Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen stormed to an impressive victory in the men’s 1500m over Ethiopian challenger Lamecha Girma at the Lausanne Diamond League meet on Friday.
Ingebrigtsen clocked 3min 28.72sec for a new meet record at the Stade de la Pontaise in unseasonally chilly conditions at the sixth of the season’s 14 meets in track and field’s elite circuit.
Girma had set a new world record in the 3,000m steeplechase in Paris earlier this month, on the same night that Ingebrigtsen broke the rarely-run 2 miles record.
But the Norwegian made no mistake in Lausanne with a masterful display, Girma having to content himself with second place in an Ethiopian record of 3:29.51.
“I have had to make some adjustments with my strategy, I have been putting in extra miles in the last couple of weeks,” said Ingebrigtsen.
“It’s all to get myself in the best shape possible for the worlds” in Budapest in August, said the Norwegian, who was left bitterly disappointed in Eugene last year after being outsprinted by Briton Jack Wightman for world 1500m gold.
Girma’s teammate Berihu Aregawi, 22, became the fifth fastest runner ever over the 5,000m when he soared to a win in 12:40.45, another meet record—and also a personal best and the world’s fastest time this season.
With temperatures hovering around 17 degrees Celsius (64F), Aregawi, who was fourth in the 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics, launched into an impressive solo assault that saw Uganda’s world record holder Joshua Cheptegei finish second (12:41.61).
“I am delighted to be here and to win against Joshua,” beamed Aregawi.
Cheptegei added: “My goal is to get back to the form I was before, getting faster race by race and tonight is the proof of that.
“I still have a lot to improve on, a lot to work on, but if I believe in myself, I will reach my objectives.”
Bol, Ta Lou victorious –
Dutchwoman Femke Bol continued her winning ways in the 400m hurdles, clocking a dominant 52.76sec for a new meet record.
Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou sprinted to the win in the women’s 100m in 10.88sec, shorn of her principal Jamaican rivals and the sole runner to dip below the 11-sec mark.
“I was happy with my race, but not really with my time,” she said.
“I will have to work as usual with my coach. The conditions weren’t ideal, it was cold for me. But I’m happy, at least I ran under the 11 seconds barrier.”
Kenya’s Commonwealth champion Mary Moraa claimed victory in the women’s 800m in 1:57.43, with in-form Briton Keely Hodgkinson almost a second behind in second.
“I wasn’t very happy about this race, I was in great shape, but I guess today was not my day. Mary was better,” Hodgkinson conceded.
World U20 100m champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, the fastest this year with a 19.87 lifetime best, won the men’s 200m in ease in 20.01sec into a 1.4m/s headwind.
Olympic champion Andre de Grasse, making a comeback from injury, finished sixth in 20.57sec.
“It felt great tonight,” said Tebogo. “You have to trust the process and then everything will fall into place just as it’s supposed to be.”
