by Gabriel Bitan of Romania at 8.00 (26-3).
Tentoglou made it clear in his post-event comments that he was not pleased that the event had started at 10:12 in the morning.
“If the final was in the afternoon, we would definitely see jumps over 8.50 not only from me but also from the other jumpers,” he said. “I am in a very good shape. The early morning competitions affect the result for sure. For example, I tried to sleep early last night but then I was waking up like every hour. I was like, Oh my God, how am I going through like this? OK, I managed but it was harder.”
Another three-time champion: Kevin Mayer of France won the men’s heptathlon for the third time in his career in European Indoor Championships as his victory in this year’s meet added to gold-medal performances in 2017 and ‘21.
The world-record-holder and two-time World decathlon champion totaled 6,348 points to defeat runner-up Sander Skothiem of Norway, who set a national record with 6,318 points. Risto Lillemets of Estonia finished third with 6,079 points.
Skothiem had a 67-point lead over Mayer at the conclusion of the first four events on Saturday after clearing 2.19 (7-2¼) in the high jump, the final event of the day. But Mayer took the lead after running 7.76 – to Skothiem’s 8.05 – in the 60-meter high hurdles and he expanded his advantage to 101 points after clearing 5.30 (17-4½) – to Skothiem’s 5.10 (16-8¾) – in the pole vault.
Skotheim’s 2:37.82 clocking in the 1,000-meter run was more than six seconds faster than Mayer’s 2:44.20, but the margin was not large enough for him to overtake the Frenchman in the overall standings.
Hanging on for dear life: Karsten Warholm of Norway won his second title in the men’s 400 meters in the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, but it was not an easy victory for the Olympic champion and world-record-holder in the 400 intermediate hurdles.
The 27-year-old Warholm had a lead of more than half a second over second-place Carl Bengstsrom of Sweden when he came through 200 meters in 20.84, and his advantage was nearly six tenths of a second when he past 300 in 32.32. But Julien Watrin of Belgium gobbled up large portions of his lead over the final 100 meters of the race before finishing second in a national record of 45.44 to Warholm’s 45.35.
“I was stupid fast today I think,” said Warholm, who had tied the European record of 45.05 in the 2019 championships. “I do not know if you saw it, but I felt lactic acid in the last 100 so I had to fight all the way through. It just had hit me like a wall. With this, you never know what is going to come. I was just fighting my [butt] off to save myself and I am just very happy it was gold today.”
Favorite rolls: Mujinga Kambundji of Switzerland was a runaway winner in the women’s 60-meter dash in the European Indoor Championships a year after she had upset the form charts in winning the World indoor title.
The 30-year-old ran 7.00 in the final to tie the meet record and finish nearly a tenth of a second in front of runner-up Ewa Swoboda of Poland, who ran 7.09. Daryll Neita of Great Britain finished third in 7.12.
“I was just really looking forward to this race,” Kambundji said. “It was good — maybe not my best race ever, but it was really good and I was able to run my season’s best in the final to win that title. The equaled championships record is an honor for me. There have been many European championships and now I can be even happier for this result.”
Making a name for himself: Samuele Ceccarelli of Italy defeated better-known countryman Marcell Jacobs in winning the men’s 60-meter dash in the European Indoor Championships.
The 23-year-old, who lowered his personal best of 6.47 in the semifinals, got off to a great start in the final and held off defending champion Jacobs, 6.48 to 6.50, for the title. Henrik Larsson of Sweden finished third in 6.53, the same time as fourth-place Dominik Kopec of Poland.
“To become the European champion - that sounds great and I am over the moon because it is the first time in the Italian senior team, my first time competing at such championships, and the first win,” Ceccarelli said. “So I could not be more happy than this.”
Olympic 100-meter champion Jacobs had run a European record of 6.41 in winning the 60 in the World Indoor Championships last year, but he has been slowed by injuries since then.
He had a 100-meter best of 9.95 last year after winning the Olympic title in a European record of 9.80, and he was dealing with a hamstring issue during the European Championships.
Season to remember: Jason Joseph of Switzerland set his sixth national record of the season when he won the men’s 60-meter high hurdles in 7.41 seconds in the European Indoor Championships.
The 24-year-old Joseph was not first out of the blocks, but he was in a good position after the second of five hurdles and powered away from the field after that to finish well in front of Jakub Szymanski of Poland, who ran 7.56. Just Kwaou-Mathey of France finished third in 7.59, the same time as fourth-place Lorenzo Ndele Simonelli of Italy.
“Coming off the blocks I knew I wasn't the best starter,” Joseph said. “I just needed to be calm and to continue doing my race. Getting to the hurdle two I knew that I was getting back to the rhythm.”
Season to remember II: Retta Hurske capped the best indoor season of her career when she equaled her own Finnish record of 7.79 seconds in winning the women’s 60-meter hurdles in the European Indoor Championships.
Hurske, 27, set five national records during the course of the season before equaling her latest mark on Sunday when she became the first Finn to medal in the women’s 60 hurdles.
Nadine Visser of the Netherlands, the two-time defending champion, placed second in 7.84, followed by Ditaji Kambundji of Switzerland in 7.91.
Hurske said afterward that she had put too much pressure on herself before the start, but added “It was a good run. I feel very emotional at this moment, tears in my eyes, my first win… I believe I can build on this towards the outdoor season. I equaled the national record — fulfilled my two plans.”
Up and down competition: Douwe Amels of the Netherlands overcame some inconsistent jumping in winning the men’s high jump in the European Indoor Championships.
The 31-year-old Dutchman ultimately won the event when he cleared 2.31 (7-7) on his second attempt to tie the national record set by Wilbert Pennings in 2002.
After needing two attempts to clear 2.23 (7-3¾) and 2.26 (7-5), and three tries to get over 2.29 (7-6), Amels was in third place — based on the tiebreaking rules — when the bar was raised to 2.31.
However, he was the only competitor to clear that height as bronze medalist Thomas Carmoy of Belgium missed three times and silver medalist Andri Protsenko of Ukraine missed twice at 2.31 before passing to the next height of 2.33 (7-7¾) and missing his one remaining attempt.
National records bookend season: Wilma Murto cleared a Finnish record of 4.80 (15-9) to win the women’s pole vault in the European Indoor Championships.
The 24-year-old Murto began her indoor season with a national record of 4.75 (15-7) in early January. But she had subpar performances in World Athletics Indoor Tour gold-level meets in Lievin, France on Feb. 15, when she placed fifth at 4.45 (14-7¼), and in Birmingham, England on Feb. 25, when she finished seventh at 4.51 (14-9½).
She cleared 4.45, 4.60 (15-1), and 4.70 (15-5) on her first attempts of the final on Saturday before needing three tries to get over 4.75.
She was in second place at that point because Tina Sutej of Slovenia had cleared 4.75 on her second attempt. But Murto moved into first when she made it over 4.80 on her first try and Sutej missed her initial attempt.
Sutej then passed her final two attempts at 4.80 so she could use them at 4.85 (15-11). When she missed both times, Murto had an indoor title to go with the gold medal she won in the European outdoor championships last August.
Amalie Svabikova of the Czech Republic finished third at 4.70 (15-5).
“I felt very good coming into this competition and the qualification yesterday gave me a lot of self confidence,” Murto said. “What I would like to say about Tina Sutej — she is an athlete who definitely would deserve more than a silver, but I am not going to give in a championships. I just really like competing with her and it has been a pleasure this season. I was very happy with my jumps today and I also went for bigger poles I have never used before, so that was a big thing for me today.”
Winning on the tiebreaker: Sondre Guttormsen became the first Norwegian to win the men’s pole vault in the European Indoor Championships when he cleared 5.80 (19-0½) in the meet on Sunday.
The 23-year-old was one of four competitors to clear 5.80 on their first attempts, but he won the event because he had the fewest number of misses during the competition at the time he made the wining height.
Emmanouil Karalis of Greece, Piotr Lisek of Poland, and Torben Blech of Germany also cleared 5.80 on their first attempts, but Karalis and Lisek each had one overall miss at that point in the competition, and Blech had two.
Karalis was awarded the silver medal over Lisek because he had cleared 5.70 (18-8 ½) — the height prior to the bar being raised to 5.80 — on his first attempt while Lisek missed his initial effort before passing to the next height.
Guttormsen will attempt to complete a unique double tonight when the Princeton student tries to defend his title in the NCAA Indoor Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Dominant performance: Auriol Dongmo of Portugal produced a season best in winning her second consecutive title in the women’s shot put in the European Indoor Championships.
The winner of last year’s World Indoor Championships had a best of 19.76 (64-10). But she also had puts of 19.63 (64-5), 19.62 (64-4½), and 19.38 (63-7) that were farther than the silver-medal winning put of Germany’s Sara Gambetta (18.83/61-9½). Fanny Roos of Sweden placed third at 18.42 (60-5¼).
“I felt some pressure because my indoor season was the tough one,” said Dongmo, who set a national record of 20.43 (67-0½) last year. “I wasn't very sure what was about to happen. Last week at the training I became a little bit more confident about what I can do here… I am really pleased because throwing over 19.50 meters is a good starting point which gives me extra motivation to work hard. I wanted to throw over 20 meters, and in my head that's what I was working for.”
One for the home crowd: There was not a more popular winner in the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul than Tugba Danizmaz of Turkey, whose victory in the women’s triple jump on Saturday came less than four weeks after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake had hit southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria.
More than 53,000 people had lost their lives as a result of quake as of last weekend, with more than 46,000 deaths in Turkey.
With that as a backdrop, the 23-year-old Danismaz bounded a national record of 14.31 (46-11½) on her first attempt. When no one could top the mark during the remainder of the competition, Turkey had its first European indoor champion since Ali Kaya won the men’s 3,000 in the 2015 meet in Prague, Czech Republic.
Dasiya Derkach of Italy placed second at 14.20 (46-7¼), followed by Patricia Mamona of Portugal at 14.16 (46-5½).
“As you know, we are going through very tough time and if people are happy because of my medal and they are healing their wounds because of the medal, that makes me very happy and proud,” Danizmaz said. “The spectators were so great today and if I make them smile, that is very good… I am so happy that I am not alone in this — I have so many foreign friends who sent me messages and supported me, so I am happy we are not alone.”
Fast 10Ks in SoCal: Eilish McColgan of Great Britain and Woody Kincaid of the U.S. produced yearly world-leading marks in the women’s and men’s 10,000 meters in Sound Running’s The TEN meet at Serra High School in San Juan Capistrano last Friday.
McColgan set a national record of 30:00.86 in turning back Alicia Monson of the U.S., who placed second with an American record of 30:03.82.
Kincaid ran a personal best of 27:06.37 in the men’s race after outkicking countryman Joe Klecker (27:07.57) on the final lap.
The 32-year-old McColgan, who is scheduled to make her marathon debut in London on April 23, trimmed .23 seconds off the previous British record of 30:01.09 that Paula Radcliffe had set in winning the 2002 European Championships.
Monson’s effort bettered the previous U.S. best of 30:13.17 that Molly Huddle had run in finishing sixth in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The times were doubly impressive as they came in a negative-split race in which the second half of the race was run faster than the first.
After pace setter Eleanor Fulton came through the first 2,000 meters in an unofficial 6:02, pace setter Josette Andrews came through 3,000 meters in 9:05 and past 5,000 in 15:08.
The real racing began after that as Monson tried to put some distance between herself and McColgan, who had displayed a strong kick in winning the Commonwealth Games title last August.
Monson, who set a U.S. indoor record of 8:25.05 in the 3,000 in winning the Millrose Games on Feb. 11, dropped the pace from 72-second laps to 71 seconds with eight laps left. But she could not drop McColgan, who bolted into the lead with 250 meters to go and kept widening her lead all the way to the finish line.
Next to finish behind those two were Americans Elly Henes (30:48.26), Natosha Rogers (30:48.69), and Fiona O’Keeffe (30:55.05), who moved to sixth, seventh, and 10th, respectively, on the all-time U.S. performer list. For good measure, Laura Galvan set a Mexican record of 31:04.08 while finishing in sixth place.
“I’m absolutely buzzing,” McColgan told Athletics Weekly. “Two years ago I ran a big PR here so it’s nice to be back with the crowds. I knew I was in really good shape, but to have it all come together on the day doesn’t always happen.”
The men’s race also ended up being a negative-split affair for Kincaid and Klecker as pace setters Athanas Kioko of Kenya and Olli Hoare of Australia came through 5,000 meters in 13:36.
Kioko dropped back after that to continue to run the race, but Hoare continued to set the pace through 6,400 meters. When he dropped out after that, the lead pack was comprised of Kincaid, Klecker, Conner Mantz of the U.S. and Ren Tazawa of Japan.
It wasn’t long before Mantz and Tazawa had dropped back and Klecker and Kincaid were left to fight it out amongst themselves.
Kincaid, who had kicked past Klecker on his way to an American indoor record of 12:51.61 in the 5,000 in the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Classic on Jan. 27, moved into the lead with 900 meters remaining. But he wasn’t able to break away from Klecker until the final home straightaway.
Kincaid (27:06.37) and Klecker (27:07.57) moved to fifth and seventh on the all-time U.S. performer list with their efforts.
Kioko, who helped with the pace setting chores for the first half of the race, finished third in a personal best of 27:23.84, followed by Mantz in 27:25.30, Jonas Raess of Switzerland in a personal best of 27:26.40, and Tazawa in 27:28.04.
Rising force?: Jeswin Aldrin of India set a national record of 8.42 (27-7½) in the men’s long jump in a meet in Bellary, India last Thursday.
It was the longest jump in the world this year and came with the aid of a 1.8 meters-per-second wind.
The 21-year-old Aldrin moved to fifth on the all-time Asian list with his effort, which topped the previous national record of 8.36 set by Murali Sreeshankar last year.
Competing in the second Indian Open Jumps Championships at the JSW Inspire Institute of Sports, Aldrin leaped 8.05 (26-5) in the first round and 8.26 (27-1¼) on his second attempt to equal his personal best from last year. He then hit the national record of 8.42 in the third round before passing his final three jumps of the competition in which Muhammed Anees placed second with a best of 7.85 (25-9¼).
“The national record has been a while coming and I am happy it has come at a venue where I have been training,” Aldrin said in post on Sportstar.com. “It is the result of hard work turned in here over the last few years. I now want to produce this kind of performance at the global level.”
Getting healthy: Sadie Engelhart of Ventura High School in California appears to be returning to the form that saw her set national freshman records in the girls’ 1,500 meters (4:11.79) and mile (4:35.16) last year.
The Cougar sophomore had won the Division II title in the California Interscholastic Federation Cross Country Championships in Fresno last November and placed 10th in the Champs Sports race in San Diego two weeks later. But sinus and bronchial issues hampered her for the last three quarters of the season.
Her health is much better this year, and that was evident last Friday when she ran 9:51.49 for 3,200 meters in the Don Green Invitational at Moorpark High School.
Running well ahead of anyone else in the field, Engelhardt turned in a time that was nine seconds faster than what she ran in the same meet last year and just shy of her personal best of 9:50.69 that she set in the Ventura County Championships in late April of last year.
“Totally solo,” Ventura Coach Tyree Cruz wrote in a text. “It was a nice way to start the outdoor season. She has been healthy.”
Engelhardt’s next big race will come on Sunday when she runs in the girls’ mile in the New Balance Nationals Indoor meet at the Track in Brighton, Massachusetts.
In memory: Bob Richards, a two-time Olympic champion in the men’s pole vault and one of the greatest vaulters in history, died at his home in Waco, Texas on Feb. 26. He was 97.
Richards, a native of Champaign, Illinois, was a three-time U.S. Olympian who won a bronze medal in the 1948 Olympic Games in London before winning consecutive titles in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki and in the 1956 Games in Melbourne.
He is the only man to win consecutive Olympic titles in the pole vault.
Richards, who became an ordained Brethren minister in 1946, was often called the Vaulting Vicar or the Pole Vaulting Parson.
He was the No. 1-ranked pole vaulter in the world by Track & Field News for eight consecutive years from 1949-56, as well as being ranked second in 1957 and third in ’49.
He was also ranked among the top 10 decathletes in the world six times, including No. 1 rankings in 1951 and ’54, and a No. 2 ranking in ’53.
In addition to his accomplishments in track and field, Richards was the first athlete to appear on the cover of a Wheaties cereal box and for many years was the director of the Wheaties Sports Federation, which promoted physical fitness through sports. He is credited with coining the phrase, “Wheaties, The Breakfast of Champions.”