21 September, 2023

2023: Year of world records

Photo: Marta Gorczynska

Faith Kipyegon, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Lamecha Girma, Mondo Duplantis and Gudaf Tsegay all broke world records in a historic Wanda Diamond League season in 2023.

Before this year, only eight world records had ever been broken on the Wanda Diamond League circuit. No athlete had ever broken world records in more than one discipline, there had never been more than two world records in a single season and there had certainly never been more than one on a single night.

In 2023, that all changed.

From Faith Kipyegon's fantastic 1500m in Florence to Mondo Duplantis' pole vault magic in Eugene, the historic performances came thick and fast this season. A total of seven world records fell at five different meetings in the course of the campaign.

So with the world of athletics still reeling from the greatest season in Diamond League history, here's a recap of every single world record broken on the circuit this year.

Kipyegon kicks off

Faith Kipyegon got the party started at the third meeting of the season on June 2nd. The Kenyan distance star had been getting closer to the 1500m world record for several years, and it came as no surprise when she finally broke it at the Pietro Mennea Golden Gala. "I ran like a crazy woman," she joked after clocking 3:49.11 to beat Genzebe Dibaba's previous mark, set at the Monaco Diamond League in 2015.

Kipyegon kicks on

If the 1500m record had been tottering for a while, few expected Kipyegon to break the 5000m in Paris a few weeks later. The Kenyan said before the race that she felt tired, and looked as shocked as anyone as she crossed the line in 14:05.20 at the Stade Charlety to break a second world record in the space of a week.

Girma goes for greatness

Kipyegon's heroics were not the only highlight in Paris, which will go down in history as the first Diamond League meeting ever to see two world records in a single night. Many had expected Olympic and world champion to be the man to break Saif Saaeed Shaheen' 19-year-old 3000m steeplechase record, but in the end it was Girma who delivered with 7:52.11 in the French capital.

Kipyegon completes hat-trick

By the time Kipyegon rolled into Monaco in July, it seemed almost inevitable that the Kenyan would set another world record in the mile. She delivered with a stylish 4:07.64 taking more than four seconds off Sifan Hassan's previous record on the same track four years earlier. Having already become the first athlete ever to break two world records in a single season, the Kenyan now had three.

Ingebrigtsen bounces back

Norwegian distance star Jakob Ingebrigtsen came to Brussels with a point to prove after his surprise defeat in the 1500m World Championships final, and he bounced back in the best possible way with a world record of 4:43.13 in the 2000m. A walk in the park it may have been for the 23-year-old, but it was still a first outdoor world record and a crucial response to disappointment in Budapest.

Tsegay trumps Kipyegon

Breaking a world record is one thing, but breaking one which has only just been set by several seconds is quite another. Just three months after Kipyegon's 5000m heroics in Paris, Gudaf Tsegay set a new world record over the distance with a spine-tingling 14:00.21, becoming the first woman ever to seriously threaten the 14-minute barrier.

Duplantis does it again

Pole vault star Mondo Duplantis had already broken the world record six times in his young career before the start of the season, and it seemed only a matter of time before he would clear the next mark of 6.23m. After coming agonisingly close in Zurich and Brussels towards the end of the season, the Swedish sensation finally delivered with his final jump of the season, clearing the mark at the first attempt at the final in Eugene.