For the second time in six days, Jakob Ingebrigtsen revised the middle distance record books at the Bislett Games in Oslo on Thursday (15) evening.
After smashing Daniel Komen’s world best over two miles in Paris last Friday, Ingebrigtsen closed the show in the Norwegian capital in front of his home crowd with a cool and controlled victory in the 1500m in 3:27.95 to eclipse his European record of 3:28.32 from the Tokyo Olympics.
There were murmurings beforehand that Ingebrigtsen was going to attack Hicham El Guerrouj’s world record of 3:26.00 from 1998 - although a late change saw the wave lights being set for at the meeting record of 3:29.12 which had been set by the Moroccan just a month before his world record - and even though that performance remains on the book for another day, Ingebrigtsen is now within two seconds of the Moroccan’s mark, having moved up to sixth on the all-time list for the metric mile.
And the supremely gifted and confident 22-year-old is adamant there is still ample room for improvement.
“I 100% have more left in me. It's all about consistency and delivering good performances in all of the races; I've done it before and we have it all under control. I just have to keep focused on each race ahead in the build-up to Budapest where it really matters,” said Ingebrigtsen, who is determined to complete the set of major 1500m titles at the World Athletics Championships in August.
The times behind Ingebrigtsen were terrific en masse as well.
Second to Ingebrigtsen in the 5000m at the European Athletics Championships in Munich last summer, Spain’s Mohamed Katir was the runner-up to the Norwegian again in 3:28.89, the second fastest time of his ascendent career.
Mario Garcia from Spain and France’s Azzedine Habz both broke the 3:30-barrier for the first time in their careers with 3:29.18 and 3:29.26 for fifth and sixth respectively while a second Norwegian Narve Gilje Nordas also broke new ground at the Bislett Stadium.
The 24-year-old Nordas, who is coached by Jakob’s father and former coach Gjert, lopped another three seconds off his lifetime best with 3:29.47 to finish eighth.
Warholm back to his best with 46.52 season's debut
On the basis of his season’s debut in the 400m hurdles, world record-holder Karsten Warholm is certainly back to his best after an injury-plagued 2022 campaign - or maybe even better than ever.
Warholm attacked each of the 10 hurdles with his trademark zeal and ferocity and he was rewarded with one of the fastest times in history for his lung-busting and crowd-pleasing efforts.
The two-time world champion over the barriers stopped the clock in a stunning 46.52 - a meeting record after he clocked what was then a world record 46.70 in Oslo two years ago - to notch up the fourth fastest time ever recorded.
Only the Norwegian himself with 45.94, his US rival Rai Benjamin (46.17) and Brazil’s world champion Alison Dos Santos (46.29) have even run faster for the distance.
“When you're on the track, you're in the bubble but I really felt the crowd lift me in the home straight - the adrenaline was really pumping in the last 100m. It was a race I will always remember - I felt really good today and knew something special was coming.
"Today shows in the right circumstances, I can really attack the world record, maybe even this year,” said Warholm ominously.
It was business as usual for Femke Bol in the 400m hurdles as the treble European champion notched up yet another victory, improving her world leading time and meeting record to 52.30 to win by more than one second from Jamaica’s Rushell Clayton with 53.84.
Bol will be substituting the hurdles for the flat at next weekend’s European Athletics Team Championships 1st Division in Silesia where she will be contesting the 400m for the Netherlands.