When he stepped up for the final race of the night at the Bislett Games in Oslo on Thursday, Jakob Ingebrigtsen will have been feeling the pressure.
The Norwegian distance star had run - and won - in front of his home crowd before, but rarely had he taken to the Bislett track in such desperate need of a win.
After his defeat to Josh Kerr in Eugene the previous weekend, Ingebrigtsen was still searching for his first Diamond League victory of the year. At the same time, the packed out Bislett crowd were braying for a home win, which they had been denied when Alison Dos Santos beat Karsten Warholm in the 400m hurdles a few minutes earlier.
Ever a champion, Ingebrigtsen rose to the occasion, attacking the race with his usual, businesslike confidence. A few strides ahead of the pack as he entered the final bend, he looked certain to go up a gear and cruise to victory in front of the home crowd.
Behind him, however, four-time Diamond league champion Timothy Cheruiyot had other ideas. As he turned into the home straight, the Kenyan fired on all cylinders to up the heat on Ingebrigtsen as both men bore down on the finish line.
For a moment, the Oslo crowd held its breath, believing all was lost. But at the last, Ingebrigtsen hurled himself across the line in desperation, edging ahead of Cheruiyot in a dramatic photo finish.
The official timekeeper's clock showed a world lead of 3:29.74, which made Ingebrigtsen's desperate dive the OMEGA Moment of the Meeting on a night when several records fell.
"I don't think I know how I made the decision to dive over the finish line, because everything happened so fast!" said Ingebrigtsen.
