Just five days after his US rival Yared Nuguse set a world indoor mile record in New York, Jakob Ingebrigtsen went one better at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais Trophée EDF – not only smashing the mile mark, but also taking down the World Indoor 1500m record along the way at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Lievin on Thursday.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist was paced through the first five laps, covering 400m in 56.39, 800m in 1:52.55 and 1000m in 2:20.49.
From then on, he was out alone in front for the remainder of the race but managed to maintain the record-breaking tempo.
Ingebrigtsen passed through 1500m in 3:29.63, taking almost a second off the world indoor record of 3:30.60 he set on the same track in 2022.
He then dug deep and continued his relentless pace through the final half lap and, roared on by the sell-out crowd, charged through the finish line in 3:45.14, a significant improvement on the 3:46.63 clocking Nuguse recorded at the Millrose Games on Saturday.
“It feels amazing,” said Ingebrigtsen after his first ever indoor mile race. “This is what happens in Lievin. I’m a very happy man. You have to be focused for the whole race. It’s tough, but it’s worth it.”
Ingebrigtsen becomes the first athlete since John Landy in 1954 to set world records for the mile and 1500m in the same race.
Stefan Nillessen was a distant runner-up in 3:52.70 with Ireland’s Cathal Doyle finishing third in 3:53.18.
World Leads Tumble
Eight other world-leading marks were set throughout a high-quality evening of athletics.
World indoor 1500m champion Freweyni Hailu handed two-time world champion Gudaf Tsegay her first ever defeat in Lievin. Tsegay had been targeting the world indoor 3000m record of 8:16.60, having come close to it on several occasions, and she was on track to challenge it at half way, reached in 4:08.51.
She maintained that pace through 2000m (5:31.28) with Hailu and fellow Ethiopian Birke Haylom positioned close behind. The pace dropped over the next few laps, then Hailu moved into the lead with 400m to go. Tsegay had no response in the closing stages as Hailu went on to win in 8:19.98, improving on the world-leading mark she had set in Ostrava nine days prior and moving up to third on the world indoor all-time list.
Tsegay held on to second place in 8:25.12, just ahead of Haylom, who took seven seconds off the world U20 indoor record with 8:25.37. Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Nadia Battocletti set an Italian indoor record of 8:30.82 in fourth.
There was another Ethiopian sweep of the podium in the women’s 1500m. World road mile champion Diribe Welteji ran unchallenged for most of the second half of the race to win in a world-leading 3:58.89. Compatriots Habitam Alemu (4:03.86) and Worknesh Mesele (4:05.06) finished second and third respectively.
World and Olympic champion Grant Holloway maintained his 10-year winning streak in the men’s 60m hurdles and notched up his fifth Lievin win with a world-leading 7.36. Holloway, who intends to defend his world indoor title in Nanjing next month, has now broken 7.40 on 25 occasions.
Wilhem Belocian of France was second in 7.46 while in-form Pole Jakub Szymanski had a rare off-day and was fifth in 7.55.
Five days after being disqualified for a false start at the Millrose Games, Jamaican record-holder Ackera Nugent rebounded in style with a convincing victory in the 60m hurdles.
She pulled ahead over the final two barriers and crossed the line first in a world-leading 7.75. USA’s Grace Stark was second in 7.82 with France’s Laeticia Bapte taking third in 7.85.
World silver medallist Leonardo Fabbri put together an impressive series to win the men’s shot put. The Italian opened with a foul, but threw beyond 21 metres with his five remaining attempts, topped by a world-leading 21.95m in the final round. Compatriot Zane Weir was second with a season’s best of 21.72m.
World champion Katie Moon set her third world-leading mark in as many competitions this year, winning the pole vault with 4.83m ahead of world indoor champion Molly Caudery (4.75m). Moon ended her series with three solid attempts at 4.90m.
Other world leads were set by triple jump winner Leyanis Perez Hernandez, who jumped 14.62m, and 400m victor Lieke Klaver, who covered two laps of the track in 50.76.
Teenage Duo Niels Laros and Biniam Mehary impress over 3000m
The men’s 3000m ended as a duel between two of the most exciting young distance talents in the world.
Niels Laros of the Netherlands managed to make a break in the closing stages, going on to win in an outright Dutch record of 7:29.49. Ethiopia’s Biniam Mehary followed behind closely in 7:29.99, taking a couple of seconds off the world U20 indoor record. Getnet Wale was third in 7:31.39.
Belgium’s Eliott Crestan won the men’s 800m in Lievin for the second year in a row. He overtook world indoor champion Bryce Hoppel with 120 metres to go and went on to win in 1:44.81, finishing 0.17 ahead of the US runner.
World indoor champion Tsige Duguma continued her winning streak in the women’s 800m, taking victory in 1:59.02. Prudence Sekgodiso equalled her own South African record of 1:59.88 to finish second.
Just moments before he bade farewell to his five-day-old European indoor mile record, Azeddine Habz won the men’s 1500m in 3:32.29, just 0.05 shy of the French record he set at last weekend’s Millrose Games. Isaac Nader was second in a Portuguese indoor record of 3:32.59.
Elsewhere, Ersu Sasma equalled his own Turkish record of 5.90m to beat a quality pole vault field, while China’s Zhang Mingkun handed world and Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou a rare defeat in the long jump, winning on countback with 8.04m.
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