Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Winfred Yavi, Rai Benjamin and Yulimar Rojas were among the athletes to produce fireworks at Hayward Field on Saturday (16), ensuring that the Wanda Diamond League Final weekend got off to a suitably exciting start.
As is tradition at the Prefontaine Classic, the Bowerman Mile was held in lieu of the men’s 1500m on the first of the two days of finals in Eugene, and Ingebrigtsen made history once again, running 3:43.73 for a mark just 0.6 of a second off the world record.
There had been some friendly banter between Norway’s Ingebrigtsen and USA’s Yared Nuguse at the pre-event press conference, held on the eve of a race in which they both hoped to go faster than they ever had before. With Nuguse targeting the US record of 3:46.91, Ingebrigtsen had said: "Just stick to me as long as you can, and we’ll get you sub-3:46.”
And so it proved. With Ingebrigtsen hot on the heels of the pacemakers, Nuguse was right there with him. As they left the rest of the field behind, Ingebrigtsen’s win never looked in doubt, but all eyes were on the clock to see what the pair had managed to achieve. Ingebrigtsen led through 1200m in 2:47.73 and eventually crossed the finish line in 3:43.73 for a European record and the third-fastest time in history behind only Hicham El Guerrouj’s world record of 3:43.13 and Noah Ngeny’s 3:43.40.
He led a whole host of fast times, with Nuguse achieving his aim by setting a North American record of 3:43.97 in second place. Britain’s George Mills was third in an almost two-second PB of 3:47.65, while Mario Garcia was fourth in a Spanish record of 3:47.69 and Kenya’s Reynold Cheruiyot was fifth in a world U20 record of 3:48.06. In total, 11 of the 13 athletes set PBs.
And Ingebrigtsen’s work is not done, either, as he returns to run the 3000m on Sunday.
“Obviously, I was here to run the mile,” said Ingebrigtsen, whose performance on Saturday followed the world two-mile best he set in Paris and the world 2000m record he achieved in Brussels earlier in the Diamond League season. “I’m jumping in the 3000m because I got the opportunity. But now it’s all about getting back to the hotel, eat, sleep, try to prepare as good as I can and we’ll see tomorrow.”
Take one recently crowned world champion, one world record-holder and a pacemaker who happens to be the Olympic champion and you have the recipe for a fast and furious women’s 3000m steeplechase final.
In a battle that came down to the final straight, Bahrain’s Yavi and Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech pushed each other to the second and third-fastest performances of all time behind only Chepkoech’s world record of 8:44.32 set in Monaco in 2018.
In the end it was Yavi who again got the better of her Kenyan rival, clocking 8:50.66 ahead of Chepkoech’s 8:51.67 to add a first Diamond League title to the world gold she gained in Budapest.
In a repeat of that World Championships podium, Kenya’s Faith Cherotich was third in a PB of 8:59.65, as the 19-year-old dipped under nine minutes for the first time. Her compatriot Jackline Chepkoech, the 2021 world U20 champion, finished fourth in 9:01.18.
Undertaking pacemaking duties, Uganda’s Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai took the field through the 1000m mark in 2:55.82 and Cherotich was to the fore at 2000m in 5:58.82. As Yavi and Chepkoech made a break, they were left to fight for the title, with Yavi getting the edge in the closing stages.
There was also a duo breakaway in the men’s event but the win by Kenya’s 2021 world U20 bronze medallist Simon Kiprop Koech ended up being much more decisive. He triumphed in 8:06.26, four seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s world U20 silver medallist Samuel Firewu, who clocked 8:10.74. New Zealand’s George Beamish was third in 8:14.01 and Ethiopia’s Getnet Wale fourth in 8:14.96.
Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon closed an incredible track season by running the fifth-fastest 1500m of all time. Contesting a discipline in which she set a world record of 3:49.11 in Florence – before she went on to also break world records in the 5000m and the mile – the multiple Olympic and world champion dominated again, breaking the tape in 3:50.72 to win by more than three seconds.
Kipyegon was always to the fore, and she followed closely as the pacemaker went through 800m in 2:05.26. Pushing on, she passed 1200m in 3:06.07 before finishing strongly in the second-quickest time of her career to claim a fifth Diamond League title.
Ethiopia’s world silver medallist Diribe Welteji took more than a second off her PB to claim the runner up spot in 3:53.93, while Britain’s Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir was third in 3:55.16. They were followed by Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu in a PB of 3:55.68 and Australia’s Linden Hall in an Oceanian record of 3:56.92.
While her track season might now be complete, Kipyegon isn’t done for the year and she will now turn her attention to the World Athletics Road Running Championships Riga 23, where she will contest her first ever road race – in the mile – on 1 October.
"I didn’t watch the clock, I was just running my race to see what will happen at the finish line," she said. "So it was amazing, to run a meeting record is just fantastic. Starting with the world record and now winning the trophy, it has been a fantastic year for me and I really thank god for that."
