– What a wild final round that was, says Jann Post immediately after the finish line. The winning time was 7.23.64. And it was a sprint drama of the rare kind. Ingebrigtsen won by one hundredth ahead of Yomif Kejelcha after an incredibly tight final sprint in which the Ethiopian came closer and closer to the finish line. But again Ingebrigtsen was not only the best this time with a leap forward. – I haven’t been swimming much lately, so I’ve been practicing military diving until the end of the season. Practice makes perfect, says Ingebrigtsen to news. And he delivered at a historic level again, even though Ingebrigtsen himself pointed out that it could have gone faster. – It went perfectly well, says Ingebrigtsen. Here Ingebrigtsen runs to the finish line for victory in the mile yesterday. Less than 24 hours later he was first again. Photo: ALI GRADISCHER / AFP The tone was different among the experts. – It is his seventh European record this season, says news commentator Jann Post. Less than 24 hours after he was six tenths off the world record in the English mile, Ingebrigtsen was back on the starting line again against the world’s elite. This time at 3000 metres. – It is almost an “inhumane” programme. You don’t want to meet these people after yesterday, said Post. Despite this, he pressed on and put all his rivals in their place, even if the run-up side was an incredibly close duel. Only one hundredth separated Ingebrigtsen and Kejelcha at the finish line. – I think that if he had had the legs he had yesterday, he would have set a world record, says Post. The world record for 3000 meters is 7.20.67. That time was set by Kenyan Daniel Komen in 1996. Ingebrigtsen was less than three seconds away from yesterday’s European record. – I am a fan of running fast and doing my best and at the same time fighting to win. There is always something that can go better. I like to go out hard, but I feel that it is a little heavier than I had dreamed of. There will be a bit of a fight to the finish line, says Ingebrigtsen. Post points out that Ingebrigtsen incredibly set the European record, event record and year’s best in the world even with the super time from yesterday in her legs. The only thing missing from the sandwich list was the world record. – Jakob does this far into the season with a really hard mile in his legs from yesterday, says news expert Vebjørn Rodal. The pressure When the bell rang for the last round, Ingebrigtsen was in front and went ahead of the best Ethiopian runners. He was challenged on the far side but had the lead in the last 200 metres. He managed to defend that lead to the finish line. The start list was packed with strong runners. But Ingebrigtsen was the only one to double with two runs in the Diamond League final field. He stated after the record attempt on Saturday night that he felt he was skillfully tired. But when the race got under way, he had to show class again from the start when he got behind the pacers. The light was set to go on at 7.24 with a strong finish. But Jann Post smelled that it could be a world record attempt at the start of the race. – That’s the way Jakob likes to set up the races, says news commentator Jann Post early in the race about the speed plan. After four minutes, Ingebrigtsen was in front of the Ethiopians Bekele and Kejelchha. But then the speed had dropped somewhat until 2000 metres. WATCH THE BROADCAST: Watch the Diamond League from Eugene here. Reacted strongly The fact that the organizers in Eugene chose to set up 3000 meters instead of 5000 meters caused Ingebrigtsen’s rivals to react strongly before the Diamond League final. Earlier this year, there was an extremely high level of 5,000 metres. The times have fallen towards 12.40, which is at a historically strong level. But when Ingebrigtsen ran his only 5000 meters this year, he took the WC gold at the distance. For the Diamond League final, however, he received a so-called “wild card”, as he was not actually eligible for the race. The reason was that he did not prioritize 5,000 meters earlier in the season. Jakob Ingebrigtsen encouraged the competitors to lie on their backs before the mile race in order to achieve personal records. The American Nuguse, among others, did it on Saturday. Photo: Kirby Lee / Reuters Best in the world Earlier this year, Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran to a world record in the non-traditional distance of 2 miles (3218 metres). He then passed 3000 meters in 7.24.00, which is the third best time of all time for the distance. It was also the fastest time in nearly 23 years at the distance.
ttn-69
