Article 1 of 2 Athletics – Diamond League – Silesia – Silesian Stadium, Chorzow, Poland – 25 August 2024 Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen crosses the finish line and breaks the world record by winning the men’s 3000m steeplechase REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel
Aug 25 (Reuters) – Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen beat the long-standing 3,000-meter world record by more than three seconds, while Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis broke his own pole vault world record of 6.26 meters at the Silesia Diamond League meeting on Sunday.
Ingebrigtsen crossed the finish line with a time of seven minutes and 17.55 seconds, beating the record set by Kenyan Daniel Komen in 1996 when he ran 7:20.67. It was the longest-standing world record in men’s individual athletics.
The 23-year-old Norwegian was shocked when he crossed the finish line and looked at his time. He put his hands in front of his head in disbelief. Ingebrigtsen received a check for $50,000 and posed with it in front of the clock at the Silesia Stadium in Chorzow.
“It’s a special, incredible feeling. I was hoping to break the world record here, but because of my training I can never predict exactly what time I can achieve,” he said.
“I never thought I could run 7:17. At the beginning the pace was quite fast, but then I slowly got into the race and found a good rhythm.
“The 3,000 is a tough distance. After four or five laps you feel the lactic acid, but you have to get going. The conditions were difficult today because of the heat, but that’s the same for everyone.”
Ingebrigtsen finished ahead of a trio of Ethiopians. Paris Olympic 10,000m silver medalist Berihu Aregawi finished second with a personal best and the third fastest time in history (7:21.28). Yomif Kejelcha finished third.
DUPLANTIS BREAKS OWN RECORD
Such is his dominance in the sport that the top 10 marks in this competition all belong to the 24-year-old. The next best mark is 6.16m and is held by French 2012 Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie.
The Swede won the competition with ease with 6.00 m and immediately raised the bar to the world record height of 6.26 m, which he cleared on his second attempt before running to the track and dropping to the ground in celebration.
“I know a lot of people came here to see me jump, so I wanted to give them a good show,” Duplantis said.
“This year I was focused on the Olympics, the record came naturally because I was in good shape. So today’s record doesn’t surprise me, but I’m grateful.”
TAMBERI BACK AT THE TOP
The Italian 2020 Olympic high jump champion Gianmarco Tamberi did not make it onto the podium in Paris, but he put his poor performance behind him and won the competition with a jump of 2.31 m.
“After the Olympics, I felt destroyed. It was like I had lost a loved one. For three years, I did everything I could to defend my title, only to lose the chance,” he said.
“Today I had good and bad jumps and two missed jumps at 2.18 m. It will take some time for me to find myself again after Paris, but the fans will help me.”
Botswana’s Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo won the 200 m by 0.03 seconds ahead of Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic, while Kenneth Bednarek finished third.
Other Olympic champions also had to admit defeat: Emmanuel Wanyonyi came second in the 800-meter race behind Canadian Marco Arop, while American Ryan Crouser came second in the shot put behind fellow countryman Joe Kovacs.
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Reporting by Rohith Nair and Trevor Stynes, editing by Ed Osmond
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